PICNIC ROGUE is from X-Men volume 2 issue 8 apparently but I had seen this version of Rogue as a statue at Comic Fusion. I had a lot of fun trying to recreate something like this. Usually I do my own versions of characters’ costumes because I love the creative process of redesigning their outfits. This one however, I did try to be accurate. Not sure if I succeeded per some strict elitist cosplay definitions.

The top had no support whatsoever so I couldn’t exactly walk around without holding it up. Originally I thought I would make a covering for strapless bra so that there would plenty of underwire but then I opted for something more natural and since I am totally natural, I just went with that whole concept.

	Since the bulk of this outfit was store bought, there really isn't much to say as far as a tutorial goes. All I had to do was make the tube top. I didn't even attempt to use a pattern, commercial or original. I had found this fabric at Joann's -- and I'll be honest, I have no bloody idea how to spell it but it sounds like "rooshing" according to a Threadbanger video I watched on YouTube. It's like the top of a summer dress with rows of elastic going through the cotton. It's also 25-cents per inch! I thought it would make my job easier to start off with that as the back piece of the tube top. Then the hard part came in my quest for white fabric with yellow polka dots. Harder to find than you might think. I found one with rows of dots that gradiate from green to yellow to red. I didn't need much and planned to utilize as much as possible of the rows with yellow dots.
	I determined a rough idea of how wide the dotted fabric would need to be. I tried to iron a hem in order to stitch it but jersey cotton doesn't really take to ironing. It didn't burn or anything; it just doesn't hold a crease. Then I stitched it at side seams. I made a little strip of the yellow dotted section to use as tie for the purpose of gathering the cleavage area changing the "tube" shape more to a scalloped one. I tried the top on and kept making adjustments to make it tighter and smaller until it was pretty good. The last part of with the fabric to cut a couple of strips as arm bands. I was going to try to wear a strapless bra underneath but then the top would have to be bigger and I would have to contend with securing the fabric to the bra. Instead, I held it as I walked and the "girls" are more free without any support.
	The actual scene from the comic and the statue don't have Rogue in her X-belt but I think it's a bit necessary to help identify what's going on with this street clothes outfit. I already have the hair thanks to the fine women at the Pittsburgh Hair Company Salon who did my color for me a couple weeks ago. It cost quite a bit but I love it ($120); the shorts were around $11 at Kohl's; the flip-flops were $1; the gingham for the picnic cloth was somewhere around $4-5/yard; the gloves were from a vintage store and along with the belt and buckle were utilized from my more traditional Rogue costume. The one element I purposely left out was the headband. Let's face it, Rogue was so 80's and sometimes you just need to modernize a little bit.

To check out the lovely photoshoot I did with Mike, just visit the gallery.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.