Becoming Turanga Leela from Futurama

 

If you are a Futurama fan like me, then you have to appreciate the great Leela. She's brave, smart, and best of all, doesn't take any crap from anyone.  I just love her character so when the time presented itself to participate in a costume contest, I chose to create my own Leela costume.

 

This DIY costume is pretty easy and the materials can probably be found around your house right now. If not, a quick run to your local Target or Walmart will suffice.  

 

First things first, let's put together Leela's classic outfit. It's quite simple, just look for a white tank, black pants, and boots. I've found that if you can't find gray boots, black will also do. In my case, I bought some dark gray slide on boots at Walmart.  It was perfect timing since it was early October and there were no shortage of boots. With the three major items accomplished, it was time to add the details.  I used adhesive felt paper for most of my costume. It's inexpensive and comes in a variety of colors.  I took black and cut out ovals and stuck them to the front of my boots.  I used two large baby blue sheets and created a cone to fit around my wrist. This was the start of my wristlojackimator. Using the same adhesive color sheets, I added cut out additional shapes and stuck them onto the cone. The wrist band was easy to wear. I didn't apply the adhesive paper directly to my skin, but It was easy to use it to construct the cone and then form it to my wrist. 

 

Now we move on to Leela's eye.  This was a bit more challenging. I  had seen posts about using a white mask with one black dot in the center or using a small paper plate.  I wanted someting a little more realistic.  I also wear eyeglasses so I needed something I could use with my glasses. I opted to use pantyhose over my head (just to cover my forhead and eyes. I chose a very sheer material so my eyesight was not too obstructed.) This worked well with my glasses. Then I took apart a touchlight. It gave me the perfect round shape to use for Leela's eye. This was glued to the pantyhose mask. This took a couple of attempts, so as a warning, be cautious about the glue running through the pantyhouse. It's bestto use a wuick drying glue and you may need a helper to help you hold the pantyhose open while you glue. I used more colored adhesive paper for the eyelashes and pupil.

 

Finally, the purple hair. There's a couple of options here. I opted on buying a purple wig at a local Party City. It was only $9.99.  It was easy to style the bangs and tie it up in Leela's signature ponytail. Another option would have been to use hair color spray (you can get this at any costume shop) or color hues (available at Walgreens) to add purple streaks in your hair and the style. 

 

A quick rummage through my son's toy box gave me the perfect ray gun to complet my Leela costume! These are my tips and tricks, but feel free to comment with your own. Happy cosplaying!

 

 

Author: Sara Tristan
 

Category: Cosplay, DIY

 

Keywords: cosplay, DIY, leela, futurama, costume, dress up