Cosplaying Nelliel tu Odelschwanck

Nelliel tu Odelschwanck
Photograph taken by
PeachyDragon.com Photography 

If you're considering cosplaying an anime or manga character, Nelliel tu Odelschwanck as Espada #3 can be a rare as well as highly popular option, not only among your fellow die hard Bleach fans but among adults and kids who have no idea who or what she is.

A word of advice though, Nelliel's outfit does not breathe, despite being white, so consider cosplaying this character during the cooler months of the year; unless you want to die twice like I did on the 2nd of April attending the Fantasy Fayre 2017 at The Moors Castle. Regardless of that, it didn't stop my best friend, who attended as Tier Harribel, and me from having a blast at the Fayre.

With that in mind, coming across a costume store that sells or rents out her Espada outfit, complete Arrancar Mask, wig and Gamuza, her Zanpukto, will be rare to non-existent in South Africa. Which is sad considering there is a massive anime and manga fanbase hiding within it borders. 

Online store options will be ideal for acquiring her complete outfit, but you will tear up at what these items cost in Rands, potential shipping costs and duties excluded. So, if you can't afford an approximate budget of R3 000 to R5 000 for an outfit you may just end up wearing once, I suggest making her mask and Zanpukto from scratch; freeing up some much needed funds in order to acquire her outfit if you don't the time or skill to sew the outfit.

The Budget Breakdown

It took me some time to browse around for stores with the cheapest rates to make this costume work. Give yourself 4 to 5 months prep time before your event if you're ordering items from other countries; to factor in any stock, shipping, customs or postage delays. 

We did have a delay with Tier Harribel 's black outfit, where the store we ordered it from had a material shortage and could not ship the outfit in time. This actually led her to make the amazing outfit she wore herself. It would probably be wise to have a Plan B in place incase this happens to you.

This was the cost breakdown to pull off this entire look, as well as the stores I bought them from:

Tier Harribel & Nelliel tu Odelschwanck at Fantasy Fayre 2017

Teal Wig

Made from 100% heat resistant synthetic fibre hair and bought from Jacenhom2012 on Ebay for R163.15. This seller has free and speedy shipping, as well as a nice discount currently going on this product. 

I did have a hell of time tracking down where this was posted to after it reached South African shores though, and was responsible for a customs fee of R109.51.

Nelliel tu Odelschwanck Espada Outfit

Consists of jacket, pants and belt bought from Cosplaymiu.com for $80 and additional $16. 90 for shipping; which equated to a total R1 322.55 at the time. This online store has speedy delivery and couriers to your door. They have a amazing variety of anime, gaming and superhero costumes and merchandise and now, thankfully, have added a South African version to their website, so you don't need a currency converter while browsing it.

Knee Length Black Socks

Bought at Woolworths for R65. You could probably get these socks cheaper anywhere else, but when I saw this pair hanging from the shelf I immediately developed a close relationship with them and will cleave to them for the remaining days of my life.

White Gloves

Bought at China Mall for R20.

White Sandles

This was one of the hardest buys. I spent a half hour in store debating whether I really wanted to spend R59.99 (sale price) on a pair of the ugliest shoes I've ever seen in my life at Ackermans. But, they were the closest thing to what I was looking for.

Gamuza and Arrancar Mask

I decided to make Nel's zanpukto and mask, rather than spending approximately R1500 buying both items. My cart for Takealot.com consisted of the following:

• Dala Craft Paint for R17 each (white x2, black, red, blue and yellow).
• Dala Round Well Palette for R12.
• Dala 577 Flat Pure Bristle Paint - Set of 6 Brushes for R39.
• Dala Deco-Varnish Heat Resistant for R69.
• Jovi Air-Hard Modelling Clay - White 1kg x2 for R69 each.

In total this Nelliel's cosplay costume cost me a total of R2 100.20 across three months, R399.80 less that what I initially budgeted when I embarked this project.

Feel free to comment or share if you have found this blog helpful or may have found a few South African stores or tailors you would want me to look into using for my next cosplay event. 

Stay tuned for my next blog post that will detail step by step instructions on how I created Nelliel's Arrancar Mask.