Femme fatale et mauvaises femmes

We did want the balrogs to have a militant, uniform look to them, so I like the idea of an identifying emblem or badge.

To avoid having the costuming be too uniform, we could always have different pre-fall Balrogs in a similar outfits; perhaps keeping the tunic/leggings/boots combo, but playing around with the color scheme, so that some are in cream, some in gold, some in orange, etc. But the emblem would always be somewhere on them: on their chest, or on their shoulder, for example.

One or two might look similar, but not distressingly so. Get them all in a room... and they look like an army.

I don't know why, but p3 is really appealing to me.
P3 is my favorite, as well, though I think I'd prefer it flipped 180 degrees, so that the central arch points upwards.
 
A few new designs for your critiquing pleasure...

First is an Arien costume for Seasons 2/3. I kept the rough "tunic/leggings/boots" look from the pre-fallen Balrogs, as a symbol that while her loyalties have changed (or rather, remained true to Eru and Manwe), her essential nature hasn't. But the tunic is very different. Rather than severe and asexual, it's much more flowing and fitted. I envision a different fabric for it: while I want a heavy material (maybe even wool) for the Balrog uniform, I'd want something more like painted silk for this new one. The pattern, for the record, is supposed to recall (or perhaps prefigure) sunbeams.

Next we turn back to Thuringwethil. The first design is pretty simple: just another idea of what she could be wearing under her cloak. The emphasis here was that it's fitted, but loose; again, differentiating her from the highly-sexed Ungoliant.
The next two... are what happens when I re-watch Corey's discussions of Bela Lugosi's "Dracula"; Thuringwethil demanded a "voluptuous" dress of her own. One is "vampire" themed, the other "shiny." I blush, but here you go.

Finally, a re-design of an earlier Ungoliant outfit. I made it black, and used the "faggoting" idea MithLuin offered to make it look like she's molting (it's mislabeled as Thuringwethil 4-p2). I've got a couple of other rough Ungoliant ideas, which I'll probably share soon, even though I think they lean towards being more "modern weird" than "fantasy weird"...
 

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I'd wear the Arien sunburst dress :)

Though, is tunic + leggings + boots too 2016? I mean, I would literally wear that outfit to work!
 
I'd wear the Arien sunburst dress :)

Though, is tunic + leggings + boots too 2016? I mean, I would literally wear that outfit to work!
Maybe so, but I was using the cliched "page/squire in fantasy film" outfit for inspiration with that combo. So... I don't know.

Glad you like her dress! Maybe we can play with length/style to make it 2016.

Edit: or maybe something weird/dramatic with the sleeves? I think we could do something where fabric hangs straight from her shoulders almost to the ground, but her arms are still bare...
 
Hmmm...depends on the shape, I think. Sleeves can be tricky. If they are very wide, they can come back at the wrists. Otherwise, leave it open.
 
Nice Ideas. All we know from Tolkien#s Books is that female Elves wore Raiments or Robes - so there's lots of artistic freedem for bdesigners how these could have looked like. I mthink they should have lots of elaborate braids or edges... and I would like if some of these were based onh Tolkien designs like those in the last chapter of Tolkien the Artist (183 following...)
 
I haven't even thought about embroidery or edges yet... and I'm afraid I've never looked at Tolkien the Artist! Maybe my library has it...

Should have some rough designs with sleeves tonight/tomorrow for the sunburst dress. I'm also thinking about one more idea for Arien, maybe for once she's actually the Sun, based on the famous Nefertiti bust. The collar/crown details of a legendary sun-worshiping queen seems an appropriate inspiration for the Sun herself.
 
I really think we did a pretty good job making sure that the Ainur cast wasn't all Western European, so now I'm trying to dress them in a way that isn't, either, but still fits Tolkien's world. Egyptian and Assyrian both look promising. I'd love to get some Aztec in, as well, but that's so distinctive, I'm not sure how to blend it in.
 
Here's two b&w* versions of the Arien dress with sleeves, one coming to a tie at the wrist and one hanging long & free: also with variations with the thickness/number of stripes in the dress-- and I'd like to note that I was imagining the different colored sections to be folded in and ruched, gathered together at the right hip.

*black and white for speed -- and to save my colored pencils
 

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'Raiment' is simply an archaic English word for 'clothing', and does not specify female clothing, let alone a particular style of clothing. It is, for instance, used in the King James Bible translation to describe all sorts of clothing of men and women.

Examples:

Psalm 45:14: She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.

Ezekiel 16:13: Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

Matthew 3:4: And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

John 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
 
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Here's two b&w* versions of the Arien dress with sleeves, one coming to a tie at the wrist and one hanging long & free: also with variations with the thickness/number of stripes in the dress-- and I'd like to note that I was imagining the different colored sections to be folded in and ruched, gathered together at the right hip.

*black and white for speed -- and to save my colored pencils

I definitely prefer the 2nd one, where the sleeves hang free.
 
And the number of sections? I personally prefer the thinner/more numerous sections in the dress.

I like the free sleeves better, too, at least for Arien.
 
I think that, if we want the image to read as a 'sunburst', the thinner/more numerous stripes are more effective. But both designs look nice in general.
 
The idea of a symbol that translates to '6-winged seraphim' without actually putting 6 wings on the balrogs is a pretty good idea - subtle enough to be open to interpretation rather than totally blatant.

No one ever knows what this costume is unless I tell them:

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It's Mjölnir. (My braided hair is the handle, not shown here). It works better when I stand next to someone dressed as Thor, of course ;). But my point being that an emblem alone doesn't give away the reference but can certainly help with the design.

That is just so, so great.
 
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