Today is the second in a series of posts that I am doing on creating my Handmaid’s Tale cosplay. See the first post Why The Handmaid’s Tale here.

Once I decided to make my handmaid costume, I knew I needed to collect some images and details. First, I looked at promotional images for the series.

This is when I noticed that the bodice was split at the center front and that the belt was a separate piece. I decided to investigate further.

I looked for interviews with the costume designer, Ane Crabtree, and found a treasure trove of information. She’s given numerous interviews over the past 3 years. I found the ones in Atlanta Magazine and Vogue particularly helpful.

Each one of Crabtree’s choices was so purposeful. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

In the end, the poetic fluidity of the dresses [looking like priest robes] meant that the handmaids looked like lifeblood moving through a grey concrete dystopian world.

“I removed the laces from the heavy, utilitarian shoes, so that the handmaids could not hang themselves, and added a canvas duck twill spat, or shield, over the top, to remind them of their laceless, industrial possessions that were built to last. The end result actually looked quite sexy. Actresses began to request them to wear off-set.”