The bronze outer robe, gold chemise and floral sash were made by my friend Janet Borkowski, a very talented costumer and beadwork designer who lives in Portland, Oregon. The red under-robe and embroidered slippers were purchased in Old Chinatown in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I tried to re-create the makeup from the film as closely as I could, an effort hampered somewhat by the fact that I'm not Asian. There's a lot of contouring with ivory and brown eyeshadows, a great deal of black eyeliner, and a screaming pink blush used to approximate the deep red pigment used at the outside of the eyes. And, of course, deep bright red lipstick. The hair is, alas, a wig--I can only dream of tresses like that.

This costume won hall-costume awards at Norwescon 18 and Orycon 17, and was chosen by Nigel Bennett for the Guest's Choice Award at Anglicon 8, all in 1995. And I wore it to a doctor's office once.