Grace of the Golden Wood - Nathrien of Gladden

For those of you that don't know, the Perseid Meteor Shower is at its peak this weekend, which means I won't be around to make new costumes or barter for new cosmetics like I do every weekend. I'll be venturing out into the boonies of Connecticut for a crystal clear night sky. I had this post scheduled for Sunday, but since I'll be away, I'll post this early for all of you! Enjoy : )

Nothing brings peace of mind to Nathrien Estelenlaer like her native land of Lothlórien. Here grew the tallest and most beautiful of the great mallorn-trees, their silver-grey branches arching high beneath a canopy of golden leaves. Through the power of Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, Galadriel slowed the passage of time in Lórien preserving both its grace and beauty. Even wedged between the evils of Moria and the threat of Gol Guldur, the Golden Wood never faltered. The few travellers that passed the forest borders were able to rest securely and gave their weary hearts a chance to recover. Bright light and glorious song always filled the forest, and granted comfort to those who took refuge under the fair mallorn boughs.

Naturally, as I was wandering though Lothlórien, I felt inspired to make a new outfit. I remembered that I had an unused Cloak of the Silver Birch sitting on one of my cosmetic storage characters collecting dust. I had planned to make something related to the Golden Wood with it, as the pattern seemed to be a perfect fit with the atmosphere, but I didn't have anything that looked good with it when I first obtained it. Now that I have an overflowing wardrobe, I managed to find a few working pieces!

Oddly enough, I put together this outift on my storage character, which is a male elf. Though I was using him as a drawing board, it looked terribly awkward >.< I'm afraid to start taking pieces out of my wardrobe...and it looks like he's going to become my resident mannequin!

Anyway, I had come up with two possible designs for this outfit:

On the left, you have the Campaigner's Shoulder Pads, and on the right, the Songmaster's Shoulders. Either way, you have some clipping - in terms of either the hair or the shoulder piece. I ended up going with the Campaigner's piece because I could live with the clipping from the hair. It seemed more natural to me, as hair can get tucked under clothing...thought it's questionable in this case. The Songmaster's Shoulders looked like a wonderful match for this piece, but they were coming up through the hood of the cloak...yuck! The cloak is an integral part of this outfit for me, so I couldn't very well remove that. The gold accents were a perfect match to the dress : )

I guess it comes down to personal preference, but I thought I should at least show both options for this outfit if anybody would like to use it for their own characters.

Head: Fine Elven Circlet (Washed, Anniversary Festival gift box)
Shoulders: Campaigner's Shoulder Pads (Gold, T4 tailor recipe) or alternatively the Songmaster's Shoulders (White, Mirkwood Minstrel class barter)
Back: Cloak of the Silver Birch (Washed, LOTRO Store)
Chest: Reveller's Gilded Party Dress (White, LOTRO Store limited edition item)