These costumes are intended primarily for dance and/or ritual use, NOT for Halloween and dressup! If you intend to purchase a costume, please do so with full respect.
I take particular care when creating the belts on the mask and tail sets. Rather than a simple strap sewn to a tail I stitch the tail into a doubled-over leather belt so that the end is coated in leather, and then add braided leather extensions. The design is strong and very comfortable for the wearer--it is made so as to not cut into the flesh and to prevent the tail from being easily torn from the belt.
Totemic dance is a large part of my personal practice; I hope that these costumes bring you as much connection as I have had with my own. You can find out more about this practice in my book, Skin Spirits: The Spiritual and Magical Use of Animal Parts
Kitsune dance tails - I took three red fox tails salvaged from the fur industry, about 11" long each, and added them to a 66" long brown leather belt made from part of a coat. $45.00
Mink dance tail - This mink tail, left over from the fur industry, still has the bone in, and was preserved with a decided curl to it. It's about 7 1/2" long, and I put it on a very long strip of reddish-brown leather. $8.00
Fox squirrel dance tail - I took a 13" long fox squirrel tail and put it on a very long strip of reddish brown leather. $10.00
Kit fox dance tail - This is a very soft 13" long kit fox tail, which I put on a 68" black braided leather belt made from part of an old coat. $25.00
Lynx dance set - I've been collecting the bits and parts to make this set for a good long while, and here it is, completed! It consists of a headdress/hood/cloak, a pouch, and a necklace. The headdress is about 36" long, made with a lynx hide and two panels of black leather. The panels are intentionally long so that they may be draped over the sides of the head to block out some light and sound for better meditation, as this set wants to be used for quieter forms of spirituality and magic as well as dance. It has one tie that goes under the chin. The pouch is 8" x 8" and is made from black leather and the fur from a lynx paw/lower leg. It has a 44" long shoulder strap. The necklace is 21" long and is made from four claws from the pouch's paw, as well as wood and stone beads. These can ONLY be sold as a set! The set together is $225.
Triple tanuki dance tail - Okay, so it's the kitsune fox spirits who have three tails, not the tanuki raccoon dogs. So consider this a bit of a departure from tradition! There are three fluffy tanuki tails, the longest being 11" long, and they're on a 60" long brown braided leather belt made from part of an old coat. $35.00
Otter dance tail - I took an 11 1/2" long brown otter tail and added it to a 60" long braided belt from a brown leather coat. $30.00
Tanuki (raccoon dog) tail - This 10" long tanuki tail is on a 66" long black braided leather belt. $20.00
Black horse dance tail - I wrapped the base of this 36" long black horse tail in black leather, decorated with a ceramic black horse head bead and black buffalo horn beads. The tail is held on by a 100" long (easily trimmed if necessary) black leather strap to tie around the waist. $50.00
Fox/leather cloak - This cloak is made of three antique silver fox pelts from old stoles. I gave them fabric backings, which are spot-glued and then stitched on--the stitching is obviously done by hand, but it'll hold and do the job. I then added leather panels to the sides and the hood, and braided silver/black cords to tie the cloak on. It's one size fits some; you can see in the pictures how it fits me--I'm pretty small (5'4", slender), but I also tried it on my husband who's a foot taller and significantly broader, and he could wear it too, though obviously it draped differently. One thing to be aware of is that although I have done my best to reinforce the fox skins, they are old and will need to be handled carefully (which simply means don't yank on it, don't let it get wet, etc.) With care, this cloak has years to it. $180.00
Coyote headdress - When I got this smallish coyote face, there was a chunk missing out of the muzzle. So I stitched in a patch of black leather, added some leather fringes (black and buckskin) in the back with some bone beads as accents, and made her into a headdress. Her nose has been painted black, and there's a bit of black paint around her eyes for accent as well. $25.00
Deer antler headdress - The base of this headdress is a small set of whitetail deer antlers on the skullcap, which has been padded and wrapped in leather. Draped over it is a panel made of six greyish-brown rabbit skins, with an additional layer of tattered black leather. I also added a dangle with a black glass bead to it as well. The headdress has two cords for fastening; one goes under the chin, and the other drapes down the back of the head and ties around the neck, and is adjustable in length. It's pretty secure; it'll move a bit if you jump around some, but unless you incorporate headbanging into your rituals you should be fine. The headdress measures 32" long from the tips of the antlers to the bottom of the fur. $50.00
White rabbit fur cloak - I transformed a long white rabbit fur coat into a cloak. The sleeves were converted into a hood, and I stitched the armholes shut. I did keep the original lining and pockets, and I added long artificial sinew braided cords with bone bead accents to tie it with. It would be best for a smaller-framed person, as it doesn't wrap all the way around in the front (it started out as a small coat). Also, there are still a couple of the original hooks from the clasps when it was a coat; I opted to leave them in as taking them out would have involved tearing the coat apart more than I wanted to. They hide pretty well in the fur, though. The cloak measures app. 46" long from shoulder to hem. $100.00
Coyote mask, tail and pouch dance set - When I first started working with the face skin for this set, the nose was completely squashed, and didn't look so great hanging half off. However, the spirit of the skin didn't want to giv eup his nose entirely, so I removed it and made it the foldover flap of a 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" necklace pouch. The mask itself will fit most adults and has the eyes widened for bette vision. The tail is 15" long with a 52" long braided leather belt. $45/set
Coyote dance tail - This 13" long coyote tail is on a 47" long black braided leather belt, stitched with artificial sinew. $25.00
Mink headdress - This is sort of an oddity. I had a mink fur collar from a coat, and when I stitched two edges together, it looks a bit like a mink head, complete with little ears! So I added black leather eyes and nose and strings to tie it on, as well as three mink tails on the back, to create a headdress. It measures 13" long not including the tails in the back. The picture doesn't do it justice--it's actually pretty cute! $20.00
Deer tail - This is a small, 6" long whitetail deer tail. It's on a 67" long braided leather belt for dancing! $15.00
Black fox tail - I took a 13" black fox tail with a white tip and put it on a 54" black leather braided belt. It's an older tail, and not #1 quality, but it's still nice enough. $20.00
Coyote/deerskin cloak - Haven't made one of these in a while! This is a hand-stitched cloak made from a coyote pelt and a deer hide, with braided sinew cords with wood bead accents. The cloak measures 75" from nose to tail tip, and should fit most people--the strings are LONG. Also, I can paint the leather panels for an additional fee, or if you have another artist in mind I can ship it to them after you've paid. $200.00
Squirrel dance tail - This is a grey squirrel tail; there was a bit of a weak spot in the middle, so I bound it with deerskin to strengthen it; with care, it will last for years. The tail is 9" long and is on a 78" long deerskin belt (single strand because the tail is bone-in and can't be stitched). $10.00
Ringtail cat dance tail - This is a 15" long tail from a ringtail cat, a small mammal commonly found in the southwest U.S. I added it to a 52" long black braided leather belt. $20.00
Arctic fox headdress/tail dance set - The headdress for this set is the mask skin from a small Arctic fox that measures 8" across. The matching tail is 11 1/2" long, rescued from a fur coat, and is on a 48" black braided leather belt. $28/set
Coyote dance set - The headdress for this set is a 9" long coyote face with the ears perked, and with leather ties to tie under the chin (the eyes aren't quite large enough for a mask). There are a couple of small bare patches of skin, but they're mostly hidden by the rest of the fur. The matching tail is 16" long (not from the same coyote) and is on a 64" braided golden and brown leather belt. $35.00/set
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