>>10857460
Hmmmm. Yeah, unfortunately that's a pretty complex looking outfit to make. If you want it to look good, $1000 probably is in the ballpark for something custom made. I don't know where you are commissioning from, but when it comes to quality you get what you pay for. You don't want to pay $400 for something and when it arrives it looks like you got it from spirit of halloween, you know?
Possible option is to break up the commission into smaller parts and shop around with different sellers rather than doing it all in one place. That much work doing all by one person is a lot to ask, because its a lot of different kinds of work. But, for example, if you order JUST the dress + hat from one seller and the arm pieces from another, and buy your own black leotard? That gets you like 80% of the way there, easily enough to be a recognizeable and functional costume, and you get your cloth work done from someone who specializes in that and your armor work done from someone who specializes in that, without having to find one person who does everything. This might mean that you choose to forgo certain pieces on your first outing, like the legs, but you can buy those later and split your costs over time rather than doing them all at once.
I can't promise that doing that will save you any money, splitting your work to different places might be more expensive. But its an option I would explore.