Email me for the high res images.

Wow. Imagine taking your first step beyond the ticket counter to see this. I pulled my camera out immediately and started snapping. I knew it was a public place and that I could do so.
This was actually an extra's costume, so was a little less... pretty than the elves who got close to the camera.
There was no mail on this costume. And I'm not sure if the stretchy zig zag open knit covering the manequin was actually worn or just a stand in for the day, but the Weta guy did point to it and talk about how the extras didn't wear the same things as those close to camera.
The plates of pvc are *very* light. And very flexible. I managed to lift one a little in an ettempt to see how the leather straps worked. I didn't manage to do so, but was thus able to get a feel for how very light this costume is. It feels about the thickness of those plastic folders you can slide A4 sheets into for presentations. Compare this to what the Orcs had to wear or even the humans. I guess this was to keep the elves ethereal as possible even during battle.
I had seen a version of this costume at Te Papa and while I was overwhelmed at the time I did notice the stretch shot velvet used for the skirts. Well it looked shot. It might just have been extremely light reflective. In a mid pale grey.
Not the cloak was exciting. As this was worn for the film it was proof to me that my supposition about what the Bridge Dress Arwen wears in a deleted FotR scene is definately possible and might actually be the fabric I was thinking of. It behaves in exactly the same way, and though it's a synthetic mix here we see an elf wearing it.
This fabric is a shot satin. A very light weight fabric with the floating threads in a translucent highly reflective fibre of one colour and a ground of what feels like rayon in another Though the photos show the wrong side to be pretty reflective this is just the effect of the flash. On film and in person it is much less aparent, the floating threads do by necessity have to be anchored in the ground fabric but this is acheived with a few threads being picked up. The colours for the Elf Armour is a dull gold over charcoal. In the case of Arwen's Bridge Dress it would be blue over pink. It is also heat set in wrinkles and puddles well on the floor.

Unfortunately my camera had the shakes and I couldn't get a clear shot of the half armour displayed. It was behind the counter and I was feeling conspicuous as it was in my green and silver paint and costume;) So I wasn't about to ask to go behind the counter and have a feel of the costume. Also I had no idea where the competition was being held and I knew I had several flights of stairs to negotiate. I planned on coming back afterwards, but I was too tired and dehydrated to do so. It all looked very real from the distance I was at, and the guys from Weta did say how much the poor Orcs suffered in their costume and make up.