Throwback: Cosplay Tips 1

Hello everyone! Today I'll be going back to one of my very early posts Cosplay Tips 1 and basically rewriting it since I've had a lot more experience with cosplay since then (I might have cosplayed twice at that point?) and since the availability and pricing on many cosplay items have since changed. I hope you all enjoy my more current advice as well as cringing slightly at my old post along with me. ;)

#1: Wigs and Hair
   As many of us may notice when looking for anime characters to cosplay, many of them have unnatural colors and gravity defying hair, or just a color or style that's not easily achievable for you (like going pink when you have to have a natural color for your job or magically growing your fade into flowing, manly locks in a week). While closet cosplays or simple cosplays based off of your current hair color and style (or lack of hair) can be fun for a low budget or last minute cosplay, trying to do more advanced cosplays with natural hair can be costly and difficult. For example, several years ago I read a post by a lady who used her natural hair for a Sailor Mercury cosplay (if memory serves me correctly). One of the biggest cons she noted was that any time she wanted to do that cosplay, she had to get a haircut so that her hair would be accurate. If you're getting a haircut for a cosplay every two to three weeks when you normally would get your hair cut maybe twice a year, that becomes really expensive. Even if you cut your hair yourself, it can be frustrating and time consuming. While this can be less of a problem if you have longer hair that easily works for the character, you may still want to consider the fact that that cosplay will need a wig should you decide to change your hair in the future.

 Wigs nowadays are generally easy to find at reasonable prices and in good quality, so I highly recommend getting a wig if possible. Not only are wigs generally easier to maintain than natural hair, it gives a cosplay that extra something to make you more recognizable. (Granted if you cosplay horribly obscure characters like I tend to do, it won't help much outside of the accuracy department.) I've gotten several wigs off of sites like Amazon and Storenvy that are very nice quality that I use for J-fashion and my cosplays. However, when ordering wigs online, be cautious of wigs without reviews or ones that look like party wigs and thoroughly check reviews to make sure there's no complaints of the wig being poorly made or thin. Unless you know the seller is a reputable wig seller, I wouldn't recommend buying any wigs that don't have reviews unless you're willing to take a chance. There are also many reputable wig sellers aimed at cosplayers, such as Epic Cosplay and Arda Wigs, that have a variety of wig colors and styles available.

 One of the main disadvantages of getting a wig is that you have to style it for your character and while in my old post I had recommended World of Wigcraft, it seemed to have disappeared completely, but it seems to be available again: World of Wigcraft. Unfortunately it is rather expensive, but if you plan on doing more advanced techniques or complicated wigs, I'd advise getting it. Fortunately, there's a wide array of character specific wigs available as well as pre-styled ones, so many times trimming the bangs to the right shape is all that's necessary. For bang cutting tutorials, I highly recommend looking up tutorials on Youtube or ask a hairstylist friend to show you how (or do it for you) if you can. Remember, it's always better to cut less off than you think you need to and always use nice, sharp scissors so you don't maul your wig.

 Wigs also require different maintenance than natural hair since the fibers don't grow back when they're pulled out of the wig cap. Usually a brand new wig will have some shedding when it's first combed through, but normally you shouldn't be getting a lot of fibers with every comb-through. For typical wig maintenance, I recommend getting a styrofoam wig head and a pin or pins to hold the wig on it, some sort of stand for said head (I've been using my camera tripod recently), a wide tooth shower comb, and Motions At Home Oil Sheen Spray. (You can easily get the spray from Amazon or Sally's Beauty Supply.) After putting the wig on the styrofoam head and a stand, pin it in place so that it won't slide around while you comb it. I usually just put an obvious pin in the center top so I can easily find the pin again. You can also secure at the back and the temples of the wig if you so choose. Spray the entire wig with a coat or two of the oil sheen spray, both outside and inside of the wig and let it sit for a minute. Comb it gently in sections, working from the ends of the wig upwards and starting a new section if a tangle goes across a larger area than yous section. If the wig has curls, you may want to comb them separately to avoid them frizzing out or otherwise losing their shape or you can wash the wig after in cold water to help the curls resettle. Work on the top and bottom sides of the wig to make sure you get as many tangles out as possible. If you find that two of the fibers have tied themselves into a knot, take a sharp pair of scissors to cut as close to the knot as you can. I highly recommend gently combing your wigs out using this method after every wear, but be careful not to overdo it as you don't want to damage your wig by over combing it as it could damage the fibers.

What do you guys do about your hair when you cosplay? Let me know in the comments!

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Why Don't I Cosplay More?

Hello everyone! Today I decided to do a twist on one of the Lolita 52 Challenge topics I did: Why don't I wear Lolita more? Instead of Lolita, I'll be talking about why I don't cosplay more since that was supposed to be one of the main points for my Facebook page. So let's go!


#1: Time and money
 In case you haven't already noticed, time and money are big limiting factors in my life. I work full time which gives me a steady paycheck, but then by the time I get home from work I have chores and errands to run as well as procrastination to do which takes up a fairly large portion of my time. And then between bills and miscellaneous expenses *cough*impulse buys and thrift store raids*cough* I don't have a lot of extra money to put towards buying pre-made cosplays or materials for handmade ones.


#2: Procrastinaaaatioooooon!
 I procrastinate a lot when it comes to starting or working on sewing projects, even simple ones, because I hate cleaning up my floor, ironing fabric, and laying out and cutting the pattern pieces. I don't mind the sewing that much, but y'know, my machine's kinda buried and oh hey distraction.


#3: Venues
 I don't get the opportunity to go to conventions or meetups very often, so I don't really have a ton of places to wear my cosplays to outside of the grocery store or Target and let's face it: I get asked what my costume's for when I'm in J-fashion enough as it is. I'm not really confident enough to have professional pictures taken of most of my cosplays since they're rather simple or unfinished, so I don't have opportunities to wear them outside of cons either.


#4: Number of cosplays
 To be perfectly honest, I only really have a handful of cosplays. And I don't have all of the pieces for some of them such as wigs or base pieces. And some are still just piles of fabric and patterns sitting in my room waiting to be turned into a cosplay. So I really only have two cosplays I can wear, and those still have some work to be done on them.


Do you guys cosplay? What stops you from cosplaying more or at all if you want to, but don't? Let me know in the comments below!


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Spooky Scary Sceletons: Halloween Tag

Hello everyone! Since it's almost Halloween, I figured I'd get into the festivities by doing a Halloween tag. Halloween is always a fun holiday for me, what about you? Have you done this tag before? Let me know in the comments below!


1. Favorite Halloween movie?
 To be honest, I don't really watch a lot of horror or Halloween movies, so I don't have a lot to choose from. (Don't worry, I'm getting together with one of my friends for a movie marathon to amend that.) From what I've watched though, I enjoyed Corpse Bride quite a bit.


2. What age did you stop trick-or-treating?
 I honestly can't remember. Sometime in my mid-teens.
3. Favorite Halloween Costume you have ever been?
 Hmmm, this is a hard one. I've had a lot of cool costumes over the years thanks to crafty and creative parents, though one of my favorites was when I got to be an astronaut. My dad made the helmet and backpack and they had LED lights and switches and it was really cool.

4. What are you going to be this year?
 Well, so far I've been a circus ringleader and Etzio from Assassin's Creed, I might do Ryuko from Kill la Kill if I have another opportunity to dress up.
5. Do you like haunted attractions?
 Yuppers. I try to visit my favorite haunted house every year, though this year's been pretty busy, so I might not make it to one this year.
6. Vampires or werewolves?
 Vampires. Not those sparkly ones though.

7. Favorite Halloween Candy?
 Reeses Pumpkins.

8. Do you decorate your house?
 Somewhat. I had a lot of fun the last two years, but I've been super busy this year and haven't gotten around to decorating my apartment normally fully much less adding Halloween decorations...
9. Least favorite Halloween costume?
 Well, going off my parent's memory, the year I was a shark. I wanted to be a friendly shark, but everyone was acting all scared and it made me upset, so I changed into my old bunny costume that fortunately still fit.

10. Have you ever repeated a costume and what was it?
 As I just mentioned, I dressed up as a bunny twice when I was younger. More recently, I've dressed up as Harley Quinn multiple times for Halloween. I've also done a couple of cosplays for Halloween in addition to wearing them to a convention.
11. Do you believe in ghosts?
 Vaugely, yes. I believe that spirits do visit this world, but generally not in the same way that ghosts are usually presented. Also, I feel that malicious "ghosts" are something different from a typical spirit.

12. Scariest Halloween?
 I honestly can't really think of a Halloween I considered scary overall. I remember I used to be terrified of the haunted houses my church used to put together when I was little, but now I love haunted houses (as long as someone else is with me, that is).


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Cosplay: Homemade VS Store bought

For some new cosplayers, the thought of making a costume can seem rather intimidating, especially when one's sewing skills aren't the best. Some of us worry about whether we can finish the costume in time or if we even have a clue about how to start. There's also the fear of spending so much time on something you absolutely love just to have people tell you it's terrible looking. For reasons like this, some cosplayers opt for store bought costumes as they are simpler than making your own and only require money to get. However, many of them are expensive and made with shiny materials, such as sateen or satin, or other materials that do not fit the costume. Some cosplays are also made out of cotton, which isn't a problem by itself, however, the cotton fabric can cause the costume to lack the feel of the costume in the anime, manga, or comic. For example, if you tried to make Catwoman's skin tight bodysuit out of cotton, it wouldn't look the same as using a leather-like stretch fabric. Also, in some cheaper cosplays, details are missed or added that are not in the original character images. For example, the Project Touhou cosplays I recognize on Bodyline are inexpensive, but missing things such as small accessories, bows, and detailing. If you just want to cosplay a specific character and have fun, store bought cosplays can work just fine. However, if you're slightly OCD like me and want to have the details as close to the reference images as possible, homemade cosplay might be the choice for you.

 One of the best things about homemade cosplay is that you have complete control over your cosplay. The only things limiting you are your skills, time, and budget. You can modify the costume to make it more wearable if you choose, or shift the hemline up a few inches to suit your style. Not only that, but you can make your own creations based off of your imagination. Not everyone can say that they not only made their costume, but designed it as well. You can also chose the fabrics and materials you use. Don't like the fact that they used a satin for the top in a Miku cosplay you're looking at? Make your own! Many patterns can be modified or have a part used instead of the whole to achieve the look you want. Several of my homemade cosplays used parts from various patterns I had lying around mixed in with modified patterns I made myself. Nothing's more satisfying in cosplay crafting than butchering up a muslin pattern and having the finished piece look amazing!

I admit, I'm not the best seamstress and have no clue how to make items like weapons, armor, or shoes for cosplay. However, when I make cosplays, I try my best to keep it as close to the original character as possible. For this reason I choose to make my costumes instead of buy them. However, due to my lack of skills in pattern making and sewing, I'm limited in what I can make. This doesn't stop me though as I learn more with each cosplay or dress I make. Many times have I asked my mom, who used to make her own clothes, how to do something while I'm making a cosplay. Sometimes though, I end up relying on my best judgment while creating a costume. Things don't always turn out the way I want them to, but I always learn something new or think of a different way to do something.

Good luck in your cosplay endeavors, whether store bought or homemade!

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Cosplay on a Budget: Using What You Have

Welcome to another cosplay on a budget article! I apologize for the long gap in between articles. I've been getting a lot of Lolita inspiration lately and not so much cosplay. Now without further ado, here's

Using What You Have

 When I first started cosplaying, I didn't have the money to buy pre-made cosplays nor to afford the fabric and other materials to make my own. And wigs? The only ones I had were cheap Halloween wigs, which don't last long and tend to look rather crummy. As such, I had to be creative and make my cosplays out of whatever I had lying around. As I mentioned in my article about my first convention experience, my costumes were both made with clothing and notions I had lying around. Granted, not everybody keeps scraps of fabric, old clothes that are too small or too worn to wear, and random pieces of lace around their house. But if you're a bit of a pack rat like me, you should have no problem. Even if you aren't you can easily find ways of turning your everyday clothes into a cosplay. So, here's part one of this article:

Make a Cosplay with Materials at Hand

You won't get the best costumes this way, but they'll be recognizable. First, pick out several characters with a hair color and style similar to yours. This will save you the grief of dying your hair temporarily or wrangling with a cheap wig. They can be characters you recognize, characters you like, or even characters you don't much care for. As long as you wouldn't be terrible against cosplaying a character, add them to your list. Now, look at the characters costumes. Would you be willing to wear that or a slightly modified, but still recognizable version of it? If no, take that character off of your list. Also keep in mind that some characters have multiple outfits, some more recognizable than others. If you wouldn't cosplay one of the character's outfits, check to see if there's others. Next step, take a look at all of the detailing and pieces of the outfit. Would you be able to simplify the details and still have the outfit be recognizable? Would you be able to make the various pieces of the outfit with what you have? Once you know the answers to these questions, choose an appropriate character and start putting together their outfit. Is the character wearing shorts? You can easily turn an old pair of jeans into shorts by cutting them slightly longer than you want them and either hemming or distressing the edges. Need a tube top or other tight fitting shirt? Cut off the legs from and old pair of stretchy pajama pants and add sleeves, collars, etc. as needed. Just make sure to cut edges longer than you need them if you plan to hem them and cut head/arm holes smaller than you want them to leave room for mistakes.

Make a Cosplay with Clothes you Already Own

 For this method you'll want to go through the same process as above for choosing a character, but you'll want to look for a character with clothing that could easily be found in your closet. If you already have school girl clothes in your closet, look for a school girl character. My Misa Amane cosplay consisted of a frilly black dress and jacket I'd bought at a previous date combined with some black tights, heels, a black ribbon worn as a choker, and my customized dog tags. This and my hair and makeup done appropriately were enough to get the character across. I'd also used the same dress and jacket for a Freya (Chobits) cosplay a few years earlier. So go look in your closet. Think of what characters you could cosplay as with what you've got in there and you'll have pieced together a cosplay before you know it.

As I mentioned earlier, I've used there methods in the past. Here's a good example of a cosplay I put together the night before a con with some help from a friend. A few cons previously, my friend had cosplayed Liz Thompson from Soul Eater and I'd decided I wanted to cosplay the same character for this con. I had the pants and shoes, but that was about it. My friend lent me the hat she'd made using a couple of blue folders, glue, an old shirt sleeve, and dental floss. Then came the problem of the shirt. It was a red, sleeveless cropped turtleneck which presented several problems to me. The first was that I didn't really have any red shirts, much less sleeveless turtlenecks. Also, I wasn't especially comfortable with the idea of bare shoulders and midriff. What was I to do? Well, my creative friend pulled out an old pair of red, stretchy pajama pants and suggested the idea of making them into a shirt for me. We cut off one of the legs, made armholes in it and hemmed the bottom, then turned the other leg into sleeves and a undershirt thing so I wouldn't have to worry about anything showing that I didn't want too. I've since gotten a better shirt for this particular cosplay, but the one my friend made worked and got the point across well enough. (My friend's outfit for the con was thrown together last minute as well, but I've cut out details on it's creation for space's sake.)

My old Liz cosplay shirt and hat

My First Convention Experience

So, even though I've been going to conventions for a few years now, I thought it'd be nice to write about my first time ever going to a convention. It was a fairly small Anime convention not especially far from where I lived (from my perspective at least). When I first started going to anime conventions, I wasn't very much into anime. Sure I'd seen some anime episodes and read some mangas, but I wasn't totally banzai fangirl over it. I'd never really dressed up in costume outside of Halloween and dance performances that I'd been doing for a major part of my life at that point. Maybe it was because of my dance career, but I felt that it was necessary to dress up for the convention, even if it wasn't cosplay. I appreciate that not everybody feels comfortable wearing costumes outside of Halloween, so I've never felt the need to force everyone to dress up for conventions. I personally just feel it makes it more fun.

Another thing that I've done since I started attending conventions is wear different outfits every day that I go to the con. In previous years I've gone so far as to wear two to three different costumes in a day. My fist time going to a convention wasn't quite that elaborate though. I went to the con two different days, so I wore two different outfits. The first one was a cute China dress I'd gotten to wear for a birthday party a few years prior along with a sash and a shirt underneath. The second day I wore a Lolita-like outfit I'd put together. It consisted of a black A-line skirt I'd hemmed to knee length, a white polo shirt, some lace and roses I had lying around, some quickly made wrist cuffs, and a cute teddy bear that I had wearing a Gothic Lolita like dress. (The bear can be seen modeling my Mini Cherry Tophat here.) Unfortunately, I don't know where any pictures of either of my outfits are at this point in time, but I'll be sure to post them when I get the chance.

As you can probably guess, I didn't really get any compliments on my outfits, no one recognized me from such and so an anime, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed seeing everyone else's cosplays and outfits and had fun despite my lack of experience cosplaying. So this is to anyone who's never been to a convention before and is unsure if they have to dress up: Do whatever you want. If you feel comfortable dressing up in a costume in public, go for it. If not, don't worry. There's plenty of people who wear a anime themed T-shirt or a colorful wig and call it good. There's nothing wrong with that. There's also plenty of low quality cosplays. You don't have to look like Yaya Han to have fun cosplaying, just go for it and have fun. Have fun at any future conventions you choose to attend, Anime, Sci-fi, fantasy, or what have you and don't feel like you have to have an amazing costume to have fun.

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Poll for Blog Content

Hello everyone!
 I've decided to do a little poll to try to find out what my current readers and any potential readers would like to see more of. To vote, simply leave a comment below. This specific poll will close in two weeks time, April 24th 2013, so I would appreciate it if readers would avoid posting comments after that date. Without further ado, here's the poll!

What would you like to see more of on Anime & Lolita Couture?

• Cosplay tips.
• Lolita looks on a budget.
•  Recipes for cakes and other sweets.
• Tutorials such as for hair and crafts.
• My home made clothing.
• Reviews of clothing and items I have.
• My various cosplays. (I don't have many cosplays to my name as of now.)
• Other stuff. (List your ideas in your comment please!)

 Make sure to leave a comment below telling me what you'd like to see more of. Thanks for your feedback!

Mini Cherry Tophat

About a year ago I became the very happy owner of one of Miss Carlyfornia's miniature tophats. The design on this one is a bit of whipped cream topped by a cherry. I absolutely love how realistic the whipped cream on Miss Carlyfornia's hats look, and this one is no exception. Every time I wear this hat I have someone comment "Your hat looks delicious." or "I thought you were wearing a cupcake on your head." I really love this hat and enjoy wearing it with my dress from Miss Carlyfornia as well as any other Gothic Lolitaesque outfits I wear. Here's some pictures of my hat:

Front and side views

And on my Gothic Lolita Teddy

I love all of Miss Carlyfornia's work, but I have to say her cake hats are one of my favorites. I'd been wanting to buy one ever since I first saw them, but never had the chance to get one as they tend to sell very quickly. I was very lucky to get this one as it was the last one she had available at the con I got it from. One of my favorite cake hats that I've seen by Miss Carlyfornia was a larger top hat that was completely frosted like a cake with little swirls of whipped cream topped by cherries on the top. If cake hats are your thing, then I'd highly recommend getting one from Miss Carlyfornia if you can.

Miss Carlyfornia can be found both on Twitter and on Facebook. All pictures are by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.

Loliable Hairstyles: No Bangs

 Please be warned that this post has quite a few images in it. If you have a slow internet connection I suggest you stop the page loading once you can see the text, then loading the pictures individually as you come to them.

 Recently I decided to cut my hair so that I have long bangs that frame my face, but before I did this I was still able to do cute loliable hairstyles with my long hair. Most of the time I'd wear my hair loose, but I came up with a few pretty and creative hairstyles that are easy to do. I've decided to post tutorials of a few of these for those with long, bang-less hair to follow if they choose. My hair curls naturally when I let it air dry, so if your hair doesn't then you might want to curl your hair before styling it or once you finish the look. Even if your hair does curl naturally you can always give your curls a little boost! On to the tutorials!

Simple Clipped

This first style is by far the simplest. Begin by sectioning off a small piece of hair from in front of both of your ears (See image below). 

 

Take both of these strands and pull them around to the back of your head and clip them into place (See image below). Alternatively, you can braid the two sections together and fasten them with a hair elastic.

 Liz Thompson Hairstyle

This hairstyle is based off of that  Liz Thompson's from Soul Eater. I like this style because it gives you the same look as loose hair, but it keeps it out of your face. If you are wearing this style for a Lolita look, you can curl it and add hair accessories. If you are cosplaying Liz Thompson, straighten your hair either with a straight iron or by another method then put your hat on after you finish the style. Start by sectioning off two sections at the front of your hair like in the Simple Clipped style. From here, take each section and tuck it behind your ear (see image below). To make sure it stays in place, you can also criss-cross a couple bobby pins over the strand behind the ear.

Pull the remainder of your hair forward to cover your ears (see image below).

Mini Twist
 I got this idea from one of my friends who showed it to me when I bought a pretty flower clip from her. Start by parting your hair on the side. I chose to do a part on the right side of my head (see image below).

Now, section off a small piece of hair from the side of your part with more hair on it (this would be the left side for me)(see image below).

Next, take this piece of hair and make a small loop in it that rests just above your temple (see image below).

Finally, clip or pin it in place with a decorative pin on hair clip (see image below). It can be a little difficult getting the loop to stay, but you can always criss-cross a few bobby pins over the top and base of the loop before adding your hair clip.

 Faked Bangs Ponytail
 For this hairstyle we will be using sections of our hair to imitate long parted bangs. Begin by coming a section of your hair forward, like you would if you were cutting your own bangs. I already have bangs, so I pulled more of my hair forward than someone without bangs would need to. Take the rest of your hair and pull it back into a low ponytail, but don't put a hair tie on. (See image below.)

For the next step, twist the ponytail and flip it over your head. Clip it in place. I find it works best to clip it at the point where you would position a high ponytail (see image below). I used two smaller clips for this tutorial, but you can also do this with a larger clip. Flatter clips work better than rounder ones. For more stability, you can instead use criss-crossed bobby pins (pin smaller sections of hair instead of trying to pin it all at once). I find this to be more comfortable and longer lasting than using a clip if I'm going to be wearing this hairstyle all day.

Flip the ponytail to the back of your head and position the hair so that the clips or pins are covered (see image below). Your hair will be shorter than usual pulled up this way, so you may want to adjust it slightly. If you want your hair to be longer, take out the clips and then adjust the height of the ponytail. Don't pull it up as high as a high ponytail would go though as this is where you will be clipping the hair. Instead, position the ponytail at least two finger's width (or the width of your clip) down from where you will be clipping or pinning the hair up. I recommend clipping the hair in place instead of pinning it the first time you do this style so you can make adjustments more easily. This way you won't have to take out and put in a ton of bobby pins three or four times before you are satisfied with the length of the ponytail.

For the next step, we will be teasing the undersides of your "bangs" to make them stand up a bit. Alternatively you can use a curling iron or heated curlers to give your "bangs" more volume. Pull the "bangs" up individually and gently tease the bottom four or so inches nearest to your hairline. Fix with hairspray. The finished style should look similar to the image below. If any of the steps are confusing, please leave me a comment below and I will try to clear it up.

If you have any questions or comments about the tutorials, please comment below. I will only be able to do hair tutorials for girls with long hair, but there are many very nice tutorials available on YouTube. Some of my favorites are some of Venus Angelic's more recent ones after she cut her hair. All images are taken by me and are of me. If you wish to use any of my images please receive permission from me first and do not alter them in any way. The fan in the images is one I made myself. Tutorial for it will be coming later on.

Lolita on a Budget: Bodyline Clothing

 Not too long ago, I discovered a very nice, inexpensive online store to buy Lolita from. Bodyline has many different types of dresses, most for under $100, along with blouses, shoes, and lots of different accessories. They also sell some cosplay costumes too as well as wigs, making this an excellent place for beginner cosplayers, as well as those on a budget, to buy from. Many girls into Lolita can be found wearing Bodyline clothing such as Living Doll Venus Angelic. She can be seen wearing the Bodyline polka dot dress in her Real Life Anime: Kawaii Cupcakes video that she made a few months back. I have yet to order from bodyline, but I look forward to increasing my Lolita collection with their cute affordable pieces in the future. Look forward to outfits I've assembled using Bodyline clothing that can be purchased for less than the price of a brand name dress!

My new Cloud Cosplay

For those of you who are Final Fantasy VII fans, you will most likely recognize Cloud as the main character in the series. For those of you who aren't Final Fantasy VII fans here is a description of the character:
 Cloud is the main character in the Final Fantasy VII series. He is a former member of SOLDIER, the army in the game, and now works as a mercenary who works about any job. At the beginning of the game Cloud is hired by a rebel group called AVALANCHE that works to undermine a large corporation called Shinra Inc. that is monopolizing all of the power in the world. As the game progresses, Cloud is caught up in a struggle to prevent all of the energy being sucked out of their planet. Cloud's weapon, usually called a buster sword, is a giant sword taller than he is, and he must use it to battle many enemies during his adventure.


For those of you familiar with the series and those of you who have looked up pictures, you are probably expecting an epic soldier-like cosplay. I will admit, it is pretty good, but it's not Cloud's usual outfit. For my Cloud cosplay I chose to do his outfit from Wall Market when he was infiltrating Don Corneo's mansion. For those unfamiliar with the game, at one point fairly early in the game Cloud has to dress up like a girl to get into the mansion of Don Corneo's, the mayor or equivalent in that area, to rescue his childhood friend Tifa and gain information that is crucial to Cloud's quest. Cloud was all for just breaking in, but Aeris, a flower girl he met earlier in the game, suggested that Cloud dress up as a girl so that the two of them could get in and rescue Tifa. Before they could do this though, Cloud has to talk to multiple characters to obtain items such as a dress and a wig to be able to dress up as a convincing girl.


So I've posted some pictures of my outfit at the end of the post so you can see how it turned out. I made all of the outfit except for the boots and that is my real hair, not  a wig. The Cloud face isn't my real face. Finding references for this outfit was a little difficult since the graphics in the game are not the greatest, but I was able to modify and combine patterns that I have to make the dress look the way I wanted it to. I had to come up with a pattern for the sash and the flared part of the sleeves on this outfit and am very pleased with how they turned out. The puffed sleeves look adorable and the skirt turned out to be just the length I wanted it to be. The sword in the last picture was made by one of my friends out of cardboard and duct tape. Please tell me what you think of my new cosplay!

Cosplay Tips 3

Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is

Cosplaying tip #3: When to Wear What Cosplay

I chose this topic for my cosplaying tips because of one of my friends. In my last cosplay tip I mentioned that I had altered a hoodie for a friend's cosplay. My friend wore that cosplay costume to a convention at the end of summer and got a case of heat prostration because of it. To help avoid this happening to others I chose to write this post as a tip and a warning.

DON'T WEAR COSPLAY COSTUMES WITH SWEATERS OR HEAVY JACKETS DURING SUMMER.

The main exception to this rule is if you plan on being inside an air conditioned building that is NOT overly crowded. Another cosplayer I met who was cosplaying as Death the Kid from Soul Eater at that convention was mostly hanging out in a less crowded part of the convention and highly recommended against doing a photoshoot in the desert in the middle of summer in a Death the Kid cosplay.


Another recommendation I have is to avoid wearing shorts, thin clothing, and other summer weather clothing at conventions taking place during winter or fall. The original shirt I had for my cosplay costume for Liz Thompson from Soul Eater was made from and old pair of stretchy pajama pants. As ingenious as this shirt was, I was freezing cold outside. And it was worse when I wore the same shirt with shorts for my cosplay costume for Patty Thompson, Liz's twin sister from Soul Eater. If you do wear shorts or a short skirt for a cosplay costume during cold weather, I highly recommend you wear pink or tan tights, depending on your skin tone. Not nylons, tights. Tights tend to be thicker than regular nylons and I frequently wear a pair of footless or convertible tights under my jeans when it's cold outside. They work very well for insulation without being too thick or bulky. One of my dance teachers used to take her old tights and convert them into a shirt by cutting off the feet and cutting a hole in the crotch for her head to go through. If you do this, I recommend using clear nail polish on the edges to avoid runs in the tights.

My New Bloomers

This past week I finally had the time to sew a new pair of bloomers. I used the same pattern as for the bloomers I made for my senior project, but I lengthened the legs a bit so that they come down a bit farther. I used the same lace and purple ribbon that I used for my other bloomers since I had some left over from my senior project. I had to take out several seams as I figured out how to make the longer legs properly, but it wasn't very hard for me to figure out how I should sew the legs properly. My bloomers turned out wonderfully! They come down to just above my knees and poof out nicely. Here is a picture:

Cosplay Tips 2

First of all, I would like to apologize for the long intermission between postings. I unfortunately had school take over my life, but now I am back with more posts. Enjoy!

Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is

Cosplaying tip #2: Make your own Cosplay- Choosing Materials

  Many people buy pre-made cosplay costumes, simply just to have a cosplay costume. I, being a bit of a cheapskate or broke most of the time, choose to make my own cosplay costumes. Another reason I make my own cosplay costumes is: quality. I see lots of cosplay costumes that use cheap fabrics that are poorly made selling for horrendous amounts of money. This has always bugged me because when I cosplay I always try to make my costumes look like real clothing, not just a costume.

 When shopping for clothing to use for cosplaying, I look for clothes that I can wear normally too. I also raid my closets to find clothes that I can use for cosplaying. One example of this is my current cosplay costume for Misa Amane from Death Note. A while back I had bought a strapless black dress at Love Culture that I recently realized I could use for a Misa cosplay. I paired it with a black camisole that I pinned underneath to give the impression of a strapped dress and some black lace gauntlets to make an adorable Misa Amane cosplay costume. Since I didn't have a necklace that looked like the one Misa usually wears, I just tied a black ribbon around my neck like a choker and wore my dog tags instead. And in place of black lace stockings I wore black tights. Also, last time I bought a pair of jeans I bought them with cosplay in mind. I bought a style that I could wear on normal days as well as for my cosplay costume for Liz Thompson from Soul Eater.

 I admit there are many cosplay costumes that can be pulled off with normal clothes, but many, like Sailor Moon, require out-of-the-ordinary pieces. Not many people walk around in a white leotard with a blue mini skirt on a daily basis. For costumes like this that have to be made, I highly recommend making your own costume or buying a costume made with real fabrics, like cotton or linen, as opposed to costume fabrics. Many costumes are made out of low-quality fabrics that are meant only for costumes. These fabrics not only look bad, but they don't hold up nearly as well as other fabrics. I admit for some cosplays it doesn't matter because the outfit the character is wearing is a costume, but many anime and manga characters wear their outfits all the time. So, let me ask you: Do you wear cheaply made clothing that looks like a costume on a daily basis? For many of you, the answer is most likely no. This is why I choose to use real clothing for my cosplay costumes. Also, real clothing and costumes made out of better fabrics hold up better than most costumes.

There are some cosplay costume parts that look like regular clothing with an anime twist. Instead of killing yourself trying to make the whole costume piece, use as much of an article of clothing as you can. An example of this is the jacket for a cosplay of the character Soul from Soul Eater that I revamped for a friend's cosplay. I started with a black hoodie that my friend had. I removed the seams attaching the sleeves of the hoodie to the body, used them as a pattern to cut out new, yellow sleeves, then attached the new sleeves I had made to the hoodie. I then cut out the shape that Soul has on his jacket's front and back and sewed them on to the hoodie. Granted I did this all the night before and on the drive down to the convention my friend wore it to, so it didn't look perfect. However, my friend was recognizable as Soul, which was good enough for me.

I apologize for the length of the post, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Lolita in Anime

Lolita is rather frequent in anime and manga along with cute maid and other cosplay outfits. One of my favorite animes/mangas, Monster Princess/Princess Resurrection has multiple characters who wear Lolita all the time. This anime was actually one of my first introductions to the Gothic Lolita style. I automatically fell in love with the outfit worn by the main characters master, Hime, and have wanted to cosplay her ever since I first watched it. Even now I still love how her skirt has multiple ruffled layers. My lovely Gothic Lolita Pinafore has a similar skirt, but with only two layers instead of three.  Her sister, Sherwood, has an equally pretty outfit with red roses around the waist and an adorable crown that she wears at the top of her ponytail. A cute little cat girl character, named Hiroko, that showed up in the anime only had a different maid outfit in every episode. All of her outfits looked very Lolita-like with lots of frills and lace on them. In the manga, another one of Hime's sisters had a white Lolita outfit similar in style to Hime's, but without the tiered skirt. I, unfortunately, can never remember her name, most likely because she isn't seen very often in the manga and does not appear in the anime. It's unfortunate that my favorite character in the Monster Princess anime, Hiroko, doesn't appear in the manga and that, likewise, my favorite character in the manga, Hime's other sister, isn't in the anime. Some of the main things I dislike about the Monster Princess anime are that it is a completed series and that it did't go into the story in the manga very deeply. It is still an enjoyable anime despite that. Also, it's less bloody that the manga, making it a lighter story without as much death in it. In one particular story, there was a monster that controlled people's body's and sucked the life out of people. The main difference between the manga and the anime was that in the manga, anyone that had the monster control them died, whereas in the anime they were still alive, but only just. I like the anime better in some ways, but I also like the manga because there are more stories in it. Both are definitely on my favorites list though.

Cosplay Tips 1: Updated!

Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is


Cosplaying tip #1: Wigs and Hair
One thing that I find difficult about cosplaying is the hair. Many Anime characters have gravity defying hair or hair that is an unnatural color. Thanks to wigs, the task of looking like you have 6 inch purple spiked hair is made much easier. However, good wigs tend to be expensive, and not everyone has the time to style wigs or the money to buy a wigs styled like their favorite anime character. So my main solution is: choose a character that has hair similar to your own. For example, I have long blond hair. This is a fairly popular combination in anime and it gives me some versatility.  Some of the characters I've cosplayed in the past were Patty and Liz Thomas and Maka Albairn from Soul Eater along with Chi from Chobits. It's true, my hair wasn't perfect, but it was enough to get the point across

Wig allow a lot more versatility, but also have a lot of their own problems. For one thing, the fibers most wigs are made out of behave differently from real hair. This can have it's advantages, namely when you style the wig, it stays styled, unlike real hair. However, this also means that wigs behave differently from real hair. I found a really nice book about 'wig crafting' recently that has lots of different suggestions for how to style wigs. It's called "World of Wigcraft" by Katie Bair. I haven't had the opportunity to try out anything from it yet, but it was very informative and I hope to use some of the tips in the future. If you are interested in making your own wigs, I would highly recommend you buy "World of Wigcraft." Some of the things that I found the most helpful were using hot water to style the wigs instead of a curler of straightener so as to not melt the fibers and not treating wigs like real hair since they aren't attached to a scalp like real hair and lay differently.

 Update:
I've noticed one of the main struggles with wigs, especially long ones, is that they tangle fairly easily. One could just try combing the wig out to get the worst of the tangles out, but this isn't always the best choice. If you've got a wig that's super tangled or just really messy the best choice is to wash the wig. Here's what you'll need:
-A tub, I just used my bath tub, but you can use a sink or plastic tub if you have a shorter wig
-Shampoo, I'd recomend using a less expensive shampoo for this since you'll likely be using a lot
-Wide tooth comb, I used a plastic shower comb for this

 Start by filling the tub up to a few inches deep so you have enough water to submerge the wig in.  Get the wig thoroughly wet, both the outside and the inside of the wig. Pull the wig out of the water and apply some shampoo to the ends of the fibers on one section of the wig. work it through the fibers and then use a comb to gently work the tangles to the ends of the fibers. Always work from the bottom to the top of the wig to avoid pulling out as many fibers as possible. If the fibers start feeling less wet, dunk them in the water again and reapply the shampoo. It's easiest to work on a small section at a time instead of the whole wig. I did one side in sections until it was mostly tangle free, then switched sides of the wig. Once you finish with the outside of the wig, flip it inside out and work on the inside fibers the same way as for the outside ones. Afterwords, turn the wig right side out again and fix the outside fibers if needed. This process can take anywhere from half an hour to several hours depending on the length of the wig and the severity of the tangles, so be patient. You don't want to get impatient and tear out too many wig fibers when you do this. Once the wig's detangled, wash all of the shampoo out and gently pat off excess water with a towel. The wig can take several days to dry, so make sure to put it somewhere where it can hang freely and let it air dry. Make sure the wig is 100% dry before storing it.

I used a straight wig for this, so I don't know how this method would work on a wig with curls. If your wig has curls, make sure to use cold or lukewarm water as hot water can make the wig fiber change shape. This should ensure that the curls will stay better intact on your wig.

Hello to All

In this blog I intend to talk mainly on the subjects of Anime and the Lolita style, along with cosplay, sewing, dolls, and anything else relevant that catches my fancy. I plan to put up pictures of my Lolita and Anime related clothing, as well as tips and suggestions for making or putting together your own cosplays and Lolita outfits. Please enjoy reading this blog as well as commenting. Thank you all.