Katrina and Spike

Many of you may know my all time favourite anime is Cowboy bebop, I just can't get enough of it. Its smooth style quirky characters with interesting back grounds and the super cool American blues soundtrack really give it an edge, its a cut above other animes.

This year I was planning to finally done the PVC hot-pants to cosplay as Faye Valentine, I'd lost over a stone at the end of the summer and was going to the gym regularly enough to regain my old flat stomach and was brave enough to agree to the skimpy outfit . . . but have now had a change of plan! We decided to start a family and no one will get to see that tiny tummy of mine as by the time the convention comes around ill be only 2 weeks from my due date lol
Instead I've got a purple dress to cosplay as an extra from the first episode of Cowboy Bebop, Asteroid Blues. Her name is Katrina and she is the GF of a drug smuggler with a bounty on his head, I'd always loved her busty dress and swarthy Mediterranean look. She has some chemistry with Spike, but sadly her sob story doesn't have a very happy ending!
I wanted to make a suit for Dave to be Spike but with Katrina he wears a poncho and sombrero for half the epsiode so I can miss off the complicated suit jacket. It should be easy enough to make trousers and source the accessories.

Ponyo's Prequel

I haven't worked on it recently but now I have booked the convention I am bringing out all the costumes that have been on hold. Its a relativity new anime but the famous master Miyazaki's newer movie "Ponyo on the cliffs by the sea" has had a massive fan following since its realise in 2008.

I have a nearly finished "Ponyos Mother" costume, she is a stunning sea goddess with long red hair who can change her shape and size, wearing various versions of her pale blue dress. The biggest challenge is pinning down what she actually wears! Interpretation is a key factor in my cosplays and gives me some originality. I already have a dress that will fit my bump but I still need to add some long sleeves and buy a nice long wig. Her hair is mega long and bright red - there is no way I would dye mine like that, hair like mine doesn't get that long without lots of care and attention! I have made some jewellery, a necklace and tiara similar to those worn by the mysterious and serene sea goddess.

Finance allowing Dave can match me as Ponyo's father. He is not too keen so it and has others he would prefer so its on the side lines at the moment. He already has a white jacket I can modify, I only need to add stripes, buy a wig and cravat for David to wear, and we are done. Neither are particularly challenging and its a pair of costumes that can be used for years to come with the little ones in tow. Imagine a baby Ponyo in a cute onsie and a toddler dressed as Sosuke with a bucket - it would be adorable ^_^

Kaylee

I have now finished my fabulous Kaylee costume!

I am very please with the distressing and ageing, it took a while to get the oil stains right. My husband dryly commented "why don't you just use engine oil?" Well that might have been a good idea but by then I had spent a long time mixing wd40, vegetable oil and dye to try and make it greasy and permanent, so I had to see it through to the end.
A lot of fine detail has gone into this costume, I hand stitched the patches with embroiders thread and put dirty wear marks on the pockets and high use areas, ie knees and bum :) I have seen several other bear overall cosplays but modest though I am mine is by far the best! There are 2 things I am not 100% happy about but they barely shadow how please I am with the overall result : D

I also made a little bag from some left over materials, its not that large but just big enough to hold my purse, phone, keys and con badge etc.

I hope you enjoy the photos taken by my good friend Mr Abe, he came down especially before I get too big to fit in them any more! I am thinking I might still wear this costume over the summer, I could just leave the top half of overalls around my waist but that would only be funny with my baby daddy dressed as Simon to tag along. Lets see if we can convince him!

I have had a particularly trying few months representing myself in a difficult court case has been on going since September. I am recently un-employed and suing my old company, they owe me a lot of money and left me in a right state. Unfortunately this takes up all my free time so I haven't had much chance to look for a new job let alone get any sewing done!

I had a break from the paper work over Christmas so was able to concentrate on enjoying myself, I have made some head way on a few costumes and looking forward to the year ahead. I had to make some changes to any planned costumes have chucked 2 out completely and now have another brand new one on the cards. Its necessary as I have some good news and am expecting a baby in the summer, Faye Valentine yellow PVC hotpants are definitely out the window lol

I have finished Kaylees overalls and will post some photos but am disappointed I wont be able to wear them for a good while. I have toyed with the idea of wearing with a belt and hanging the top half behind me like some mechanics do, to free my (what will be by then) large baby bump but I would have to have Dave dressed Simon as my "Baby Daddy" for it to be funny :)

Also I have nearly finished a new costume of Ponyos Mother. She is a stunning sea goddess with long red hair who can change her shape and size, shes mysterious wise and serene. I already made a long blue dress for a summer ball when I was at college and it is stretchy enough for bumb so I can wear that. I have made some jewellery and still need to add some long sleeves. If Dave will let me I can dress him as Ponyos father the human wizard and we can be a prequel pair :)

Alcon 2010??

Oh my frickin' gosh! *screams* ahem >_> so yeah I have just registered to a rubbish convention . . . at the last minute . . . its in 4 days time . . . argghh!

I was looking forward to going to Amecon this year but my husband was away and none of my friends wanted to go, instead they want to return to the rubbish con we attended last year. In a huff I refused to register but I haven't been to any conventions so far and feeling left out I took a little look at the website. After seeing they had spaces left I thought I'd give Anime League a second chance, although having tickets left just proves my point (!) at the very least my costumes will get an airing.

The "argh" was for the work I have ahead of me; I haven't finished 3 costumes - Priss, Saint Tail and Ponyos Mother - have lain untouched for a the last few months (I was sulking) but I'm not very good at sulking (I'm sure I was supposed to pout?) and nobody actually noticed. *sigh* So now I have to finish 3 costumes in 4 days, which means accepting first attempt stitching, accessory compromises, late nights and second rate results : (

I have 3 finished costumes - Motoko, generic maid and Sailor Mars - but I've certainly learnt my lesson: don't sulk over cosplay, you only hurt yourself.

Major Motoko Kusangei

Ghost in a Shell is a legendary media shaping anime collection that I have always admired. I have also put together a Togusa costume for my husband, who is hardly a major character but unfortunately he is just no where near the right build for the majors lieutenant, Batou.

Which means I get to be the cyborg anti-terrorist hottie: The Major : D This costume is half store bought and although only took about 12 hours to finish it took me 4 months to complete, I always get excited and start new costumes before the previous one is finished! This year I had 6 costumes to do so I made and finished them all bit by bit lol In total this one cost £65 to put together, and although it was a challenge I'm happy with the overall effect.


To start with I bought some jeans and a wig worked from there, I love Ghost in a Shell so it was easy to get excited about it :) I made a jacket from Pleather using copied design, I tried 3 different types of material before I was happy, and boy it is not easy to work with! I also spent a long time getting the leotard right and this is the only thing I was un-satisfied with on this cosplay. Take a look at the gallery, thanks to Cosplay Portrait for the photos and the how too on the jacket and leotard can be found here.

Comments are greatly appreciated, let me know what you think!

Priscilla S. "Priss" Asagiri

Priss is the leader of the Knight Sabres in anime series Bubblegum Crisis 2040. She leads the heavy assault and is a kick ass chick with a bad attitude. Although Nene is more like myself Priss is the coolest - who wouldn't love a chance to be a rock star biker vigilante??

For the costume I used a UPVC jacket bought from a charity shop years ago, I modified it beyond recognition and added the extra pieces bit by bit. I bought a leather gladiator belt and corset but they were too much to wear together so I added my own belt buckles as details onto the corset. The trousers are my own bike trousers and with homemade from scratch/junk modelling knee pads, which in the end I chucked into the bin. The necklace I also made myself from scratch with beads and modelling clay :)

This costume was mostly bought so easy on the labour and cost £40 to put together - a lot of EBay bargins :) I haven't had chance for some decent photos or a shoot yet but when I do ill post them to the gallery. I hope that my friend David will let me pose on his beloved Kawasaki Ninja, its a very handsome bike, its big, red and perfect for this cosplay!

Meimi Haneoka / Saint Tail

Saint Tail is a generic magical girl show -even though she doesn't actually do any magic. This anime is very cutesy and a bit twee, the cheesy anime holds 2 things for me - a top hat and a hedgehog. Of course for Mr Toffees sake I had to do it! Its a relativity un-known anime and I doubted many people would recognise me at conventions and the like but I felt I should do it.

It was a fun enough costume and most of it was bought but I did make from scratch the skirt which had 3D "tails" in the back. They folded down for sitting and driving etc how cool is that! l made the collar and bows, I also made a little bow for cross dressing "Ruby" which was safety pinned onto a stuffed toy my brother bought me as a gift last year. Its just a shame that Mr Toffee didn't get chance to enjoy this cosplay, he died 2 weeks before the convention : (

Although I left my hair dye at home *doh* and I lost the bow for my hat I LOVE this costume. I am please with the result and although I wasn't recognised (as predicted) I did get quite a few compliments :) Everyone loved little Ruby and defenceless members of Alcon who enquired subsequently got thrust under their noses photos of Mr T from my phone hehe ^_^

I love the petticoat on this cosplay its so full and fluffy - bought for £12 from America and is meant for little girls beauty pageants lol I also went for velvet and not satin as the fabric, as others have done and overall I am pleased with the result :)

Rei Hino / Salior Mars

The legend that is sailor moon! I initially got into this cosplay as joint project with a friend of mine, I would be Mars and she Jupiter but we are not gong to any conventions together this year and as far as I am aware she hasn't even started hers yet!

I had a hard time making a leotard so in the end I had to buy a custom one from a cosplay company in china, which was very disappointing as every other piece of this costume was hand made by me. It is so far the most accurate and well made costume this year, and I am very happy with it. With my hour glass figure I'm quite aware of these skimpy costumes and I did feel a little exposed but once at the convention among other cosplayers I didn't feel at all daft :)


I made the collar and bows de-tachable so I can interchange different Sailor Sensei and despite the defeat on the leotard I'm still very proud. It took a lot of work to get this difficult costume up to scratch and is probably the most challenging one to date, (probably because I was being so anal with the stitching) it was literally made with blood sweat and tears sewn into the hems! Despite being only 5"3 tall with short legs to match I love being Sailor Mars, its not often I get to be so dainty and delicate :)

It took 36 hours (yes I know 36!!) over 6 months to finish, and I'm glad it is finally done, literally my blood sweat and tears went into this costume.

And the hard work paid off, I won 3rd place in the copslay championships at Alcon 2010 in Leicester this year so am dead chuffed! I got 34 out of 40 and felt on top of the world, woop woop!

Cosplay WIP

Sad news on the costume front, my Nanoha brown suit refused to lighten so instead of a tan suit with brown lapels I've still got an all brown suit >_< I'm very disappointed as its one of my favourite animes but hopefully I will still get a 2nd chance although not intill the other WIP costumes are finished.

I've also decided to do a pretty random Cosplay for fun - Saint Tail. Even though I doubt anyone knows about it or would ever recognise me, its an old magical girl anime and nothing much special, but the character is cool (a magician cat thief vigilante that steals back stolen goods, just like Robin Hood) and she has a magical pet hedgehog so it has to be done : )

The other costumes - Major Kusanagei and Priss from Bubble gum crisis 2040 are both half done, I'll do individual posts once I've finished them in the coming weeks :) Also if you interested to know Sailor Mars is very nearly complete, I've been making it practically from scratch! the main dress is done and I just have to finish some of the trims and accessories before posting photos online : )

Aayla Secura

I love Star Wars almost as much as I love costumes, so its obvious to say that the two have crossed paths on more than one occasion. In the past few years gathered together a Leia & Han costumes for myself and my husband a few new years back, I have several light sabres, a Padame jumpsuit and also as a particular feature in this blog; my favourite ever Jedi: Aayla Secura.

Now bear in mind I had only 2 days in which to make this costume, and as I dislike wearing full body paint (for those of you who don't know, Aayla is blue skinned) especially in a night club so there is a little poetic licence and imagination needed here.

I had trouble finding decent reference pictures but it is an acceptable likeness, unlike the other costumes I listed above I was actually correctly recognised whilst wearing this costume. This was in a night club not at a convention . . . !

I like the belt best, I also added a handbag; attached to the belt like a pouch to carry my camera, coin purse, mobile and other essentials. And I am particularly proud of my stuffed tights brain tails : D The later unfortunately didn't last all night, the ribbons kept slipping down and I don't know if you have ever tried to mosh with a head piece on but its not easy!

Cosplay plans 2010

I have made some definite decisions regarding this years anime conventions. We are going to Amecon in Newcastle on Lyne and The London Movie and Comic con. I also fancy a look in at the London Expo : ) We might tag along at Alcon again this year if our friends are going anyway - ut David isn't keen.

My costume buddy Laila has picked about 8 quite similar but also very tricky costumes, she is very ambitious so I have decided to stick with some simpler but more thorough costumes. I do like to accurate ; )The final cast list is as follows:

Nanoha Strikers bureau uniform - I've already started modifying a suit and sourcing accessories.
Major Motoko Kusanagei from Ghost in a Shell SAC series - custom jacket and sourced clothes.
Sen/Chihrio and No Face from Spirited away - Ill make both of these from scratch.
Sailor Mars - also from scratch to be partnered with Lailas Jupiter.
Daisy Mario and Donkey Kong - The former will be from scratch and the latter hired from the costume shop.

I'll make posts for them all once they are complete : ) And hopefully this time around I'll get some decent photos to accurately portray my hard work : )

Alcon 2009

I'm happy to say that the wardrobe for Alcon went without a hitch! My dresses all looked fantastic, including Arieths dress and David looked swish and cool all weekend : ) It was a good weekend with friends although I think I will stick to the bigger conventions in the future. Check out my blog for a full review and a few photos of us at the weekend, enjoy : )

Aerith's summer dress

I took the for-action of ordering Mcalls pattern M-5094 for Aeriths dress. Its Panelled so is not 100% perfect but pretty spot on : ) I'll leave out on the panels to keep the skirt straight and sew buttons on the front. When I cut the pieces for this pattern I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew and was disheartened, I couldn't sew it without help. When my mother in law took her sewing machine back I tried to find a tailor who could take the job from me.

The only one who was interested in "having a look" said he didn't have time to make it before the convention but I was welcome to use his extra machine if I had the free time. I explained I was a rookie and the pattern was too complicated and he said he would help me, I was sceptical but after 8 hours solid work I was so happy with the result. It came together beautifully and although the dress is not 100% correct from the game, its a beautifully made lined summer dress!


I have sewn white pearly buttons from just under the bust and Laila has found these fabulous boots. I also had a play with some polyma clay and modified some bangles for her, I still have to paint the plastic bits but I am very happy with the result. She also needed help with Squalls costume so I have bought and modified some belts that I am also very chuffed with, I hope Alex (Squall) will like them as much as I do : )

Tifa Lockheart

I quickly compiled the items I needed for my Tifa costume and I am very glad it came together so easily! I had some items already including; a white ribbed tank top, socks, boots and gloves. One essential piece was this brilliant leather skirt on I bought on ebay. Although it will be a bit longer than "offical Tifa" with its very high waist the tank top - rather than the authentic crop top - will look better. The only problem was the braces pulled the skirt even higher! so next time I'll buy a skirt that is not so high on the waist as well as changing the elastic on the elbow pad to brown to make it more accurate. Over all I think it went very well : )

The braces were the most expensive item at £7 but they are double ones which is spot on so in my view worth the money. I like it when I find perfect accessories ; ) I painted some brass split pins (no silver ones available!) and modified a pvc belt, turning it back to front, I taped the back to avoid snags when wearing.

It took a bit of time to find some Polyma clay, but once I got some I had fun with it! I put some tape on the INSIDE of the gloves and used the 4 air holes as guides for the "studs". I guessed what proportions by going with what looked right to me and rolled out 4 balls. I flattened them with my thumb, baked them following instructions and stuck them on with craft glue, simple! I have 2 knee length socks cut at the toes and worn under the leather gloves to complete Tifas gloves : )

The elbow pad I sprayed silver with a bit of pewter over the top to give it some depth. I also made a small armoured piece with cardboard and clay to attach to my boot, shown on the far right. The gloves looked fantastic and I was very happy with the result : )

I was not overly excited about this costume by itself but I was excited about Arieths dress! Being along side her was great, I was very proud and Laila was happy to be glomped several times : ) We saw a couple of other FF cos-players and some serious guys but mostly was store bought and a few nauturo (boo). Ill definitely stick to the bigger conventions in future.

Alcon

Well folks seems we are all going to Alcon 2009, Aerith and Tifa here we come! I'll post as I go along as I did with my medieval costume back in April, that way you can see the work in progress : )

The costumes mainly consist of the following:
- Aerith
Red denim cropped jacket
Pink button down summer dress
Brown boots with white socks
Wicker basket & accessories (Hair tie, thong necklace and bracelets)

-Tifa
White tank top
Black leather skirt
Black 6 clip braces
Brown leather gloves
Custom elbow pad/long black gloves
Brown boots with black socks.
x2 red hair ties.

Budgets for both costumes will be tight but I hope to do Tifa for under £15 and Aerith for under £25, lets see how that goes shall we? I hope you will enjoy following the progress, I love actually getting a chance to put together and make new costumes, and in this case I get to do two! Lets hope I get everything done on time considering it is only a couple of months away.

Cosplay

I really want to go to a video games convention this summer, and wouldn't it be great to go with friends? I don't get to spend half as much time with them as I would like and I miss them all terribly.

After Amecon 2007 I was impressed by the enthusiasm of fans and inspired by the costumes. What surprised me was how many final fantasy cosplayers there were - seriously 50% of cosplayers were characters from games- even though it was an anime convention.

Yuna Tifa and Aerith - Final Fantasy series

So that got me thinking how fabulous Laila would look as Aerith and then I got to thinking up costumes for all my friends ; ) I spend a lot of time designing and putting together costumes so after looking into it for the past few hours it would probably only cost £35 for me to make the girls costumes (of course I had to match Helena up too!) which isn't half bad considering it will be home made. I have even sourced a couple of items already . . . what do you think?

PS If you forgo the bomber jacket, Squall wouldn't be too expensive either . . . Alex would love it ; )

Lolita

There are many bookmarks in my collection, more often than not relating to costumes or fashion. Also more often and not they are thing I admire very much and would like to own.

On of those bookmarks is Elegant Gothic, it is a spectacular website with many Japanese gothic lolita related and inspired fashions. There are some great suits and shirts for gents and a vast collection of dresses. In particular I would love to own one of these blouses, I love the mutton top sleeves, the ties at the back on the waist and the removable cravats.

Maybe there is something a bit new romantic and vamp about it but I think they would be very eye catching with some shiny heels, smart black trousers and formal coat; for a dinner party of some such outing or maybe a trip to the theatre? There are lots of formal options and the simple elegance is something that greatly appeals to me.

I should also mention the many photo views and the vast amount of customisability this websites items have, often with many colour combinations, removable ruffles/fur/lace etc so you can dress up or down depending on your mood. I love a lot of things on here and hope to one day soon buy a coat or dress. (That blouse is a definite!)

Amecon

In august 2007 Dave and I attend Amecon attempted some cosplay. The plan was for Peach and Mario but after some confusion with the rubbish army postmaster holding Daves blue overalls for 5 whole days he did not dress up.

Mario was realitivley easy, I bought the blue overalls from a trade website and a red long sleeve TShirt from Primark. I made some buttons with bright yellow felt coverings to attach to the dungerees. I bought a sticky black tash and a novelty red cap, and viola. I did want to source a baker boy cap and do it myself but failed to find one that was satisfactory, definitely something I will do in the future.

Peach wasn't too hard either. I modified a heavy cotton dress with puff sleeves (badly may I add, they should have been much bigger) and made a very simple over skirt. It did not have a collar more like a square neck line. I wore a ribbon chocker to compensate. I was going for the Mario Bros. original dress also seen in the newer Gamecube/Wii games. I attached ribbons for detail and made accessories of which I was very proud of; they are the bits of the costume. I made a crown from gold card and source earrings for gems, I attached hair slides to fix it to the wig, it was spot on. I painted some paper and fitted it into a small oval cross-stitch frame for the broach, and attached a pin, it was was perfect. I would like to wear this costume again but the blonde wig was itchy and made my complexion rather green! I would definitely wear a petticoat next time too as the skirt was limp and not interesting. I would also finish my other items, the star over shoulder purse for one and maybe a small one up mushroom for luck ; ) I also wouldn't had minded a Perry parasol, just because it looks cool (Despite the fact that Super Princess Peach is an appallingly disastrous game)

There was another peach there on the second day but her dress was stitched badly and loosely, so although my costume was not quite spot on it was definitely better planned and made : )

At the convention we had a great time and it was very interesting and fun, I'd love to do another one but think that Anime is too focused for Dave and I, maybe a gaming convention? Or comics? Who knows. We made a couple of friends but my favourite bit was all the range of costumes, of which you can see some high lights in my FB album.