Kakyo Kuzuki Photo Gallery

Kakyo Kuzuki from X/1999 was my first serious foray into men's kimono.  It was an adventure.  Men's kimono are much more difficult to make that women's and must also be made to size (unlike women's kimono, which are tucked up at the waist).

Starting from the inner working of the cosplay, I am wearing a juban (underkimono) that I purchased from a used kimono seller.  The white kimono is made of silk I imported from Japan and is actually cream because, as you know, the Japanese associate white with death and therefore do not often sell bolts of white kimono fabric.  White would, however, be suitable for Kakyo because he's in a a permanent coma and wishes to end his own life, even though that is impossible given his physical state.

The translucent haori (or possibly kimono) is made of the lightest cotton fabric I could find that had the right weight for making kimono.  Organza would have achieved the desired visual effect as far as the patterning went, but it wouldn't flow properly.  I painted the design by hand using Jacquard fabric paints.

The cosplay was finished in November 2012.  Unfortunately I have never had a chance to debut it at a convention.

Kakyo would never smile like this.  Nevertheless I really liked this shot.  I'll explain why further down the page.

At some point I thought Kakyo deserved some happiness.  This photo and the previous one are 'what-if' scenarios...perhaps Kakyo finally went to the beach with his beloved Hokuto!

Fai Fluorite Photo Gallery

Fai Fluorite is, to date, the cosplay that took me the longest amount of time to complete.  He was supposed to be my first cosplay back in...2008 I think, but I didn't have the skill back then.  This current incarnation began life in 2010 or so and I finally finished it up in January 2012, just in time to debut at Arisia 2012!  Two years in the making, phew!

At some point I'll write some real blog posts about this, as I do have tons of photos.  Yes.  Sometime.  There's way too much to write right here.

I will say that, yes, the entire coat is appliqued.  Overall there are probably over sixty pieces, but I lost count at some point.  I achieved the gradient effect using watered down Jacquard fabric paint.  The "brass" findings are in fact paper clay.  I never made the staff.  After all the work I put into the cloak, it was just too much and I couldn't store it anyway.

Sakura Kinomoto Photo Gallery

Sakura Kinomoto was almost completely unplanned.  I had two options for Saturday night at Anime Boston 2013: compete in the masquerade, or go to the formal ball.  I did not get accepted into the masq for unknown reasons.  So I had to scramble to find a suitable cosplay for the formal ball.  Sakura was the victim!  I loosely based my cosplay on this promo image from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle:

The base of this cosplay was a poufy belle dress that I purchased from Aurora's Boutique in Troy, New York.  I have two such dresses now.  Yes, I have a problem.

The cloak is made from scrap taffeta that I meant to make into a petticoat for a Victorian dress but never got around to.  I painted it with an amalgamation of Sakura's memory feather design and the Tsubasa wing symbol.  The hairpin is made of paper clay and the staff is made out of mat board.  Nothing fancy, but I had to finish it all in only a few weeks!

Completed May 2013

Associated blog posts:
An Unexpected Cosplay
Final Stages

Jushiro Ukitake (Shino Academy) Photo Gallery

This was actually my second full cosplay of Jushiro Ukitake and it broke a long dry spell where I had not completed a crossplay in over a year.  I've long decided crossplay does not work well on me.  Too bad, but true.

I kept this cosplay as close to authentic Japanese kendo garb as possible, but inevitably differences within the Bleach series artwork forced me to deviate slightly.  The hakama, for instance, ties in a bow in the front instead of with the elegant traditional knot.

The parts of this cosplay are relatively simple.  It consists of a nagajuban (underkimono), hakamashita (kimono) and hakama.  I also wore with it my paulownia men's geta sandals and tabi socks.  My wig is a Hansel in light grey from Arda Wigs.  Oh, and my katana is live steel.  It's decorative, but I bet it could still do some real damage.  Let's just say it won't be making any convention appearances.  I still haven't decided whether or not to finish up Sokyo no Kotowari's shikai release for this cosplay.  That would take so much work...

Okay.  Fabrics.  I couldn't find linen in the right shade of navy blue, so that was a custom dye job.  I mixed two kinds of RIT dye: navy blue and another colour that I can't remember.  The white hakamanishita is made of cotton shirting with an inconspicuous stripe pattern woven into it.  The mon (crests) on the front of the hakamashita, as well as the stripes on the sleeves, were painted by hand using Jacquard fabric paint.

The cosplay you see here was completed in August 2013.

Associated blog posts:
The Cut of Shino Academy Uniforms
Uniform Completion and Sword Construction