Cosplay!Get : Utena Tenjou

As a cosplayer, one of the best feelings in the world is to get a costume out there that you feel proud of. If you're wearing it and you're having a great time, then you can consider it an outfit well made. Recently I've posted about my in-progress Utena Tenjou cosplay, from Revolutionary Girl Utena.

I'm really proud of this costume; it reflects how far I've come as a cosplayer. Way back when I was making my first messy hand-stitches in 2006, I never really thought I'd ever manage a tailored coat with full props. The coat here was created from a basic women's suit jacket pattern, with each side elongated to form the 'flaps'. The crinoline was rouched and sewn on the inside of the panels in a manner that would not show the stitches on the outside.

All props for my group were created by me; most gems were moulded out of dyed, poured epoxy resin, or sculpted out of clay. It's here where I've found that my talents really lie in prop creation as opposed to sewing. I'm not a good seamstress at all, really, but I love to make all the little (or large!) finicky, shiny things that make a costume pop out in a crowd.

My two fellow cosplayers were good friends of mine, and I was really lucky to be able to stick around them for the entire weekend of Anime North 2010. All in all, a really comfy, really good looking, and really fun costume to wear!

Cosplay: Utena

I really enjoy cosplay. I'm comfortable in the costumes, having my pictures taken, props, everything. But let it be said that sometimes the process isn't the most smooth of ones. There's lots of stops and starts, as well as quite a bit of experimentation -- even when an outfit's done you're still thinking of ways to improve it. Enter Utena. I've been working on this for about a month now, on and off -- probably about 15 hours of work total?

There's still a lot to be done. But have some process pictures!

This coat forms the bulk of the costume proper. What you're seeing here is all the parts just pinned on, therefore, it's still in need of a bunch of tailoring, as well as figuring out the collar bits. But I'm really happy with what's done so far!

Utena's shoes are of the 'tuxedo' sort. Unfortunately, they don't make ones like hers in a tuxedo style if you're on a budget. Since I needed a comfortable alternative, I did kind of a nifty thing. White converse can be bought at any store for around $20. They're basically the same shape as Utena's shoes, so what did I do? Paint them!

These are just a few odds and ends I've been making out of clay and painting. The Resin is currently cooling outside.

And there you have it! A cosplay in process.