Posted by LauraOrganaSolo on 07-18-2008 - 01:39 PM
Wafuku Suiseiseki is complete.
I was inspired to create this costume when I saw an antique shibori (notably fancy dying and weaving technique) furisode (ornate kimono for young unmarried women) for sale that I instantly associated with Suiseiseki.
Even if we only see Suiseiseki in two outfits, I think it's fair to imagine some owner at some time might have dressed her up in a kimono. Maybe while Shinku was in Victorian England, Suiseiseki had a Taishou or Meiji era owner who took her to a matsuri or something. ¬_____¬
Either way, I've seen plenty of people dress up in interesting variations of characters' usual costumes, so hopefully this won't go over too well once I wear it with everything together.
A few people condemned this costume when they saw it since I've been assembling various Japanese components and not sewing it myself but I've seen so many cosplayers with very poorly-executed kimono (and hakama), I've just elected to buy actual Japanese ones, because my husband and I have been cosplaying a lot for Legend of the Five Rings tournaments. And believe it or not, it doesn't cost a zillion dollars like you'd expect it would as long as you buy them from the right people.
So besides the furisode, I have a black fukuro obi but I haven't decided what kind of musubi to go with. Because of my husband's handy skill with knots, he's been doing taiko musubi for me on the nagoya obi I wear with my L5R costume, but he's not going to be at Otakon. :- / So I have to learn how to do this again and fast. :B
And of course, under the kimono, I have a naga-juban to wear. It would probably be more comfortable to wear an eri-sugata (fake collar) but I don't want to sweat all over the inside of my kimono. So I'm going to sweat all over my naga-juban instead. :x
In addition to the main kimono components, I have tabi and my staple sandals to wear, and of course I'll also be wearing my Suiseiseki wig, kerchief, and contact lenses.
I was inspired to create this costume when I saw an antique shibori (notably fancy dying and weaving technique) furisode (ornate kimono for young unmarried women) for sale that I instantly associated with Suiseiseki.
Even if we only see Suiseiseki in two outfits, I think it's fair to imagine some owner at some time might have dressed her up in a kimono. Maybe while Shinku was in Victorian England, Suiseiseki had a Taishou or Meiji era owner who took her to a matsuri or something. ¬_____¬
Either way, I've seen plenty of people dress up in interesting variations of characters' usual costumes, so hopefully this won't go over too well once I wear it with everything together.
A few people condemned this costume when they saw it since I've been assembling various Japanese components and not sewing it myself but I've seen so many cosplayers with very poorly-executed kimono (and hakama), I've just elected to buy actual Japanese ones, because my husband and I have been cosplaying a lot for Legend of the Five Rings tournaments. And believe it or not, it doesn't cost a zillion dollars like you'd expect it would as long as you buy them from the right people.
So besides the furisode, I have a black fukuro obi but I haven't decided what kind of musubi to go with. Because of my husband's handy skill with knots, he's been doing taiko musubi for me on the nagoya obi I wear with my L5R costume, but he's not going to be at Otakon. :- / So I have to learn how to do this again and fast. :B
And of course, under the kimono, I have a naga-juban to wear. It would probably be more comfortable to wear an eri-sugata (fake collar) but I don't want to sweat all over the inside of my kimono. So I'm going to sweat all over my naga-juban instead. :x
In addition to the main kimono components, I have tabi and my staple sandals to wear, and of course I'll also be wearing my Suiseiseki wig, kerchief, and contact lenses.
United States