Posted by mysticdragon3 on 09-17-2009 - 10:10 PM
Back on 7/19/2009, I posted about my Kikyo cosplay:
"This cosplay is actually very hard to walk in, since my tabi keep slipping in my zori, effectively negating most of my feets' effort to walk. That, and my feet just cannot get used to thong sandals. x~x So once I get more costumes, I may limit my Kikyo cosplay to smaller events, like cosplay picnics, rather than full conventions."
Thong sandals *reeeally* do hurt my feet! >~<; I really wanted to stop cosplaying Kikyo after Anime Expo 2009, with it being the 2nd year, of a big con, that required me to walk 2 blocks and cross streets, from the hotel to the convention center. That was it. I had had it with the painful thong sandals, my bulky, shifting quiver, and trying not to tangle my bowstring in my 2 shinidamachuu, every time I walk. Not to mention, there's no way to use the bathroom and keep all my props off dirty surfaces at the same time. ~x~;
But this past Anime Expo (2009), a girl came up to me (while I was cosplaying Kikyo) in the convention halls, so excited, that every year she's attended AX, she's seen my Kikyo cosplay. As if I had become a permanent fixture of her AX nostalgia, and maybe even a small element that embodies/signals all the things about AX that she looks forward to every year. After something that enthusiastic and endearing, I just couldn't shelve my Kikyo cosplay away from AX. Even though AX is the largest convention I cosplay at (unless I start cosplaying for San Diego Comic Con).
So instead of cutting-down the events that I cosplay as Kikyo at, why not cut down the more complex elements in my cosplay?
After attending Nisei Week 2009, and seeing people dancing in the parade, wearing kimono and no sandals---just tabi, I think that may be a way for me to still do Kikyo cosplay at larger conventions. I did some research and discovered something called "jika tabi". They look just like tabi (toed socks), but have built-in soles for direct contact to the streets. I read that jika tabi are actually a 20th century invention, so it may clash with the chronology of Kikyo's character, but they look _just_ _like_ regular tabi. So, no one should notice. If I can just get a hold of a pair of white jika tabi, I won't have to resort to my back-up, white canvas shoes, for my Kikyo cosplay. That would look totally out of place. But hopefully not too noticable on photos taken from far way. If I have to use them, hopefully, I can carry around my sandals, and whip them out for photos.
At Anime Expo 2009, peace-bonding/security told me to unstring my bow, and it was such a revealation, how that one simple change made walking easier in my cosplay. My bowstring didn't tangle in my Shinidamachuu's wire legs, at every step. 0.O! Plus, by bow essentially still looks the same.
Also at this year's AX, I brought along a bag for my personal effects, whereas I usually rely on the secret compartment in my quiver. Using my quiver to carry make-up, wallet, sewing kit, etc., always meant a large quiver. Which tends to shift forward and also make walking difficult. I think I'll make a nice small quiver to replace my original. A quiver with a shoulder strap on each shoulder, connected to opposite ends of the quiver. That way, the whole thing stays balanced and stable on my back, without a strap across my chest (which I had avoided in the first version, to prevent a bad fabric-pinching look on my kimono).
And while I'm at all this, I got the idea to improve my pair of Shinidamachuu as well. It's always taken such a surprisingly long time to pin, harness, tie, and position those little demons in place. Once, 2 Kagome cosplayers saw me gettinng ready in the lady's room mirror and wanted to wait to take a picture of me. But the Shinidamachuu were taking so long to get in place, that they had to give up and leave. (Sorry, guys!!! ;O; ) They've made me late/miss more than one Inuyasha cosplay gathering. ~___~ So I think I'll just chuck the whole compositional balance of my cosplay and have both Shinidamachuu hang from fishingline/wire connected to bracelets. That seems a lot easier than pinning one on my shoulder (without unnaturally pulling my kimono---which is very tricky), and puppeteering the other, THEN trying to get both tails centered on my back. And that's another thing. I'm starting to get annoyed with puppeteering one Shinidamachuu from a ring. It really makes it hard to do things with that hand, especially shop the Exhibit Halls. Which is a sin, at cons. I don't know why I didn't switch to bracelets before. x_x;
So hopefully, I can still cosplay Kikyo, even at big cons. I'll really try for AX, for the sake of that one girl's nostalgia. But at the very least, if it comes down to it, I'll cut down my weapon props and just hang 2 Shinidamachuu from my wrists. Anyway, my hair does this nice free-flowing effect over my shoulders, when I don't have any props there to get in the way. But if I can't get any jika tabi, then the white canvas shoes can't be helped. I'm not spending another uncomfortable con, cursing my cosplay (then missing Inuyasha gatherings because of it). Gambarimasu! ^o^
"This cosplay is actually very hard to walk in, since my tabi keep slipping in my zori, effectively negating most of my feets' effort to walk. That, and my feet just cannot get used to thong sandals. x~x So once I get more costumes, I may limit my Kikyo cosplay to smaller events, like cosplay picnics, rather than full conventions."
Thong sandals *reeeally* do hurt my feet! >~<; I really wanted to stop cosplaying Kikyo after Anime Expo 2009, with it being the 2nd year, of a big con, that required me to walk 2 blocks and cross streets, from the hotel to the convention center. That was it. I had had it with the painful thong sandals, my bulky, shifting quiver, and trying not to tangle my bowstring in my 2 shinidamachuu, every time I walk. Not to mention, there's no way to use the bathroom and keep all my props off dirty surfaces at the same time. ~x~;
But this past Anime Expo (2009), a girl came up to me (while I was cosplaying Kikyo) in the convention halls, so excited, that every year she's attended AX, she's seen my Kikyo cosplay. As if I had become a permanent fixture of her AX nostalgia, and maybe even a small element that embodies/signals all the things about AX that she looks forward to every year. After something that enthusiastic and endearing, I just couldn't shelve my Kikyo cosplay away from AX. Even though AX is the largest convention I cosplay at (unless I start cosplaying for San Diego Comic Con).
So instead of cutting-down the events that I cosplay as Kikyo at, why not cut down the more complex elements in my cosplay?
After attending Nisei Week 2009, and seeing people dancing in the parade, wearing kimono and no sandals---just tabi, I think that may be a way for me to still do Kikyo cosplay at larger conventions. I did some research and discovered something called "jika tabi". They look just like tabi (toed socks), but have built-in soles for direct contact to the streets. I read that jika tabi are actually a 20th century invention, so it may clash with the chronology of Kikyo's character, but they look _just_ _like_ regular tabi. So, no one should notice. If I can just get a hold of a pair of white jika tabi, I won't have to resort to my back-up, white canvas shoes, for my Kikyo cosplay. That would look totally out of place. But hopefully not too noticable on photos taken from far way. If I have to use them, hopefully, I can carry around my sandals, and whip them out for photos.
At Anime Expo 2009, peace-bonding/security told me to unstring my bow, and it was such a revealation, how that one simple change made walking easier in my cosplay. My bowstring didn't tangle in my Shinidamachuu's wire legs, at every step. 0.O! Plus, by bow essentially still looks the same.
Also at this year's AX, I brought along a bag for my personal effects, whereas I usually rely on the secret compartment in my quiver. Using my quiver to carry make-up, wallet, sewing kit, etc., always meant a large quiver. Which tends to shift forward and also make walking difficult. I think I'll make a nice small quiver to replace my original. A quiver with a shoulder strap on each shoulder, connected to opposite ends of the quiver. That way, the whole thing stays balanced and stable on my back, without a strap across my chest (which I had avoided in the first version, to prevent a bad fabric-pinching look on my kimono).
And while I'm at all this, I got the idea to improve my pair of Shinidamachuu as well. It's always taken such a surprisingly long time to pin, harness, tie, and position those little demons in place. Once, 2 Kagome cosplayers saw me gettinng ready in the lady's room mirror and wanted to wait to take a picture of me. But the Shinidamachuu were taking so long to get in place, that they had to give up and leave. (Sorry, guys!!! ;O; ) They've made me late/miss more than one Inuyasha cosplay gathering. ~___~ So I think I'll just chuck the whole compositional balance of my cosplay and have both Shinidamachuu hang from fishingline/wire connected to bracelets. That seems a lot easier than pinning one on my shoulder (without unnaturally pulling my kimono---which is very tricky), and puppeteering the other, THEN trying to get both tails centered on my back. And that's another thing. I'm starting to get annoyed with puppeteering one Shinidamachuu from a ring. It really makes it hard to do things with that hand, especially shop the Exhibit Halls. Which is a sin, at cons. I don't know why I didn't switch to bracelets before. x_x;
So hopefully, I can still cosplay Kikyo, even at big cons. I'll really try for AX, for the sake of that one girl's nostalgia. But at the very least, if it comes down to it, I'll cut down my weapon props and just hang 2 Shinidamachuu from my wrists. Anyway, my hair does this nice free-flowing effect over my shoulders, when I don't have any props there to get in the way. But if I can't get any jika tabi, then the white canvas shoes can't be helped. I'm not spending another uncomfortable con, cursing my cosplay (then missing Inuyasha gatherings because of it). Gambarimasu! ^o^
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