Kimono and fox ears- Cosplay from Otome Youkai Zakuro

At Cosvision I realized that Desucon was approaching way too quick and I had two unfinished costumes waiting at home. When I got back to our workshop, I packed one costume away even if I had made more progress with it. However, it was a good call since I had my share of troubles with it in every stage of the construction. I will probably dig it up during summer and finish it for fall conventions.

The second one was a keeper and this past week and a half I have been working my butt off to finish it in time! It doesn’t help that I will be abroad for a week, which means I only have week and a half to actually construct the costume. Gladly summer vacation starts in two days, so I should have plenty of time to get everything done.

The costume I’ve been working on is Zakuro from series Otome Youkai Zakuro. This is the kimono cosplay I mentioned in my previous post. I started the fabric printing the same time I started Kofuku’s skirt, but then went on hiatus because I got carried away with everything else.

Before the hiatus I printed the fabric for the hair ruffles. I used emulsion based fabric color, plastic foil stencils and a sponge. I also added wefts to the base wig and made the skeletons for the ears.

After Cosvision I started to put together the kimono. I used a kimono pattern and really wanted to make the garment as authentic as I could. It proved problematic, since the design on the series has some very interesting details, which alter the look of the kimono and also the construction aspect quite significantly. The hardest part was fitting the two designs together… Actually three, since I was also combining the manga and anime versions together!

I think I managed everyhting quite well, but I still have lot to do! Yesterday I started to pattern and sew the frilly apron. Sometimes it surprises me how the simplest parts of costumes are actually the hardest ones to execute…

During the weekend I will concentrate on the geta, straighten the wig, ventilate a back parting for it and secure the fastening of the huge bow on the obi. I’m still pondering should I try to dye the wig or not. I actually like the wigs original grey color, but should it be darker? If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!