The COSPLAY HELP ME! Who? Sewing? Buy/Where? Construction? Support thread

[Starherd]

I once believed cosplaying Hazama would actually be quite easy.
...
The most difficult part seems to be his actual jacket. Which seems to be a gentleman's jacket with a split tail. The hardest part actually seems to be the belts/buckles that are hanging off the collar(?) of his jacket. Do you think it would be easier to just buy a jacket that appears like his, and sew my own buckles onto a collar as such? And as for the two belts, I think I'll just put on two belts. It doesn't even look like belt loops really hold onto it apart from the metallic checkpoints.

So, here's my list of questions:
(1) What is that jacket called? The a trenchcoat with a split end perhaps?
(2) Would it be easier to just sew the belt buckles on myself?
(3) About the belts on his pants; should I try to imitate belt loops, either by extending already existing belt loops, or just make the appearance that belt loops are holding up the pants?
(4) Why does hazama only weigh like 110 pounds? this makes cosplaying him potentially health-hazardous. :(

I just made a white Hazama jacket for another person in this thread for Fanime  ^_^;  Just PM'd him to see if he had any pictures of himself wearing it...

(1) The outfit seems to be based on a zoot suit style, but most existing patterns for such aren't going to be so fitted, and as of a few years back when I worked in a costume shop, nobody was making them in plain solid colors like Hazama's on that exact pattern.  And none of them had those buckles.  (Should you decide you'd need the coat, PM me - I do commissions.)

(2) I ended up using buckles from a belt found at Goodwill for the one I made - the right buckles were proving really hard to find.  Tempted to construct my own mold and cast them in resin if people keep needing Hazama coats/buckles.  ^_^;  Would also need to make the straps they're connected to the collar with.

(3) Belt loops on the belts themselves will help them stay oriented together and not twist apart or separate vertically, and attaching those "false" loops to the pants will help the belts stay oriented with the pants as well.  So... the belts aren't really holding up the pants, but the connected beltloops keep the outfit together.

(4) INORITE.  *sob*

-Starherd

[Starherd]

{An Image Was Here}
1. What material to use.
2. How to make her shoes.
3. Should I buy a wig? And where?
4. What to make her staff out of.
5. How to make her outfit.

As a Rover who has to deal with potential indecent exposure, my best suggestion is going to relate to staying properly covered. XD Sorry, I can't help it. I poked my head in and saw it. For that costume, you're going to want a properly fitted, black, strapless bra and some body tape, to be sure that even if you lean over, there is not going to be more than a bit of you showing.

For the clothing, I'm partial to cotton because it's lightweight, durable, and breathable. For the top, I'd suggest a heavier-weight fabric, not only because it offers more structure, but also because that sort of top makes me think of it.

My only other comments include; red boots could be a good starting point for the shoes, unless you like the look of the leg-warmer-esque fabric-drapes that some people use over standard, comfortable footwear, though that's very much a preference thing; some people like it, others think it looks or feels funny.

*points up* What they said!  Beware wardrobe malfunctions.  ^_^;
Though I think you could get away with a bra with straps, if the straps were placed properly (I know that Victoria's Secret does some bras with straps that can be worn different ways, including as halter tops, for example).  Not sure - would have to see the back of the costume.  You're probably also going to want some flesh-colored leggins/tights and/or some secretive sewing on the skirt to keep it from slipping and revealing things it shouldn't.  I'd recommend building in some opaque underwear just to be on the safe side.

(1) For material, I'd second the idea of using a heavier cotton for the top, since it has to provide some support for the bust and stay smooth and shaped.  Twill might be a little heavy, but there are some good medium weights between twill (heavy) and broadcloth/quilting cottons (light).  For the skirt and possibly even the sleeves, though, with the way they drape, I'd say a thick broadcloth would do, especially if layered.  Broadcloth comes in lots of colors, so it could be matched pretty well to the heavier cotton of the bodice.

(2) I can't tell from the picture - is she wearing high heels?  It looks like it but the heels aren't shown.  ^_^;  These could be done by making covers for existing comfortable (black, I think, since there's black along the bottom) shoes.  (Also, I can't recommend gel inserts enough, especially for high-heeled shoes!  Save your feet!  XD )  The red, white, and black-cuff parts would be sewn together and worn like socks, but slipped on over the shoes, possibly with some black spandex to go over the instep of the shoe to keep the sock-cover in place.  That's how I'd do it, anyway.  :-)

(3) For the hair, I'd say do a short wig cut as the picture shows, and do the ponytail as a long separate piece.  The short wig will need some combs sewn into it to stay in place on your head with the weight of that long a ponytail.  You'll have to either cut the wig yourself or have someone do it for you.  For bases to start from, though, I inspected the wigs in the epiccosplay.com booth in the dealers' hall, and their quality was excellent.  And they ship from the US.  :-)

(4)  For her staff, I recommend painting sections of PVC pipe (and using smaller segments stuck inside to keep the staff together when complete).  Then it can be taken apart for easier transport.  ;-)

(5)  This isn't at all a beginner cosplay, so far as sewing/construction goes.  ^_^;  If someone commissioned me for it, it would be at least $275 because of how fitted it is and because of all the trim (that would include the clothes, shoes, staff, wig, and hair ornaments - $100 of that estimate is the wig and its accessories).  I don't know what your experience level is with sewing, but if you want to try it yourself, I recommend finding a simple vest pattern to start with, making that out of cheap fabric like muslin, and making alterations to that to get a fitted pattern for your torso to start with.  Then you'll trace those fitted pieces back onto paper to sketch out the pattern more like the garment in the picture, and make that in muslin, and repeat the process until you have a well-fitted pattern to start from.  And *then* you start it in your real fabric.  It's a long process to do from scratch when you're just starting out, but you'll learn an awful lot if you try it.  Don't be daunted - you'll get the result you want eventually, with enough practice.  :-)  (The shirt is really the most difficult part; the skirt and shoes wouldn't take as many iterations to make patterns for.)

Hope this information helps!
-Starherd

[Aelia]

(4)  For her staff, I recommend painting sections of PVC pipe (and using smaller segments stuck inside to keep the staff together when complete).  Then it can be taken apart for easier transport.  ;-)

I like the sectional staff idea. What you would want is some threaded pvc in two sizes so you can nestle one inside the other and make it so the bigger pices screw onto the smaller ones. Three sections on something that length (if you're 5'6" or so) would be approx. 35" apiece, which could easily fit into most suitcases/duffels at an angle.

*points up* What they said!  Beware wardrobe malfunctions.  ^_^;
Though I think you could get away with a bra with straps, if the straps were placed properly (I know that Victoria's Secret does some bras with straps that can be worn different ways, including as halter tops, for example).  Not sure - would have to see the back of the costume.  You're probably also going to want some flesh-colored leggins/tights and/or some secretive sewing on the skirt to keep it from slipping and revealing things it shouldn't.  I'd recommend building in some opaque underwear just to be on the safe side.

Actually, just going to throw a general warning/request (from me personally, and sort-of from Rovers) into this thread where all of you lovely cosplay helpers can see it.

• We love when ladies with potentially-bosom-revealing-tops use body glue and/or tape to hold things in place. (Or nipple pasties, or a combination to be sure things aren't showing.)
• We love it when ladies who have skirts that slit super high up on their thighs, or are wearing just a leotard choose to wear either cheerleader-underwear or nylons/tights so there's no chance of naughty bits appearing.
• We love it when gentlemen make sure we cannot see the *cough* details if they're wearing spandex over certain regions.
• We downright adore it if when you know your costume is very large, or has limited vision you have a friend help you out and function as your handler.

We do not love it when we have to approach you and ask you to put more clothing on because some small child has seen parts of you which they should not have had to see. This doesn't happen very often, but it happens enough that we need to mention it.

[Xepherian]

I once believed cosplaying Hazama would actually be quite easy.
...
The most difficult part seems to be his actual jacket. Which seems to be a gentleman's jacket with a split tail. The hardest part actually seems to be the belts/buckles that are hanging off the collar(?) of his jacket. Do you think it would be easier to just buy a jacket that appears like his, and sew my own buckles onto a collar as such? And as for the two belts, I think I'll just put on two belts. It doesn't even look like belt loops really hold onto it apart from the metallic checkpoints.

So, here's my list of questions:
(1) What is that jacket called? The a trenchcoat with a split end perhaps?
(2) Would it be easier to just sew the belt buckles on myself?
(3) About the belts on his pants; should I try to imitate belt loops, either by extending already existing belt loops, or just make the appearance that belt loops are holding up the pants?
(4) Why does hazama only weigh like 110 pounds? this makes cosplaying him potentially health-hazardous. :(

I just made a white Hazama jacket for another person in this thread for Fanime  ^_^;  Just PM'd him to see if he had any pictures of himself wearing it...

(1) The outfit seems to be based on a zoot suit style, but most existing patterns for such aren't going to be so fitted, and as of a few years back when I worked in a costume shop, nobody was making them in plain solid colors like Hazama's on that exact pattern.  And none of them had those buckles.  (Should you decide you'd need the coat, PM me - I do commissions.)

(2) I ended up using buckles from a belt found at Goodwill for the one I made - the right buckles were proving really hard to find.  Tempted to construct my own mold and cast them in resin if people keep needing Hazama coats/buckles.  ^_^;  Would also need to make the straps they're connected to the collar with.

(3) Belt loops on the belts themselves will help them stay oriented together and not twist apart or separate vertically, and attaching those "false" loops to the pants will help the belts stay oriented with the pants as well.  So... the belts aren't really holding up the pants, but the connected beltloops keep the outfit together.

(4) INORITE.  *sob*

-Starherd

Oh! I know who you're talking about. I actually played with him, a game of ninja, in the gaming hall.
He was a white palleted hazama, right? Red tie, white jacket, white hat, etc. Almost like a Michael Jackson replica?

&Yeah, if I wanted to commission you, I'd have to find a picture of the white-palleted hazama before I can make a decision. If anything, I'd probably really just need the coat. That seems like the ONLY hard part about it.

The belts and loops I can do myself, but the coat seems out of my league in terms of finding/buying/making.

[Starherd]

Oh! I know who you're talking about. I actually played with him, a game of ninja, in the gaming hall.
He was a white palleted hazama, right? Red tie, white jacket, white hat, etc. Almost like a Michael Jackson replica?

&Yeah, if I wanted to commission you, I'd have to find a picture of the white-palleted hazama before I can make a decision. If anything, I'd probably really just need the coat. That seems like the ONLY hard part about it.

The belts and loops I can do myself, but the coat seems out of my league in terms of finding/buying/making.

Yep, that would've been him.  :-)  I hope he gets back to me with a picture!

If it helps, I know that the hat and the type of vest he's wearing can be found at costume shops (I used to work at Debbie Lyn's Costumes in Sunnyvale and they had them).  The vest I made that fellow wasn't accurate because I didn't get the picture of the back until after the vest was completed, and I never got time to alter it, but it's backless about the shoulders:  (Picture Here)

-Starherd

[Starherd]

Oh! I know who you're talking about. I actually played with him, a game of ninja, in the gaming hall.
He was a white palleted hazama, right? Red tie, white jacket, white hat, etc. Almost like a Michael Jackson replica?

&Yeah, if I wanted to commission you, I'd have to find a picture of the white-palleted hazama before I can make a decision. If anything, I'd probably really just need the coat. That seems like the ONLY hard part about it.

The belts and loops I can do myself, but the coat seems out of my league in terms of finding/buying/making.

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,10097.msg386667.html#msg386667
There's some pictures of him posted by Jam_Kiske here  :-)
-Starherd

[Asa_Gohan]

Yeah, even I didnt know about it till that last moment @_@ So it was my bad on not fully looking at the outfit.  It still works though because you should never take that coat off anyways.  And the closet thing you can do to finding a coat like that is by getting a zoot suit.  Oh, and suggestion for 2011, itd be SOOOOOOOO awesome to see a Hazama of each color

[MyMidnightAffair]

Hello!
I'm currently & DESPERATELY looking for a costume store near Gilroy, San Jose, or Morgan Hill.
Why?
I need a pink wig for my Izuna cosplay... (preferably a short cut pink bob)

Please & thank you for your patience & help!
>__________<

Check out Victoria's Dance & Costume on San Carlos and Natasha's Attic on Bascom, both in San Jose. There's the costume trunk in Gilroy, but their hours are kind of iffy.

Thanks much! I'll check out that place during the summer, so I can create my full Izuna cosplay for next year~ :D

[ice queen]

Hi everyone! I haven't cosplayed in a looong while...so I need some help with two costumes.

First one is Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2. I have no idea where to begin. I know where I can get a good wig and eye contacts to do his eyes for the cosplay but that's it. So any suggestions would be great!

http://images.wiki.wegame.com/i/EIA9XHoK.jpg - this is the only good picture I could find of Riku

Another is China from Axis Powers Hetalia. I'm having a little more trouble than I figured trying to find his attire as well! I want to do the military outfit but open to another suggestion just in case.

http://brianandrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/vlcsnap-5306.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/axis%20powers%20hetalia%20china/champenguin/Hetalia/000d1z31.jpg

nice thing is I don't need a wig for him since I have a pretty close hair color to him.

any help will be great for both....thanks!

[Starherd]

Hi everyone! I haven't cosplayed in a looong while...so I need some help with two costumes.

First one is Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2. I have no idea where to begin. I know where I can get a good wig and eye contacts to do his eyes for the cosplay but that's it. So any suggestions would be great!

http://images.wiki.wegame.com/i/EIA9XHoK.jpg - this is the only good picture I could find of Riku

Another is China from Axis Powers Hetalia. I'm having a little more trouble than I figured trying to find his attire as well! I want to do the military outfit but open to another suggestion just in case.

http://brianandrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/vlcsnap-5306.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/axis%20powers%20hetalia%20china/champenguin/Hetalia/000d1z31.jpg

nice thing is I don't need a wig for him since I have a pretty close hair color to him.

any help will be great for both....thanks!

*waves*  :-)
Riku -
Not sure how to do the shoes accurately; drawing with permanent markers (silver and black) on white sneakers of something like the right shape, and using yellow laces, might be the way to go.  For the pants, you could probably get away with any loose jeans, but they could easily be made custom, too.  The overvest (and cuff) would have to be custom made to be accurate, and the undershirt looks like it would have to be, too.  Looks like the overvest, though worn open, has a separating zipper for closure, and at the collar it looks like there's unsnapped snaps that would, if snapped, hold the little top flaps of the collar down to the rest of the collar.  The undershirt closes with a parka zipper (double-ended) in the front, so that it can be unzipped a bit at both ends.  The belt looks like one of those with little square metal studs/plates all along it - I'm sure I've seen those in at least Hot Topic recently, and they turn up in thrift stores too.

Are you familiar with sewing...?  ^_^;  First thing you'd want to do would be to find patterns of similar cut to use and modify...


China -
I'm not so familiar with Hetalia, but it looks like China's wearing a simplified version of an actual Chinese military uniform.  Maybe searching for the real thing could lead to helpful images?

[ice queen]

thanks for the help. though I had a feeling with Riku I'd have to find someone who's great at sewing and the such ^.^;

[BSaphire]

So I am hoping to revamp this thread over the summer and I am looking to all the cosplayers, costumers, theatrical peeps out here to help me out to build a list of links that would benefit cosplayers to find all types of cosplay goods. Wigs, Makeup, props, contacts, shoes, nails, shirts, skirts, and frilly things, to boot! I just need a brief website description along with the website url. If you have done business with them feel free to rate a website on a scale of 0 - 5 stars (0 = poor and a 5 = AWESOME!).

Come the start of school I hope to have the info up and listed so that people can find it on the first page and see what others think of the website on overall performance (shipping, stock, time it takes to arrive, and price to name a few.)

Post that info here and I will have a great source for building the thread pre launch right around 1st September and the wonderful Halloween shopping days that follow for Halloween!

Squidges
B

[Phantom Roxas]

Where can I buy an Oathkeeper of a Kingdom Key of good quality for a reasonable price?

[Starherd]

Where can I buy an Oathkeeper of a Kingdom Key of good quality for a reasonable price?

What do you define as "reasonable price" and what features define "good quality" to you?  (Accuracy of design, sturdiness, con-acceptable construction...?)

[AthenaAngie]

Hello~ Iz Newbie~ And I was wondering if anyone can help me..

I'm planning on cosplaying a Professor/Scholar from Ragnarok Online and I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions on what fabrics to use on her dress and arm pieces. And also materials to use for her wrist accessories? Any suggestions/ideas/tips would help alot~ :D

Here's an image of the dress (cosplaying the female prof):

[Phantom Roxas]

Where can I buy an Oathkeeper of a Kingdom Key of good quality for a reasonable price?

What do you define as "reasonable price" and what features define "good quality" to you?  (Accuracy of design, sturdiness, con-acceptable construction...?)

Less than $300. I'm not sure what kind of material most people use (There are a lot of metal looking and paper mache ones), but any will do I guess. It should be as accurate as possible and not cardboard.

[lunarknight]

Where can I buy an Oathkeeper of a Kingdom Key of good quality for a reasonable price?

What do you define as "reasonable price" and what features define "good quality" to you?  (Accuracy of design, sturdiness, con-acceptable construction...?)

Less than $300. I'm not sure what kind of material most people use (There are a lot of metal looking and paper mache ones), but any will do I guess. It should be as accurate as possible and not cardboard.

If you want I can sell you both Oathkeeper and Oblivion for $150. Here is a picture of them:

[maikiritori]

Hi everyone! I haven't cosplayed in a looong while...so I need some help with two costumes.

First one is Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2. I have no idea where to begin. I know where I can get a good wig and eye contacts to do his eyes for the cosplay but that's it. So any suggestions would be great!

http://images.wiki.wegame.com/i/EIA9XHoK.jpg - this is the only good picture I could find of Riku

Another is China from Axis Powers Hetalia. I'm having a little more trouble than I figured trying to find his attire as well! I want to do the military outfit but open to another suggestion just in case.

http://brianandrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/vlcsnap-5306.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/axis%20powers%20hetalia%20china/champenguin/Hetalia/000d1z31.jpg

nice thing is I don't need a wig for him since I have a pretty close hair color to him.

any help will be great for both....thanks!

Riku's undershirt is actually the Org    XIII black cloak (same for Twilight Town Roxas), so for that part I would suggest an altered trenchcoat type pattern. You'll want it long enough to tuck into the jeans, and the hood of the cloack should be hidden under the outer vest. (Though you don't have to have the hood.) If you want it to be super accurate, I'd do the cloack out of leather (or pleather), or a heavy canvas type... possibly a heavy twill. I know it will be hot, so a good substitute would be a medium cotton.

As for China, you could try and army surplus store. If you found something similar, it wouldn't take much to alter it to the right specifications.

Hope this helps. ~_^

[Starherd]

Hi everyone! I haven't cosplayed in a looong while...so I need some help with two costumes.

First one is Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2. I have no idea where to begin. I know where I can get a good wig and eye contacts to do his eyes for the cosplay but that's it. So any suggestions would be great!

http://images.wiki.wegame.com/i/EIA9XHoK.jpg - this is the only good picture I could find of Riku

Another is China from Axis Powers Hetalia. I'm having a little more trouble than I figured trying to find his attire as well! I want to do the military outfit but open to another suggestion just in case.

http://brianandrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/vlcsnap-5306.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/axis%20powers%20hetalia%20china/champenguin/Hetalia/000d1z31.jpg

nice thing is I don't need a wig for him since I have a pretty close hair color to him.

any help will be great for both....thanks!

Riku's undershirt is actually the Org    XIII black cloak (same for Twilight Town Roxas), so for that part I would suggest an altered trenchcoat type pattern. You'll want it long enough to tuck into the jeans, and the hood of the cloack should be hidden under the outer vest. (Though you don't have to have the hood.) If you want it to be super accurate, I'd do the cloack out of leather (or pleather), or a heavy canvas type... possibly a heavy twill. I know it will be hot, so a good substitute would be a medium cotton.

As for China, you could try and army surplus store. If you found something similar, it wouldn't take much to alter it to the right specifications.

Hope this helps. ~_^

Really?  Crud.  O_O  Riku's undershirt has none of the seam lines or fittedness or pockets or bulk of the Org. XIII coats, and there's no hood evident from the collar (and the collar isn't constructed the same).  And it has no sleeves, and the zipper pulls and gages aren't the same.  (I've been staring at the designs a lot - have cloaks in progress and looking at Riku.)   ^_^;  
Is this shown in the manga or something?  I'm missing the last two KH2 volumes and anything that's been published since then...

These are the references I've been using:
Riku  and Org. XIII Coat

[maikiritori]

@ Starherd
Yep it is a modified Org XIII cloak. Riku's outer vest covers most of the details, but the chest seamlines for the Org cloak are there. It looks like he took the hood off along with the sleeves, which is why in my last post I said you could leave the hood off if you wanted too. As for the rest of the bulk, the cloak is actually a riding trenchcoat. The back seam has a small gauge zipper that runs from hip to hem and has clasps
on the inside of the two edges. The clasps close like chaps around the legs (the inner leg) so the cloak/trenchcoat becomes a kind of jump suit. In the wild west cowboys who could affoard them wore them a lot. They're very outdated and hard to find, but that's how I would do it. Same for Roxas (Twilight Town) he's taken the sleeves off, but if you look closely while playing, you can see the white pants covering the cloak.