Construction Details:

The inner green shirt is made from a modified kimono pattern and is made of hunter green cotton. The outer shirt is another modified shirt pattern and is made of black twill. The pants are nothing special; they are merely black twill.

The jacket is made of mustard yellow and black sateen cottons with a wide red bias trim. The pattern was heavily modified to be longer with wide lapels, darts in both front and back, and a reduced sleeve width and wider openings. The frog clasps are both colored with fabric marker and dyed red to somewhat match the bias tape.

The biggest trouble with the top was the koi fish pattern. When I first started this cosplay, I aimed to find a black fabric with a suitable pattern. No luck. I ended up deciding on a dragon print brocade since it had similar colors. I HATED it. I even ended up burning a portion on my iron, making me hate it even more. The second go around I played with the idea of creating a stencil. That didn't turn out so well so I decided the easiest, cleanest, and neatest way would be a screenprint. I spent weeks going back and forth on the pros and cons of purchasing a Yudu personal screenprinting machine. The biggest con that ended up turning me off entirely was the cost; I couldn't justify the cost. One reviewer against the machine recommended a seller on Etsy who made thermofax screenprints that work just as well for a fraction of the cost. Lynn was wonderful to work with and helped me create the screenprint for not just Okita but Lizzy and Yuiichi as well.

The swords were commissioned and made by Mike at Fantasy Props. I originally intended to modify them myself but that turned out disastrous.

Two pairs of boots are used for this cosplay. Boots #1 are my own; they aren't exact but Okita's boots are nothing special anyway. Boots #2 were purchased off of eBay by a cosplay boot maker in China. They are still nothing special but a little closer to what Okita wears.

Personal Thoughts:

I originally started this cosplay two years ago when I first heard about Hakuouki. It was just after the first game was released in Japan and long before the anime was made. I didn't like my jacket at the time and never completed it. BFF Kiki talked me into a skit with Hakuouki characters so it had to be completed. Unfortunately, the first wear of this cosplay won't have the koi fish pattern found in the game; this makes me unhappy since it was the pattern I liked from the start. However, the perfectionist in me is coping since it is accurate to the anime version.

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