Construction Details:

I made this costume to wear for the Osu parade last summer. Because I knew it would be hot, I tried to stick as much as possible to natural fibers that would breathe well. The shirt is a cotton with a slight stretch the skirt is dupioni.

For the waist cincher I used a faux leather that I had around (I bought a bunch of this stuff, because I loved it so much). I did a good amount of boning on the lining to help it keep shape, and hid the zipper under the bias tape up the front. I made both the bias tape and the cording in the seams out of the same fabric that I used for Mami's skirt.

The skirt is a single layer pleated skirt with a horsehair braid in the hem. The faux leather I used is pretty malleable and easy to work with, so I made binding tape out of it to match the waist cincher.

I wanted all the parts that felt like they ought to be leather to match, so I bought a little buckram hatform from Perial Company (on maple in the la fabric district) and covered it. The gloves are made from a butterick pattern, and are mostly hand stitched. I made the gussets out of stretch knit to give the gloves some flexibility.

I happened upon gold flower shaped plastic crystals at Michaels, so I decided to use one for Mami's soul gem. The flower backs are made out of craft foam. For the flower itself, I used a heat gun to modify a flower shaped wall decoration from Target.

My socks are from sockdreams, and the boots are a pair of men's Ariat boots I made some modifications to. The gun is very low tech; it's a toy rifle with contact paper decals. But it goes "pew pew" when I pull the trigger, which is my favorite part!

Personal Thoughts:

Have I said that I love my boots? I love my boots!

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