Construction Details:

Where to start with this....? There was a lot of designing and patterning that went into the pieces for this costume. The first piece was the jacket. I found a pattern that was similar to the shape and style I wanted, McCall's M6292, and cut it out of muslin to check the initial fit and lines. Since I added extra fabric to the muslin pieces I was able to redraw lines to get the shape for the front cutout framed correctly and cut the sleeves to length. For the actual fabric I used black cotton twill to give it the realism of military look and ruggedness. I added extra seaming down the sides of the sleeves to give some detail and fully lined the entire thing in black 100% Kona cotton with all seams finished. The binding was added around the entire outer edge of the jacket to finish the seams off so that they didn't need to be turned under and add bulk.rnrnFor the shirt under the jacket I purchased a dark grey V-neck and used black rayon jersey to create the over shirt which I stitched in place over the t-shirt to give the layered effect and made the cut out and turned the edge over with binding so it would hold its shape and attached the collar handing stitching on a snap for closure. The pants themselves are purchased tactical pants as I wanted to keep the realism of the militarist vibe of the world. The bands around the pants were made of the same twill as the jacket lined in cotton with the binding around the edges and held in place with a system of snaps so they are removable. The over skirt is a 4 panel A-line skirt adapted from a generic pattern with additional seams added down the center of each panel to give more detail. The over skirt is also lined in cotton with the same seaming and the seams were all pressed to the center and topstitched to stay in place and reduce thickness for when the pieces were sewing together and turned over. The front pieces were added and the top turned over and belt loops added on the inside so they could be attached to the belt in the tactical pants to make it all one piece and so it wouldn't move when I sat or bent down. There were also belt loops added on the outside to keep the utility belt in place so it wouldn't move when I sat.rnrnThe boots were purchased rain boots that I cut off the fabric uppers from and re-patterned with leather based on the anime design as there are no actual light novel illustrations of his feet. The tongues of the boots were made from grey leather to give some contrast and there are straps of the leather woven through strap adjusters for closure.rnrnFor the breastplate I tried something new that I hadn't done before. I created a model of what I wanted out of clay and let it mold to my body and added all the detail. Once that was done I used a liquid silicone, 4 layers, to make a mold of the clay breastplate. I then added a hard back shell to keep the silicone molds shape. The mold was then brushed with Smooth-On cast magic silver bullet powder and the Color Match resin tinted black was poured in the mold. I had to do multiple castings that took about 5 hours to build up the thickness and full coverage of the entire breastplate. When removed it gave the finish of brushed metal and with the flash on a camera it looks even more like metal. Straps were then added at the shoulders with adjusters and the footman loops were added to the front along with snaps for closure with additional button details sewed on which match the ones on the jacket. The arm shield was made in the same way as the breastplate, modeled in clay and then molded with silicone and cast in resin.rnrnFor the other accessories I used a similar process for the Optical shield as the breastplate. Modeling a clay base piece and top piece, molding with silicone and casting in resin with the top piece screwed onto the base and the gem cast to give the appearance that it was lit from behind. I will be adding LEDs behind the gem to give an actual ???lit??? appearance in the future.rnrnThe gun, holster, pouch, and light saber were all purchased. The pouch was completely torn apart since the back was all Velcro and re-sewn with loops added to the back so it would fit on the belt. The gun is an actual BlueGun replica of a real FN 5-7 cast in resin so it is completely inoperable but looks completely real! The lightsaber was purchased from UltraSabers and in the novel it is described as a black tube about 21 cm long which is why it is so plain looking.rnrnOverall thoughts is that this is one of the best Cosplays that I have put together with numerous hours and effort put into it, I was working on this for over 4 months, but I wouldn't change any of that time. There are a few small details that I would like to fix and things that I will change for next year to tailor it more to the Anime version, but overall I love it and it was gratifying to be recognized!

Personal Thoughts:

This version of Kirito really appealed to me, since his avatar was a very feminine one, as it was easier to pull off rather than any of his normal male ones. It is also one that has not been done very often since, until this year, there have only been the few drawings from abec-san for the light novels. I am super excited that I was able to complete this Light Novel version in time for ACen 2014 this year. Next year I will be re-tailoring pieces for the Anime airing this year!

Styling Notes

This was actually the first wig for Cosplay that I purchased and it was not as bad as I had thought that it would be. I did buy the conditioning spray the was recommended and the wig still tangles, but that's to be expected with long ones. The only thing I might change is thinning the back a little but I don't want to over thin it.

Wig Review

This was actually the first wig for Cosplay that I purchased and it was not as bad as I had thought that it would be. I did buy the conditioning spray the was recommended and the wig still tangles, but that's to be expected with long ones. The only thing I might change is thinning the back a little but I don't want to over thin it.

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