Construction Details:

I was originally going to make this with materials that had a bit more sheen, but when I got to the store, they didn't have any satin brocades with the right sort of pattern.

In the end I chose a velveteen with silver flowers and that really forced my hand with the other materials. The red is a soft suede type material, as are the arm bands. The under vest is a black suiting material with a bit of one-way stretch.

I drafted the pattern for the vest and tunic myself and thank goodness it came out okay.

The most annoying piece was hand sewing the gold trim around the edges - my fingers still haven't recovered...

It wasn't too difficult, but it definitely too a large amount of effort to get it done quickly.

Personal Thoughts:

I loved the Hakuouki anime and I was ecstatic when the game was released for PSP in North America earlier this year. Just before October, I decided that I wanted to cosplay Chizuru. The only problem was that I had about 1 week to make the outfit.

I managed it in about a week and half, just in time for Halloween. I got to wear it at work (and fight off ninjas). I'm planning to take more photos, but with my wig (not shown) and I'll post those shortly.

I really like how it turned out!

Styling Notes

I ended up trimming the bangs a bit too much, but I am pleased nonetheless because it was my first time really styling a wig. I had to re-do the pony-tail because my head is MUCH smaller than the wig was measured for. I cut off about 1/2 of the pony tail that came with the wig. I also ended up sewing in 7 wig clips to help keep it in place because it was so top-heavy and because my head is so much smaller than the wig.

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