Yuuko Ichihara - Sakura Robe #1

Yuuko Ichihara, xxxHOLiC ◇ Rei, by CLAMP

COSPLAY ID
CHARACTER Yuuko Ichihara
SOURCE xxxHOLiC ◇ Rei manga, by CLAMP
COSTUME vol. 3

Yuuko Ichihara & Kimihiro Watanuki, xxxHOLiC ◇ Rei, by CLAMP

COSTUME BREAKDOWN

• kimono style sleeveless robe, with a sakura tree print
• thin choker
• lacy slip
• paper kanzashi
  

I made this one back in 2016, to have something light and fresh, to wear at the Japan Festival, usually held near the Summer Solstice, in warm weather. The moment I opened the volume 3 of ×××HOLiC ◇ Rei, and read it, I knew this was a costume I wanted to make, and could make in a few days. As the artwork is in black & white, I could choose any colour palette. Instead of going for the classical pink on pink or pink and white sakura palette, I took some inspiration from the AriZona green tea bottle, and decided on white and pink sakuras on an acqua background. The highlights on the robe's collar were black, so I wanted a fuchsia for those, as red is usually drawn as black, in b&w. The inner shift, I'd try to find at Primark or so, and I found a nice silky black one. The shoes could be any comfortable shoes, in any of the colours,  as she's barefoot, at home.

AriZona Green Tea

I searched for an acqua silky satin at Feira dos Tecidos, but unfortunately the closest I could find was a not so cheap sky blue sablé. Fortunately, on the scrap bin, I found the perfect fuchsia cotton satin for the details, at the same shop. Then I went to buy the fabric paints, cream, brown and black. I normally use the Sétacolor, by Pébèo, fabric paints. I had some fuchsia left at home, from another project, so, I didn't need to buy some. My mom lent me her Chinese brushes, because I wanted a kitschy hand painted style, like the kitsch hand painted satin pillows, very popular during the 80's.

My sketch of the costume, with the widespread sakura pattern

Thoroughly analysing every frame in the manga, where we can see the robe, I made a flattened sketch of how the branches would fill the robe pieces. In the illustrations, the robe looks a bit like a repurposed kimono, so I decided on a kimonoesque pattern, but in an A-line shape, instead of a tube, so it would flow as I move.

the finished robe, front side

I first sewed the blue satin side seams, included an inset pocket on each side, and, with chalk, I lightly drafted the branches. Then I first painted the brown branches and tree trunk, and added some black shading and texture. After that, I started with the cream for the sakuras, painting 4 to 6 at a time, so I could add the fuchsia centers while the cream paint was still wet, for a watercolour blurry feel. After a while, a few days, I was a bit fed up of painting sakuras, and I had already filled the whole surface, so I stopped. But I'd like to saturate the robe with more sakuras in the near future.

After the paint was completely dry, I sewed the shoulder seams, added the interfacing to the armholes in fuchsia, so it would contrast with the blue. Then I added the fuchsia trim on the openings and bottom, and finally the interfaced collar and the ties. I had to be very careful with the fuchsia, as I only had about 1,5×1m of it, but it was just enough in the end. The inner ties were made in the blue, but it's fine, this way they won't be visible, although the blue isn't very transparent. And I could add pockets!

I made a choker out of fuchsia leather cord and golden metal trinkets, and the paper hair tie from rice paper, stiffened with shellac. I researched on how they should be properly made,  but I didn't have much luck. the only tutorial I found is confusing, so I ended up just gluing strips of paper, and curling them with a scissors. I still would like to know the proper name for these hair ties.

The costume is really very comfortable, nice and fresh in jot weather, and it flows nicely. But it doesn't open enough at the boobs to show the slip, and tends to twist. I think I'll add an inner belt, so it doesn't twist so much, and stays symmetrical.

Unfortunately I don't have any nice photos dressed in this costume, not ftom 2016, nor from this time. I will someday! This is the second time I've worn this costume, both to the Japan Festival in Lisbon.

+ Apart from the painting, and the blue sablé slipping like a wet fish,  this was definitely a quick and fun costume to draft and sew. I quite like the result. And there's very little wig styling, which is always a plus.

- I need to fix the twisting issue, and maybe pin the sides, so my boobs pop out, while I'm at the events. Something unwanted that happens quite often, and now that I want it,  it doesn't! 

THE CUNNING PLAN

Fix the "twist" and add sakuras. Schedule a photo session for this costume.

Hokuto Sumeragi - Mad Hatter #4

L to R: burgundy satin (lining and trims); cherry red grosgrain
(jacket, hat and shoes); big size hooks & eyes (jacket); white taffeta
(shirt, skirt & bloomers) and shoes and puncher

I chose for the main jacket, hat and shoes fabric, a low cost grosgrain (this specific fabric is called loneta in Portuguese), which is normally used for home decor, like pillows, curtains or upholstery. Why did I choose it? Because this costume has a clear 18th century inspiration, and I took some inspiration in faille, an historical fabric, often used in men's jackets, in the 17th and 18th centuries, to which this type os grosgrain looks quite similar.

Back in Lisbon, I went to Feira dos Tecidos to buy the final fabric, the jacket's grosgrain. To my demise, they still carry that fabric (it's kind of a staple), but MY colour, of which I had a picture with it's reference number on my phone, was apparently discontinued. They didn't have it on the supplier's sample catalogue either. I was bummed! It took me so long to get the taffeta, and now, that fabric that was always there, wasn't any more.
On a different day, I was at the flea market in search for something unrelated to cosplay, and that's where a now very touristy tram passes by. I had time, so I thought it would be a good idea, and a nice ride I hadn't taken for a while, to go to Campo de Ourique, at the end of the tram line, going through a lot of Lisbon's historical neighbourhoods (that's why it has become touristy), where there's a cluster of high end fabric stores. There are only two that focus on apparel fabrics, and the rest are solely for home decor fabrics. I entered the first one, another Feira dos Tecidos store, with very low hopes on finding that fabric. No luck. Then I went to the other, with a mix of apparel and home decor fabrics, Santo Condestável, and I was completely shocked! Everything was overpriced, the voile was double the price from the last time I was there (around €10 - which is a LOT!), there were 100% polyester fabrics reaching the 3 digits, previously an exclusive for high end silks and laces, and they had two rolls of that cheaper grosgrain, but one was bright red, and the other was black. Both were very shiny too. So, as long as I was there, I decided to go in the other two stores, with very little hope of finding anything, as they usually are unaffordable to me. To my huge surprise, on the posh and more expensive store of both, Nomalism, there was ONE roll of that grosgrain, excatly MY colour (I couldn't believe it), and about one Euro cheaper than the one I had seen before. When I was asking the lady to cut it (5 meters), I realised it wasn't 150 cm wide, but 250 cm wide! I hesitaded, do I need 5 meters? But because it was cheaper, it was very much in my budget, so I left the store with a heavy bag of fabric and a big smile on my face. COST €32,25
Lastly, I got the three big size hook & eye sets, for the jacket's closure at one of those shopping mall haberdashery stores, Retrosaria Zora. I have leftover plastic boning from a previous costume, my mom will give me some nice buttons, from my granddad's small town general store, for the shirt, and the only thing left to buy is tulle for the petticoat.

+ the fabric is exactly what I was looking for, it has the right sheen, and I have plenty to work with.
- it was a lot of last minute trouble I wasn't expecting, finding this fabric, but bad luck turned into good luck.

THE CUNNING PLAN
Start making the patterns and mockups of the jacket.

[written in 27.11.2020]

Yuuko Ichihara - Shawl #8

shopping in Oporto, the purple is for the underskirt.

When I travelled to Oporto, I tell the whole story in my previous post, Hokuto Sumeragi - Mad Hatter #3, I found this silky purple scrap in the scraps bin. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but it's pretty close. It's a very thin crunched taffeta, and I will have to paint on the pattern, but I'm satisfied with it.

+ it's a nice thin texture, it will work nicely as the underskirt, it's purple (why is it so hard to find purple fabrics?) and was a nice price.
- I'm not a fan of this purple tone, I'd rather it was more eggplanty or violet, and the crunched texture is annoying, but I can press it out. I will have to hand paint the pattern, it will take some time...

THE CUNNING PLAN
Find a nice and affordable fabric for the over skirt, I will only start working on the skirt when I have it.

[written in 27.11.2020]

Hokuto Sumeragi - Mad hatter #3

shopping in Oporto: the white is the taffeta

I went to Oporto for a BlytheCon (my other hobby - sewing for Blythe Dolls), and I had this feeling I would find my white taffeta there. Oporto used to be a great city to shop for fabrics, as most of the Portuguese fabric manufacturing used to be in the North of the country. Both quaint, homely and luxury fabrics could be found, and they were quite affordable. Sadly that changed and now Oporto is pretty much reduced to two fabric shops, a Feira dos Tecidos franchise, which isn't as good as their Rossio shop in Lisbon, and Mundo dos Tecidos, which, surprisingly, I didn't know. This shop is there since at least the 80's, but, although every time I visit Oporto I go to fabric shops, and that shop is in the city centre, near Aliados Square, I never walked through that specific street before! Naturally I knew it was there, because I researched before travelling.

I only had one day to shop at street commerce, I arrived on a Friday, and was leaving the next Monday, which was a National holiday. Although I spent over one year looking for a very basic fabric, that used to be available everywhere, like white taffeta, it seems to be unpopular now, because there was none available in Lisbon. Not the cheap polyester kind, I think I found some really expensive silk taffeta in Campo de Ourique. Back to the business, yes! I found my white taffeta at Mundo dos Tecidos! Unfortunately They didn't have the quantity I needed, 5 meters, they only had 4,75. I'll have to make it work! COST €37,53.

+ I finally found my white taffeta, at an affordable price, and got to know a new old fabric shop. A good one at it!
- It's polyester, plastic, but who can afford silk? I don't. I wish I did. It's also barely enough for so many frills and a bit transparent.

THE CUNNING PLAN
Go to Feira dos Tecidos, in Lisbon, where they sell an affordable grosgrain that is the right colour for this costume.

[written in 27.11.2020]