30 - photo proccessing!

sooo I can't find the photograher's business card and I can't find photos of me online (yet), but I did get some photos on my own camera from friends.

29 - ;~;

so I can't find the photographer's business card TT___TT
I'm hoping that it'll turn up if I look around my room. aaand I can't find any pictures of Conchita online despite clearly remembering posing for a ton of them? Where did they all go =3=!

step 26 - CON

PEOPLE LIKED MY COSTUME...!! which was admittedly kind of both surprising and not, since I am still sorta meh about parts of it, butttt I am damn proud of what I managed. SERIOUSLY THOUGH? getting out of Conchita's costume is so nice :X It was not really a comfortable costume, considering how little time I had to put it together by the end. SO MANY SAFETY PINS hahaha...ha...

I got asked to do an impromptu photoshoot by a photographer, so I'll have get a lot of photos later \o/ For now though, a sneak peak~?

step 25 - :D

I just sewed myself into my costume \o/
ONE DOES WHAT ONE MUST.

step 24 - CRUNCH TIME

AAAAAAAAH

okay. hand-basted the trim onto both the collar and the top of the corset. got the snaps and the gem onto the collar. glued the sleeves trim on, as well as the red onto the back corset. glued the flower onto the bobby pin. Whatever I don't finish tonight I have to do in the morning tomorrow and considering how much time it took me to get ready this morning, I would have to get up obscenely early.

FIGHTING ON man go go go >_<9"

step 23 - leaving tomorrow--today?

my friend is a bloody SAINT for staying with me in the shop until 2am. Am a good 90% done. Everything left is glueable and/or hand-sewable. I am still irritated that my skirt's trim isn't anywhere near as visible as I hoped it would be through the organza though 8'( Buuuut at this point, I can't do anything about it anyway :|b I also fiddled with the sleeves pattern more because it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. the new fabric is lovely though. I ammmm not so sure about how the drape is going to work, but I did attach the front of it to the dress. it is going to be so damn heavy.

Packing can...happen in the morning OTL

step 22 - fml

Taking a breakish. Going on a ~trip~ to get fabric :|b since the sleeves didn't go the way I wanted them to, I'm getting new fabric for the sleeves. I'm going to get a crepe-back satin, I think. The taffeta is too stiff for the sleeves to drape nicely and doing two layers of the sheer would require too much finishing for it to be practical at all. I figure that as long as the color is close and I use the new fabric for the drape-thing too it'll pull together well enough.

At this point, it is a DO EVERYTHING YOU NEED A MACHINE FOR thing. And everything else will either be hand-tacked or glued :T

so my boss was able to hem my skirt for me THANK GOD. but ffff. is anyone going to mind/notice/CARE??? that my skirt is hemmed at 1/4" off the floor instead of actual floor-length...because seriously, that would be so much safer.... both for me and the gown... And really, I'll probably be the only one that cares that much. I am just very afraid of stepping on it and breaking my neck haha :'D

Was going to blindhem the tafetta, but iiiit decided to die on me. which really sucks. ...ugh I just ended up topstitching it. I don't have time to do it by hand :/ MACHINE BASTING IS MY FRIEND but wow that is a really hideous hem and one I would normally be super embarrassed to have. I am just hoping that the rest of dress will distract. Chiffon I'm just going to pink; I did the bottom added-on layer with selvage so I don't have to bother hemming it.

PROGRESS REPORT:
front "white" part of "corset" bound (used silver cause it's shiny also, there were scraps of it)
all 18 grommets in (my hands hurt like hell)
tafetta skirt hemmed (poorly, but done)
half of chiffon skirt pinked
bodice fit

what else did I get done todayyy...
....I think that's it
SO MUCH TIME sounds so little ;; stupid giantass circle skirts :/

step 21 - more skirt stuff

so my friend that was going to hem the gown's skirt can't figure out how to do it....and I don't know if I can ask my boss oh fuckkk... because the skirt's oa full circle, the bias stretched a lot so it needs to be hemmed so badly. the three layers are making it difficult though.

not much blogging this week, busy panicking.

...so the possibility that I actually /won't/ finish for Sakuracon grows ever higher. and I will be so upset if I don't since I'm SO CLOSE. SO /CLOSE/ and yet so far......but I can't go shopping until Wednesday, so I need to make my sleeves then. and I am hoping I can get someone to mark my hem on the skirt but if I can't, I...the skirt is unusable. well, tomorrow I will bring my other bra and check the fit on the bodice and if it's okay, I'll attach the "corset" to it and put in the white + eyelets.

step 20 - 囧!!!

I have just realized that, including Monday, I only have three days to finish all of Conchita I have left. ...and I have classes. CUE PANIC!

asked my boss about the collar I was having so many issues with and she came up with a great solution /o/ so it's been remade :3b
It doesn't close in front quiiite as much as it possibly sure but I think it's pretty as is :( also once the trim is added it might help... HOPEFULLY NO ONE WILL MIND. and if I absolutely can't stand it, maybe I'll remake it before summer. But this is what it'll be for next week

step 19 - collar

Conchita's collar is not...possible... I mean, I fucked with the pattern I pulled from a wedding gown pattern and put in an extra seam that might get it to do what it's supposed to do, but...it really doesn't look good?

I need it to do this:


currently it is doing this:




IT'S DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE??? IT LOOKS EASY. it makes no fucking sense. ....it's just that CURVE. I am essentially fucking with the pattern so that there's a pseudo "princess seam" in it. I AM MAKING IT LIKE A BODICE :/ I made a mockup of it and was like OTL... fabric and physics don't really...do that... Anyway, you can see the extra seam I added in there that isn't in normal collars. it's supposed to somehow...curve...out...... and unless I make the WHOLE THING out of small panels (which I could!) ...it isn't possible

step 18 - more progress

Closures on the skirt! and the "corset"'s seams are stitched down. had major issues with the bodice closures though... idk man :/ I wanted to put in an invisible zipper, but I can't really attach the skirt to the bodice the way it was made, and really keeping them separate isn't a huge deal since there's a significant overlap so I don't have to worry about skin showing or whatever.

So I was like "well, I'll just put in a smaller invisible zipper then!" but then the problem came when I could get the gown ON but not OFF... so that had to get ripped out :/ I think I'm gonna go with snaps.

As for the skirt, I can't open it as low as I'd like for just one closure because it'd be visible, so instead I opened it about three or four inches on both side-seams, and closed it with a large snap and a hook and eye on each side. That'll be hidden under the "corset" and the drapey thing anyway.

stitched down either side of the seams on the corset to make it look neater and smoother. BEFORE on the left, AFTER on the right:


The bodice still needs to be better fitted and...actually closed, but with the petticoat and shoes, this is what it currently looks like:

step 17 - STUFF GOT DONE \o/

WIGS BOTH STYLED \o/!! I am happier with the results of my friend's wig than I am with mine but it isn't bad :3 .......and, well I attached the skirts to each other but I didn't get the skirt attached to the bodice or the hemlines done :/ I did get the vinyl and lace attached together though (like how I made the bodice layers) and got most of the corset together. I made the shape of it by just taking my bodice pattern and guesstimating where I needed to cut to make it an underbust corset and extended the bottom two inches so that it'd be longer than the bodice. Also I took an inch off either side of center front to make up the center opening area that'll be laced up.





I AM SERIOUSLY STARTING TO PANIC ABOUT FINISHING IN TIME h-hahaha

step 16 - things happened

TOO BUSY TO BLOG doesn't help that I caught the plague or something. been so sick @@ and that is not helping my productivity. Anyway, chiffon layer got marked and then cut:


ran into an unexpected problem when laying out the chiffon, namely that it isn't quite wide enough. Both the organza and tafetta were 60"-wide fabrics, but the chiffon isn't, which means that the skirt isn't as long as it needs to be. Thankfully, Conchita has a black trim near the bottom, so I'm going to cut the skirt to as long as it is before the trim and then use the trim to hide another piece I'll attach on.

and the three layers of the skirt look like this when laid out together:



Things that need to happen before 10pm today, in order of priority: wigs x2, attach skirt to bodice, mark hemlines.

step 15 - skirt (pt1)

Conchita's skirt has a diameter of ~96.25"...

...I think my pettocoat has a slightly larger circumference, but the conchita overskirt should actually have too many folds so a full circle should be good :3
Tafetta's cut, and so is the top organza layer. it is staticky as hell.

Organza, marked but not yet cut:


Ran out of time to do the chiffon, so I'll cut that tomorrow andddd probably bring my petticoat and shoes so I can try it all on and get it hemmed? or, well. I could get the black cut and then just do the petticoat and shoe trying-on on wednesday :T

step 14 - magic :'D

got a bra to go with this since Conchita is a lot ~curvier~ than I am, and I need to fill out the top of my bodice more to match the skirt since the skirt is so...big.

Also, my shoes arrived and they are so much nicer than I expected them to be.

crappy photo, but yeah. I like them! more comfortable and steady to walk on than I expected.

step 13 - AAAAAAAAAH

realized just how much time is left before Sakuracon and proceeded to panic in my friend's car. TIME TO KICK THINGS INTO OVERDRIVE oh my fucking god.

step 12 - makeup stuff

so I bought a lipstick for Conchita while I was in New York. It's called "MAN EATER" and it amuses me greatly. It's a bright red but--dark instead of BRIGHTbright and not as purple as the other one I have. So perfect XD

step 11 - Bodice (pt3)

THE (main) BODICE IS DONE except for the zipper that will close up the last seam. I need to get lace so I can start the "corset" bit since I want to do a vinyl with lace over it for ~texture~ and making it look fancy schmancy.

stitched in the boning into the sideseam that won't have the zipper in it by hand:


that'll help it stay up :|b since I don't know how much good the "straps" will actually do.

step 10 - makeup test!

didn't want to do homework, so I did a quick makeup test. The wig is also still totally unstyled but I wanted to try it on and see how it'd look.



...I think the black shadow should extend out further, it's not really visible :/ And the shape of the red part, since it looks a little clunky/boxy near the front of my eye. ALSO I NEED TO FIX MY EYEBROWS but I have until april to do that /o/

this was a webcam shot with my desklamp on which......is really bright. BUT STILL hmhm. I'm not entirely happy with it atm, but I'm also not wearing false lashes or contacts atm either. anyway the most important thing for me to remember is to shape and thin out my eyebrows I think :Ta

And I think I need to get myself another lipstick. this one is a bit too purple...I want a dark red-red.

step 9 - shoessss

Checking out shoes on ebay! I need at least 3" because otherwise the skirt is going to make me look dumpy. found a few pairs...


$40 seems expensive but NT$1000 seems okay...even if it's technically about the same amount of money...


these are a little over $20 including shipping. For these, I'm worried it'll look cheap or tacky. But the first pair looks more hookerish, so Iiii don't know.

I like them both? My gown is really dark so the first pair might suit it better, but I kind of like the detailing on the second. Also the price.

Step 8 - procrastination

SO THE SHOW'S OVER and with it goes my shop-usage time. Iiii did not get as much done as I'd hoped? I did finish the bodice though, so that's good. And I checked the color in the sun and it looks good! Oh well, I've got over a month still /o/

Step 7 - Bodice (pt2)

put half of it together! ...I think it might be a bit too dark OTL it looks kind of brown in the shop's lighting. I'm hoping it'll show up red in the sun... I'll check tomorrow or something.

other than thaaat... it looks pretty cool so far :|b I got an invisible zipper I'll put in the sideseam to close it but I want to attach it to the skirt first, so I'll do that at some point. Whenever the bodice is finished and the skirt gets made, I guess :Da

Step 6 - Bodice (pt1)

Cut the pieces for bodice! The mockup was a bit big, so I used the next size down's pattern instead.

from bottom to top, red tafetta -> black chiffon -> red organza; just the front half, since I'm gonna attach the "corset" to the back. overlocked all of the pieces together so I can treat them as single pieces of fabric.

...geez, I think I just made my own fabric /)__=

Step 5 - mockup

made a mockup of the bodice using a LAYERS pattern of a bustier:


I used a lighter medium-weight muslin that I had lying around and stitched half of it by hand since...I didn't have a machine with me at my friend's place and I wanted to do SOMETHING while watching TV.

Step 4 - Shopping

Spent the day in LA's fabric district. Walked around a lot. I knew I wanted to make this gown something more elaborate than it's drawn so I went with a bright red taffeta, covered with sheer.

Initially, I wanted to go with a bright red that had a black sheer on top because I've seen that combination before and I thought it was really pretty. However when shopping, I felt that just the red and black was too dark, so I got another sheer to go on the very top: a dark red. I didn't want it too bright, because I feel like that looks tacky, but if it's too dark it wouldn't look like a red gown.

For the black trim at the bottom and at the sleeves, I wanted something that would be big enough to be visible through the layers of sheer, but would still have the same shape that the original images showed. Guesstimated 2 yards for both sleeves, so about a yard per sleeve, and then 10 yards for the bottom. Iiii am hoping that's going to be enough??

The corset-ish thing, I want to use vinyl for, with lace on top. I saw one of my friends do that for one of her costumes and I really like the effect it had. There's the sheen and form that vinyl has, but the lace breaks it up and adds texture. Plus, with the lace, it's more ~fancy~ which will make it match the rest of the gown. Found the vinyl and bought a yard of it since I really doubt I'll need more. Didn't find a lace I liked though.

So in the end, yeah. got lots of fabric. I did my math really really quickly and a little sloppily before we left for LA, so I think I overbought my fabric. By...a lot... 12 yards of each is what I got, I don't think I actually need more than 9, but eh. I'm making a full circle skirt so too much is way better than too little.

Step 3 - \o/

So over winter break, I had bought this book:



because I already knew I wanted to do more VOCALOID cosplay, and remembered that there was a few pages of Conchita. I went back and found all these great images:





which really helped me figure out what the artist intended with the dress. ...At the same time I also think that some things the artist said they wanted to do make no sense from a practical point of view. For example, the way the gown is one piece from the top all the way to the bottom is dumb, in my opinion, or the way the bustle is created by tying the pieces at the back isn't actually possible. Fabric doesn't work that way!

The other thing is, cosplay pieces don't have to be real clothes. I'm going to make the bodice and skirt separately, and then attach the corset to the bodice so it doesn't shift a lot. For the bustle, I'm going to attach the floof at the back separately in order to make it look the way it should.

Step 2 - Reference.

Usually immediately or in the immediate days following a cosplay decision, I start pulling images to use as references. For a manga, I'd go through it and find panels that show it from the front, side, back, and anything else that may be necessary. For something like this, I just watch the video over and over and screencap as many variations of the gown as possible.









For VOCALOID videos, I also go poke around pixiv and see if the artist might've put up more illustrations or higher quality versions of the images s/he used in the video. I found the latter:



I also look around pixiv for other artist interpretations of the costume, since sometimes that helps me figure out how it works if the video isn't clear. I did see some for Conchita that I liked, but nothing that I absolutely had to have. Fanart did not end up being a source of reference for me in this costume.

Also in my research process, I look for photos of other people who have cosplayed the same character. Sometimes, I get good ideas. Mostly though, especially for costumes that aren't commonly cosplayed such as Conchita, I pick apart what I don't like about their costume so that I can try not to make the same mistakes.

SO! By now, I have a rough idea of what this should look like and I start thinking about how I want to make it. I already know I'm going to need to get a fwoofy petticoat—preferably not a hoopskirt because I don't like how hoops tend to have a lampshade effect. Also, hoops are harder to transport and I'm going to need to get this back to Taiwan at some point.

Step 1 - Decide.

So I've been thinking about doing a mothyP cosplay for ages, and I decided that I wanted to start with Conchita.



While not the easiest song to listen to if you're not used to VOCALOID (especially Meiko), I really liked the story. Also, this one's a good choice since I'm planning on doing it for Sakuracon and it's a cos I can do on my own with a set design, unlike Aku no Musume which has ten million different variations.

With a costume like this, I have a variety of pose options and it'll also be something fancier than the ones I've made myself in the past. Besides, I've been wanting to do something elaborately girly for a while now. Conchita is everything I like in a female character, elegant and beautiful while badass and shameless about being evil. My friends also seem to think that, of the various gowns I was thinking about, Conchita suits ~me~ the most.

So the video above is essentially my canon. The video is the official release for the song, and most of what I have to work off of. This includes the gown, wig, accessories, character personality and poses.