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.