From: FLCL (Furi Kuri / Fooly Cooly)
Cost: $ 70-80
Time: 25 hours
Worn: AnimeNorth 2005 (Saturday), AC³ 2005 (Sunday, minus wig/shoes)
I love FLCL. Has to be one of, if not, my favorite anime. Is one of my favorite characters, and probably the simplest design of all of them (with the possible exception of Naota), so I figured I give her outfit a try.
This cosplay turned out quite nicely. Still needs a few modifications, but it's essentially finished. And almost every part has a bit of story behind it.
The skirt: Completely made without a pattern. Measure hips, figured out the number of needed pleats, and worked out fabric needs from there. The "plaid" pattern on the skirt is drawn on with fabric marker, which took much too long one night. Also, the skirt is lacking hips, so gaps nastily in the back unless gathered with a safety pin.
Shoes: half a size to small... which isn't so bad unless you walk on them for 12 hours and then it's a lot of blisters and pain.
The undershirt: This is a guys undershirt, which is nicely translucent. It's impossible to find a decent singlet like this which isn't. And the star was an iron on print-out; looked great when it printed, but the inks didn't react well to the heat of the iron.
The collared sweatshirt: the sweatshirt is 25" from neck to bottom hem... zippers come in 24" or 26" lengths. ARGH. And the collar didn't want to cooperate with the sewing machine so is currently held on with safetypins. This will be modified for the next time I wear it.
The hair: originally was going to use my natural hair (which at the time was in the correct style), but my hair didn't take the red dye in the slightest. Ended up using a budget wig at the last minute, which was waaay too thick, but didn't have time to modify it before AN.
The lighters: Dollar store BBQ lighters with their propane tanks removed.
The bag: Do not dye fabrics in a small-ish container: you get an uneven dye job. Despite that, the bag turned out fabulous and I use it on a daily basis to carry my stuff around.
Despite all the issues I have with this cosplay, I love it. It's insanely confortable (except the shoes), and you can't go wrong with BBQ lighters strapped to your head.
