Honestly, I didn't fall for Isuzu at first sight. But with every scene showcasing her enigmatic personality, the idea of cosplaying her intrigued me.
I guess, in the end, it led me to cosplaying the red-clad secretary.
I got the boots, costume, and wig from Taobao. I was quite disappointed how the costume was made, despite being the most accurate I could find online. The coat was loose and shapeless, the buttons on the sleeves were not enough, the epaulet was not fitted with a snap, and the aiguillette ends were not the right shade of gold. I busted out the ol' (and cranky) sewing machine, and added wide darts inside the coat. I removed the buttons from the epaulet (to which I later added snaps to after painting them to a matching shade of gold) and added them to the sleeves. The cord of the aiguillette I took apart and stitched them back properly, whereas the end pieces were painted over with nail polish. Later on (in 2016, for the event I was a special guest for), I made a new pair of socks for her as the one that came with the costume was too short and too tight.
At the time of the photoshoot, my musket was still in the midst of WIP. It's made from lightweight wood which was carved into shape, Styrofoam and EVA foam layers for the embossed details (as well as to give the musket more shape), a tiny piece of plywood and mechanical pencil eraser cap for the lock, and a random nail for the ramrod, all made into a piece with the help of the magical liquid from the land of crafting witchcraft called resin. The musket is then spray painted before sealing with a coat of sealant, and later painted again with acrylic paint for the 'wooden' parts. The embossed rose petal details were painted with regular gold poster paint.
During the photoshoot, we headed to the ever-popular-among-cosplayers-and-photographers park in Shah Alam. The park was closed, though and so, we had it all to ourselves. We took our time trying all sorts of things, posing, blowing bubbles, walking up and down multiple times... but it was to a point when the photographer went, "Do whatever you like, I will just snap." This may sound odd for others to hear about, but I'm actually a hopeless actress. I'm better if I'm left on my own to get into the vibe of the character and just, well, do my own stuff (I'm told this is called method acting?). It was a good thing that the photographer had a good sense, else, things might not have gone the way it went. I was basically just walking around the carousel, inspecting it, getting on the rides, swinging around the pole... minding my own business, really. Despite that, we got great and more sincere shots, aside from the ones we tried recreating on purpose. Perhaps it was because of this that I finally decided to working only with photographers who can give-and-take during shoots.
Whenever I don Isuzu, I somewhat get this authoritative feeling. Maybe it's the red coat, maybe it's the rhythmic thud of my boots as I walk.
What I do know is that this is definitely one of my more comfortable sets to wear anywhere.
I guess, in the end, it led me to cosplaying the red-clad secretary.
I got the boots, costume, and wig from Taobao. I was quite disappointed how the costume was made, despite being the most accurate I could find online. The coat was loose and shapeless, the buttons on the sleeves were not enough, the epaulet was not fitted with a snap, and the aiguillette ends were not the right shade of gold. I busted out the ol' (and cranky) sewing machine, and added wide darts inside the coat. I removed the buttons from the epaulet (to which I later added snaps to after painting them to a matching shade of gold) and added them to the sleeves. The cord of the aiguillette I took apart and stitched them back properly, whereas the end pieces were painted over with nail polish. Later on (in 2016, for the event I was a special guest for), I made a new pair of socks for her as the one that came with the costume was too short and too tight.
At the time of the photoshoot, my musket was still in the midst of WIP. It's made from lightweight wood which was carved into shape, Styrofoam and EVA foam layers for the embossed details (as well as to give the musket more shape), a tiny piece of plywood and mechanical pencil eraser cap for the lock, and a random nail for the ramrod, all made into a piece with the help of the magical liquid from the land of crafting witchcraft called resin. The musket is then spray painted before sealing with a coat of sealant, and later painted again with acrylic paint for the 'wooden' parts. The embossed rose petal details were painted with regular gold poster paint.
During the photoshoot, we headed to the ever-popular-among-cosplayers-and-photographers park in Shah Alam. The park was closed, though and so, we had it all to ourselves. We took our time trying all sorts of things, posing, blowing bubbles, walking up and down multiple times... but it was to a point when the photographer went, "Do whatever you like, I will just snap." This may sound odd for others to hear about, but I'm actually a hopeless actress. I'm better if I'm left on my own to get into the vibe of the character and just, well, do my own stuff (I'm told this is called method acting?). It was a good thing that the photographer had a good sense, else, things might not have gone the way it went. I was basically just walking around the carousel, inspecting it, getting on the rides, swinging around the pole... minding my own business, really. Despite that, we got great and more sincere shots, aside from the ones we tried recreating on purpose. Perhaps it was because of this that I finally decided to working only with photographers who can give-and-take during shoots.
Whenever I don Isuzu, I somewhat get this authoritative feeling. Maybe it's the red coat, maybe it's the rhythmic thud of my boots as I walk.
What I do know is that this is definitely one of my more comfortable sets to wear anywhere.