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character: mana (beast of blood) group: malice mizer made for: ax '02, but never worn worn at: ndk '02, with dormouse as beast of blood kozi status: active |
| why? i loved mana before i got into the jrock scene. i saw pictures of him (when i still thought he was a she) and thought he embodied all the sorts of qualities i idolize: grace, elegance, poise, beauty... so, after my friend dormouse introduced me into the wonderful world of malice mizer, i started researching mana more closely. i discovered we've got the same birthday (he's older, obviously), and nearly the same height and weight. when dormouse offered the idea of malice mizer cosplay, i knew i had to be mana. we threw around different costume ideas for a while, and since we couldn't decide on just one set of costumes, we picked two. she would be beast of blood kozi and gardenia klaha, and i would be her matching mana. ^^ |
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| how? i was a little frightened by mana's sleeves and the fact that i may not be able to find a pattern for them and i'd have to wing them by myself. luckily though, i found the perfect pattern (nearly) which was another mccalls costume pattern (#3292). i say the pattern was nearly perfect because i had some... issues.. with the bodice. it wasn't designed to be pleated, so i did my best altering the pattern. after lots of trial, error, and frustration, i wound up with something that sort of resembled mana's. technically, i should have four pleats at the bottom and none at the top, but instead i have two pleats at the bottom and two at the collar. grrr... >.< for the skirt, i used yet another mccalls pattern (#2793) that i had used for my renfest costume. i altered it by pleating the skirt instead of gathering it (which was a little more complicated than it sounds.) i attached the bodice and skirt together via the skirt's waistband (which was my guide for pleating the bodice.) i used the leftover fabric to make a simple sash. for mana's headpiece i did something i'd never thought i do: use geometry in an everyday-type situation! *gasp of supreme shock* hard to believe, i know. ^^ i took some measurements of my head to determine how big i wanted the headpiece to be. i then drew a straight line about eight inches long on a piece of computer paper i opened my compass half as wide as i wanted the headpiece to be and dragged the 'pointy end' of the compass along the line, rounding it at the ends so i wound up with a semi-circle at each end. (it's hard to explain, but play around with it, and i'm sure you'll get what i mean. ^^) i used this as a pattern and made my headpiece with something called 'stich-n-tear' to give it the right amount of stiffness. for the roses, i was freaking out that i might have to dye or paint some white ones as i couldn't find any black ones. but in the end, the ever sageful dormouse pointed me to michael's, where they, lo! and behold, had black roses! yay! pricey, but oh, well. i sewed those on and then added the black tulle and ribbons on either side. ^^ for the wig, i purchased a black "kelly"-style wig at wizard's chest for $30. i love this wig and actually wear it to school a lot, because it's of such a nice quality. for the lace tights he wears underneath the dress (i have pictures to prove it! ^^) i used this bodystocking i bought way before i even knew who mana was (i take it as a sign.) shoe-wise, i wore my black mary-janes saturday morning, which have only a three inch heel (compared to the six-inchers dormouse wore) because mana is supposed to be really short! sunday, dormouse wore her ayane costume, which erased the need for me to be shorter, so i wore my white 6.5 inch mary-janes. i also wore my mana armband that i picked up at ax and my mom was nice enough to let me use her late father's black umbrella as a prop. ^^ |
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| thoughts i'm still tweaked about my bodice. i want it perfect! ;-; but i do like the flow-i-ness of the skirt (it's a blast to walk/sit/twirl in.) due to some circumstances beyond my control *cough*stupid hotel*cough*, i wasn't able to wear this at ax. i did wind up wearing it at ndk, though, and it was well-received. dormouse managed to pull together a beast of blood kozi to go along with me, and once again we made quite the team! i had a lot of fun posing with my umbrella and received one of the best compliments *ever* from one of the costume contest judges: "i know you're supposed to be a man, but you look so gorgeous you make me want to go gay!" XD |
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| pictures dormouse and i had just finished lunch, so that's why my lipstick is so faded damn we look white here! (isn't dormouse kawaii, tho?) dormouse and i in all our beast of blood goodness ^^ dear god i love that umbrella... (and no, that's not my middle finger sticking up.) did i mention how much i adore that umbrella? credits: pictures 1, 2 courtesy fan's view; pictures 3, 4 courtesy the beautiful, beautiful people at the sario-chan art booth. i love you guys! ^_^; picture 4 courtesy dormouse =P |
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