Category: Manga

Inspiration: It's one of my favorite Seishirou images of all time, as well as being the one that _everyone_ talks about doing and never does. So, when some friends invited me to be a part of their CLAMP in Wonderland skit, where they were all going to do a bunch of incredibly elaborate CLAMP outfits, I took the dive. It ate a lot of my summer, and Brooke's summer too, but the end result was worth it. Much credit and love goes to Brooke (naoka), who did the painting on the haori and top kimono, as she is a far more talent artist than I am ^^ <3

Favorite Aspect: All of it. I'm totally in love with this costume, it was my pet project for a long time, and I was so pleased when it all came together. The fabrics I used (Real silk on the grey kimono!) draped beautifully, and all the painting Brooke and I did looked splendid. Finding the grey-silver vintage haori tie for $4 was a nice touch, too ^^

Least Favorite Aspect: The hakama were a tad too long, so they brushed the ground, and I kept stepping on them, which really turned into a problem in the pouring rain.

Easiest Task: Most of the machine sewing on the kimono and hakama was easy, as I'd done it before for the shikifuku.

Hardest Task: Three weeks and six bottles of gold fabric paint on stenciling on the bottom kimono, which can't even really be seen. And from Brooke's point of view, all the time she spent painting the haori and kimono.

Awards:

Hall Contest Ribbon at Anime Boston 2005
Judge's Award, Craftsmanship at Anime Boston 2005