*Super Sailor Uranus (Manga)*
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
Worn at: Anime Expo 2005, and too many more to count.
Chara Info: Tenou Haruka appears to be a beautiful young man. Haruka's low voice, masculine clothes, and love for racing support this theory. In reality, Haruka is a girl, and the alterego of Sailor Uranus.
Why Her?: It's a La Soldiers group cosplay thing for AX05. But other than that. . .I LOVE this character! She was my favorite senshi from the first time I saw Sailor Moon S. I would love to do more versions of Haruka one day, but my performance fuku comes first :P. This outfit is going to mildly mix the anime version of Super Sailor Uranus with the manga version. I say mildly, because the two outfits are pretty similar as it is.
The Story: So it may not be the most complicated costume in the world -- it's still FUN being Sailor Uranus!
The base leotard is doubled-up spandex from Hancock. It was uber-shiny, so I used the reverse side which was a lot more matte. I used Butterick 5781 as the pattern, and modified it a little to put in the back seam. The sleeves are my own pattern, and the transparent part is the same material as Moon's back bow and sleeves -- iridescent sheer from Joann.
Just like Sailor Moon, I used bridal satin for the main fabric. And just like Sailor Moon, everything was made with patterns of my own design except the bows. Jess, the Sailor Venus of my group, made my front bow because I couldn't find yellow bridal satin to save my life. She constructed hers a trifle differently than I did, so that's why it looks different from Meg's bow. (I actually changed this after AX, so it looks like Meg's bow now ^^)
Jess also made my broach -- it's a clear plastic candy box from Michael's painted inside. The rest of the accessories were made by me. The tiara is gold-mirrored cardboard covered in packing tape. The stars on the earrings and chokers are shank buttons (they were expensive too >.<). All of the jewels are really spiffy non-faceted, clear, backless gems I found at Joann in the fabric dye aisle. You can paint the backs any color you want, and presto! Any-colored gems!
(In case you're wondering about my earrings -- Yes, I know Uranus wears a hoop earring. I don't have pierced ears, however, so I made earrings based off what Uranus wears in the musicals. I like them better too :P.)
The boots were probably the biggest pain on this costume. Each strap is a tube of PVC vinyl with canvas strapping inserted for definition. I hate sewing vinyl and I hate dealing with boots, especially annoying ones like Uranus'. I spraypainted it with Krylon Fusion, which is a spraypaint meant for plastics. It doesn't crack or craze, although it does chip if you're not careful ~~;;.
This has been by far my favorite costume to wear over the past few years. As such, I've remade or updated portions of the outfit over time. Before I did the photoshoot with Tristen Citrine, I made new boots which had normal heels. The platform boots were fun for a time, but I'm tall enough as it is :P. There have been a few different gloves I've used -- the current ones, only worn to Fanime 2007, are the first ones I've made that have been short. Both bows have been remade as well. The back one was re-interfaced with stiffer material so that it wouldn't flop down, and the front one was remade to be less flat in appearance.
I'm not sure how many more times this will come out of the closet -- it's been worn so many times in two years that it's starting to show its age. But as long as it's still presentable, I'll always be happy to pull this out for fun with friends :).
Pictures
(separated into picture dates)
