from the manga/anime Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness)
"Here, drink this!"
Production Cost: $5
Production Time: 2 days
Completed: October 2001
First Worn: Nekocon 2001 (Virginia Beach, VA)
Other Appearances: none
Competed At: Nekocon 2001
Awards Won: Best Master Craftsmanship (Nekocon 2001)
Status: Semi-retired
Impetus: I was asked to be in a Yami no Matsuei skit for Nekocon, and ended up choosing to be Watari since I identify with his character. Originally I wanted to make one of his artbook outfits, but I ran out of time and money so I ended up settling on his regular outfit.
Process: The black turleneck was made from spare lycra, with a back zip to make it extra tight on my neck, since most store-bought turtlenecks are rather loose in the neck. I then made the blue overshirt out of some sea-foam green cotton I found in the discount bin, using a basic sleeveless shirt pattern.
I didn't have time to make the coat, so I ended up just using my old lab coat for when I used to work in a hospital lab. The black pants were my vinyl pants first worn for Mad Hatter and later used for so many other costumes. I also used my black fingerless gloves from Farfarello.
The orange hair tie was a spare scrap of lycra hemmed at the edges and used to tie my hair loosely back. I also had a pair of fake glasses purchased on a whim some time prior, and these worked well enough for Watari's glasses.
After a healthy amount of digging through my mother's attic, I managed to find my old stuffed owl toy, which worked excellently as 003, Watari's pet owl.
Results: Another simple costume, comfortable, and pretty recognizable when you're in a group of Yami no Matsuei characters. I had a lot of fun doing the skit (my first interpretive dance skit ever), and overall I just had a lot of fun in the costume.