Thursday, August 30, 2012

Leaving tomorrow for the con!

Tomorrow is day zero. The day before the con. We're leaving no later than 11:00 am, since it takes about 30 minutes to get up there (It's not far) and we're stopping at Sonic! Day zero I do have a lolita meet-up and photo-shoot which I'm looking forward to. I feel awesome about my lolita outfit. Plus I have my new lolita wig to wear. I'll be wearing it all day tomorrow. I love seeing people's reactions to lolita. It's shocking I guess. But in a good way not like when I wore all black and had raccoon eyes.

I'll be updating during the con but if I get too busy or stressed I won't. Pictures will come out slowly as well.

Day Zero- Sweet lolita
Day One-  Sakura-Tsubasa
Day Two- Sharon(Pandora Hearts) then later Sakura
Day Three- Unknown (Lolita or Sakura)

But everything is done! The sewing, the props. I'm so happy but stressed at the same time. Mainly because it's hard to type with fake nails.I'm in a good mood. I'm excited and I wont allow the bad to affect me like I have in the past. We'll learn from mistakes. That's how people grow. I know for a fact we made a huge mistake but.....we made the bad we need to sleep in it.




Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Day 2

With only a few days to go I'm focusing on packing (Making lists so I don't forgot any item.) Everything is ready to go now. There is no more sewing, no more hot gluing, nothing left to do but pack and get ready to have some fun. I'm so excited about wearing my new costume, especially since it's so loud (Lots of bells) and the fabric is so nice and flowy.

Tomorrow (day before we leave) we'll be looking over all our lists, buying food for the trip as well as some medical supplies (Someone always needs a bandaid) and relaxing. Luckily for me I get to pack up all my casual clothing that day since I'll be wearing lolita to the con.

Day zero- We plan to leave no later than 10:30. Since the con isn't far away we aren't stressed about time. Unlike how it is when we're headed up to Seattle. Since we plan on stopping by a Sonic (A food place we don't have in Gresham/Portland) we're leaving a bit earlier than we really need to. I'll be wearing full lolita which I may post a picture of later. We'll be just hanging around until 3:00pm when we can check into our hotel with our roommates. Then at 5:00pm is the lolita meet-up. It'll be my first and I'm hoping to meet a lot of local lolitas and maybe make a new friend.

Day one- Will be so exciting. I'll be wearing my new Sakura costume all day. We have only one panel planed so the day will be open. I'm guessing we'll be shopping most of the day. I have a feeling we'll be stopped every few steps to be taken a picture of so we'll be staying out in plain sight a lot of the time. Sadly I have new medical issues that I have to be wary of so I wont be able to stay outside for long periods of time without a break. Might go to the ball at night.

Day Two-Is our Pandora Hearts day! In the morning we have a autograph signing then right after is the Pandora Hearts photo shoot with two of our high school friends. I can't wait to see them again. Then at three is the interview and photo shoot with the author of the new cosplay book "BREAKING ALL THE RULES" Which I am looking forward to so much! This is going to be the main focal point of the whole con. I really feel honored to have been chosen. Even though I may not make it into the book, At least I'll get to meet and talk with the author. After that we'll change back into our Tsubasa costumes and the rest of the day is unplanned.

Day Three- Not sure what's going on yet. May dress up as Sakura, may just walk around in lolita. Not sure yet.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Day 4- Drama

With four days to go I should be excited, pumped up and ready to pack. But now...I'm very disappointed.Our new costumes are Sakura and Syaoran. We were lucky enough to get those on time (a day early too!) but now the one photo shoot we've been looking forward to isn't happening. The Tsubasa/XXXHolic photo shoot isn't happening because I'm the only one who's tried to set a time and place, while everyone else dropped off the face of the world. That really made me saddened. I was hoping to meet more CLAMP cosplayers and hopefully make some new friends for future cosplay groups.

Before that happened I found out my friend isn't able to go because her group decided to exclude her and we had already had a full room. I wish she would have told me a head of time so I could have shared a room with her so she would be able to go.

I'm just so disappointed this year wont go as planned. Besides wearing our cosplays, shopping is the only other thing we're looking forward to. I have a feeling we're going to be excluded from what friends are going and are going to be stuck by ourselves at lot. Which isn't bad, Nic and I like being alone. We were just hoping to meet a lot of new people and make friends at this con since we were unable to during Sakura-con.

I really don't understand why things are falling a part four days before the con but I just can't get excited or even happy about going. We might wind up skipping the next K-con. I have only been to this con once but already I'm not feeling it. It's heart breaking because I love this hobby so much. I just don't understand why I'm feeling so upset about it. I don't think I'll ever do a con photo shoot again, that's for sure. Too much of a hassle. Pictures don't turn out well anyway.

It's weird being glum over a con. My hubby is excited. He's pumped to wear his new cosplay but I feel like this has been a waste of time and we're never going to be able to meet new people when they keep flaking on us. We did have a little CLAMP photo shoot planned with a Yuko but she never replied with a time or location so I'm guessing that won't happen either.


At this point I'm done dealing with people. I try really hard to be nice and help. But they never are willing to do the same. To be there for us and ask us to do things with them. It's tiring. Don't get me wrong. We'll keep cosplaying. We love it too much. I love sewing and styling wigs, putting on our make-up. I'm not giving that up. We'll just be more private I guess. Let people come up to us. I feel like I'm stuck in high school again. This drama is so old. I just want to have fun.

So I guess I'll just have to focus on my hubby and enjoy my costumes. The interview will be fun too. So as long as I look forward to the fun things and not what could have been I think I might be okay. At least I hope so.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Day 5- Keeping busy

Trying to keep my mind off of the con so I don't wind up being overly excited. Otherwise I'd get no sleep and talk nonstop about con stuff. My hubby can only take so much of my nonstop cosplay rambles. Although he's into cosplay he doesn't always feel like talking about the same stuff over and over and over. XD

So I've been focusing on writing my novel. And been cutting out and creating Adventure Time cut outs.

What time is it?

These are so much fun! Cutting them out and taping them together is keeping me very busy. I've done Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and now I'm working on my favorite character, Lumpy Space Princess. These are so addicting.

I've also been playing Darksiders. It's a fun game. I'm a big fan of the Grim Reaper. I have a novel planned about the Grim himself but I may not write that for a while. Anyway it's a fun game, keeps both me and my hubby busy because I'm not good at some of the puzzles. But it's fun so far.


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Day 6- Don't do this to yourself

Staying away from FB for a while. Simply because I'm sick of seeing things and posts about people comparing themselves to someone else, saying no matter what they do they will never be as good as that person. That isn't true at all. Cosplay is called cosPLAY for a reason. It's for fun!!!! Not for slandering other cosplayers's who happen to be wearing the same outfit as you, or telling yourself you aren't good enough, you'll never do as awesome as an cosplay as that person.

I've seen this go on in forums and that's a main reason I don't bother with them often. People can be mean, even in the cosplay world. But it's not right. Give yourself some credit.

I remember reading one post about a girl saying she hated people who bought their costumes and they acted like it was all about themselves because they had the money to buy nice costumes. It got me really upset because we send a lot of money for the costumes. Sure we could make them but I'm still learning the in and outs of sewing. I don't want to rush myself. I found it a low hit.

It shouldn't matter if you buy or make your costumes. It shouldn't matter if your crossplaying or genderbending. It should NEVER matter what skin color you have. Or if you don't wear contacts.

Loosen up cosplayers.

I would hate for someone on the street to ask a cosplayer what they are doing and get s horribly negative review about the hobby.  Not sure where all this "They're better" thing is coming from. I'm guessing the interest. Supposedly there is a new site like FB but for cosplayers only. I'll be skipping going there.


If your a new cosplayer and you have those thoughts running through your mind when you see a costumes that is very complex, don't hate yourself. It's not bad, it's not evil, it's okay to admire someone else's work. Don't feel bad if you aren't wearing a wig or have contacts or maybe aren't the best at make-up. You'll learn as time goes on. Just have fun and enjoy the con and your cosplay/s. That's what this hobby should be about is having FUN.


That's enough for my rant. I need to go write if I ever want this book to be published. Remember have fun. Be happy. And smile. People will like you more if you smile.





Friday, August 24, 2012

Day 7- Sewing is done

One week now! Getting pumped. I finished all the sewing touch ups. Sewed lace onto Break's Cravat, sewn on an extra snap onto Sakura's top so it wouldn't bunch up when I put on the corset, sewn back in the bottom part of the zipper on Sharon's gown. So now I'm done. There is nothing left for me to do for the con. Now I'm just going to focus on working out and starting to pack up. 

Sorry for the short post. I'm rather tired.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

FMA plans

The topic came up about Sakura-con today and we were talking about how to plan for the con and a wedding. Having a huge con and a wedding back to back is going to be hard. But we've been together for six years and are ready to become husband and wife so we can start our lives as a family. A family who coooooossssplays!

So in order to save as much as we can we decided to only get one new cosplay and not buy them online from our new favorite cosplay site (CosplayHolic) since we'll be saving towards the wedding. So we're going to stick with our FMA cosplays. Since it'll be casual which will be a huge relief cause our other cosplays are huge and fancy. So since Sakura-con is going FMA next year with Vic (Who we've been dying to meet) we'll be doing Trisha and Hohenheim.

Hohenheim's outfit is pretty simple, not as much as Trisha's but it's fairly casual. He can wear the pieces of clothing for other things too. From what I've seen in pictures his outfit consists of....

  • Brown trench coat
  • White button-up shirt
  • Dark brown/black vest 
  • Matching pants
  • Brown dress shoes
  • Tie (colors changes.)
Trisha's outfit is by far the most simple cosplay I'll own. Plus if my hair grows out by then I'll be able to use my natural hair since brown is my normal hair color. And I have green contacts already from my Sakura cosplay so there isn't much we need.

  • Light purple dress
  • White long apron
  • Brown sandels
Simple as simple could get. I love it. Plus I'll be able to go to any Edward or Alphonse and be like "MY BABY CHILD!" Yeah...I'm a weirdo like that. But anyway. I'm excited to craft a simple outfit. We'll most likely go thrift shopping hoping to find most items that way or ordering them online. Everything should be way cheaper than having to buy a fancier outfit.
















Day 8- Photographers

Photographs are a wonderful way to lock in memories or perhaps say goodbye to a beloved costume before retiring it and moving on to new projects. For me it's a way to show other people why we cosplay and it's always a lot of fun!

But how to start?

Go to the site of the con your going to, check the forums. I'm sure like most con sites have a section for photographers to post their info. Or maybe that con has a FB group where you can post, asking if anyone one is interested in taking some shots of you (or your group) for twenty-thirty minutes. These are the best ways to start. Or ask your friends. You never know who they might know.

But just like buying cosplay costumes and doing research on the company before buying, do your research. Why? They have a camera, check. They are human and willing to give up their time, check. They seem friendly, check.

Those aren't good enough. If your paying you really need to follow these tips.

  • DO YOUR RESEARCH (I cannot stress this enough)
  • Ask them questions
  • Ask for links to their works
  • Ask people in your location con forums about them

Here is a link to some more wonderful advice Breaking All The Rules-blog post


Now time for my horror story. (I will not be saying names/name of the con)

  When we were getting ready to go to a con earlier in the year we decided that we needed to get some pictures done of our costumes this time, since a lot of our family members were asking to see what we looked like in full cosplay. So when a friend posted that a photographer had a few slots left and they had just booked theirs I jumped on the chance and e-mailed the person. It took a while to get a reply (Which should always been seen as the first sign this photographer might not be right for you) This person was nice at first but I noticed he didn't really seem interested in our cosplays. He asked for links but it turns out he never bothered to research them. We sent a few messages back and forth and when the con was just days away I messaged them asking where and when they wanted to meet, he didn't reply. So I shook it off and packed up. We drove up to the con space which takes around three-four hours plus we hit traffic issues and were so excited to be going back to this con.

That night once we were settled into our hotel I told my hubby to text him. They did and we set a time but no location because "They wanted to scan the place first" So the next day we waited around for them. They weren't where they told us to meet them and we were growing tried and hot and very annoyed by the lack of response from this person. They told us downstairs by the back doors that led out to the garden area outback. We checked both doors. They wasn't there. So my hubby called him.

It turns out they were upstairs, far from the area they told us to meet them. At this point I wanted to cancel and say "Fuck it" Like most of their other cosplayers did that day or so they told us. We went out back to a spot they had liked and started doing some pictures. They were nice enough, sort of crude but at least they weren't horrible.

We switched areas once and took more pictures. They did show us some of the pictures and they were so nice! I was excited and forgot all about the trouble we had with them. When we asked when the pictures would be posted he said not long after they flew home, so about two weeks. That's a good time. If I was taking the pictures I would say two weeks latest depending on how many other photo shoots they had taken that day.

So we left in a better mood. Then one week went by and another. And then a month. We contacted them after a while and ask when we would see our pictures. They said soon. They were starting to work on them. I shrugged it off. Another month past then another. STILL NO PICTURES. I thought okay, they work. They'll do it when they get a chance. They went to another con, uploaded the pictures that night. It pissed me off. So we messaged them again, this time on their FB wall so he had to reply quickly.

Another excuse. Then they went ahead and posted our friend's pictures (Which were taken a few hours after our shoot) before ours! I felt happy for our friends because their pictures turned out really nice! But upset over the fact the person had yet to post ours and kept making excuses. I got pissed. So another month went by. Then another. Now it's half a year later and still no pictures. It's a shame because it wasted our time when we could have been going to a panel or enjoying the con. I don't expect they will ever post our pictures. Heck, I bet they deleted them long ago.


The issues with this wasn't that we paid (Thank goodness it was a free shoot) but it's the fact they call themselves "Professionals". I was taught by a real professional photographer who did work on the side of his teaching job and knew many photographers that had their work up in the local art museum, that the first step in being professional is being timely. This group was nothing like I thought they would be. I will never get pictures done in less I've done a lot of research on the photographer. If they take too long to reply then I'm not bothering them and not wasting our time.

I will not list who we had our pictures taken with. Although I will warn people against them if they ask in the forums for that con.


So that's all for today. Eight days away. I'm not in a very good mood right now so I can't say I'm excited even through I knew besides being kind of gloom and doom and I am. Our costumes are here, they fit and are all packed up.


















Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Day 9

Today wasn't a very good day. Lots of stress and drama. Truth be told I was so upset I was ready to throw in the towel on cosplay. But looking around my room at all my cosplay items I can't help but to shake my head and say "Never" It's too much fun and the outcomes are always good. I'm not going to give it up just because of one thing.

So anyway...

Since we're in the single digits now I'm focusing on the small sewing touch ups that need to be done. My lolita jacket has a few holes and a button came off in the wash so I glued the button back on the hook and am sewing up those tiny holes. Might remove the red ribbon on the back because it looks funny.

Besides that my mom is going to help me zip back in the zipper on Sharon's gown. After I get purple thread of course which if tomorrow goes better I'll get tomorrow and finish up that. I might put lace on Break's jabot but that's going to take the whole nine/eight days to finish up. The lace is flat no edges on the bottom so it looks weird. I might sweet talk my hubby into buying some nicer lace for his costume tomorrow but we'll see. It'll make my life easier.

Besides that we need a few make-up items for colored eyebrows, I'm going to try two different ways just in case one doesn't work. We're going to try

Colored Eyebrows

Mascara brush + Acrylic  




So hopefully one of those works.  These last few days will go by quickly. They normally do.  Now we just have to figure out how to store and move our props during the drive. I might look weird in full lolita carrying two huge props in the car while we stop at Sonic. XD

CosplayHolic review (positive) Picture heavy

As I promised here is my review for CosplayHolic or also known on Ebay as doublepshop2008. 

Ordered on-July 14th
Items Ordered-Syaoran Ver.7-99  Sakura Ver3 Sakura wig
Paid for- As listed above
Package sent-Aug.20th
Package arrived-Aug.21st


First off we contacted CosplayHolic through their website after I found and fell in love with their Tsubasa costumes. After we firmly decided to cosplay Tsubasa we scanned the web for a new place to buy the costumes. Since the other shop we had bought from had horrible customer service (old site will not be listed but I will tell you if you want to know.) we badly needed someone who was good at English, replied to our e-mails and had good reviews. I came back to the link I had saved of CosplayHolic's ebay page. We decided on the costumes listed above which are artbook versions. 

Costumes as shown on the site.









We sent a email on July 8th. We got a reply on July 9th. Which impressed us. It took weeks for the last place to reply so it was a good sign and a relief. They were very kind, knew what we were asking and answered all our questions. So we sent a few more e-mails back and forth trying to figure out how much a rush order would cost. It wound up being too much so we went ahead and ordered normal shipping. All together we ordered the two costumes above and the Sakura wig plus the headdress shown on the ebay listing for Sakura's hanfu.

Four items in total. They gave us the tracking number before they shipped the item. I was a bit worried because it wasn't working. We asked what shipping they used and to our luck it was Fedex airmail. Once the tracking number worked it went really quick. It stayed at the Lantau Island HK port for a day then BAM! It shipped and in ONE day it was shipped to the states. I have never had such quick shipping. Now remember we ordered this before their busiest time (August because of Halloween) so please ask them ahead of time about shipping and about their busiest times. 

I live in Oregon. The package arrived in Memphis TN and stayed there until the next morning when it was very quickly shipped (I believe it was flown by plane.) to Oregon within one day. I watched carefully and as each update came I got really excited knowing our package could ship today. And it did. Around three our package came! This was the quickest shipping from China we've ever encountered. It really made us impressed and happy. 

We were really worried when they estimated the shipping time between 10-25 days. Today we have 10 days left to the con. But when it shipped within one day that worry faded. I tore open the box (Which was a lot smaller than I thought) everything was prefect and beautiful. We're fairly new cosplayers but this....these costumes are truly a work of art. 

 Please note that their costumes are NOT pre-made. They do list sizes but you can and I suggest you do, is list your measurements so everything fits you to a key. Don't be afraid to add one to your measurements in case your worried about the size and fit. Please give yourself at least two months ahead of the con before ordering your costumes. So you don't stress.

Picture time!!   





 This is the box everything was packed into. I didn't take any pictures as I opened it because I was too excited. There were no dents and everything was neatly packed. They really put their hearts into packing and folding the items neatly so everything fits.





          Syaoran costume

       What was included

  • Outer vest
  • Inner vest/shirt
  • Pants
  • Belt
  • Attachable sleeves
  • Upper arm bands
  • Long headband





Front of outer vest.


Just like the picture shown on the site. Sorry for the poor lighting in my picture. The green is bright. There are a few flaws but nothing that would ruin the costume/wearing the costume. So they are livable and I might be able to fix them.











The buckles are metal, heavy and have three holes. Everything is sewn on flawlessly. No stray strings, no uneven stitches. I'm impressed. My hubby loves his costume and everything fits him perfectly. 















Flaw #1. On front of the outer vest. Small stains of what looks like glue. Pink smudge, very light not noticeable in less pointed out. 














Flaw #2 long light pink smudge. Once again very light and not very noticeable. Really it doesn't bother us at all. It might be able to be removed.












The stitching around the arm hole. Not real stitching so we don't have to worry about it snagging. It glued on pretty darn good too. Looks wonderful from afar.
























Once again, sorry for the poor lighting/bad flash. The lights in my room are awful. The inner black shirt vest. Zipper works nice, well sewn. 













Back of outer vest. No flaws. Everything is stitched nicely. No lose strings. Very impressed and over all pleased.



















Pants. Love the pants. The green sakura is painted, very nice, not that cheap fabric paint that cracks either. Fit true to the size given. 

















Bottom of the pant leg. The gold buttons are shiny and smooth. Once again the stitches are perfect and flawless. Very pleased. Every detail is just like the one shown on the site and it's the same as the artbook version. I'm so happy and my hubby loves his outfit. 














Other leg. Again more buttons. Even and nicely sewn. No flaws on white side.
















Buttons on the pants. One fell when my hubby was going to take them off. But buttons are VERY easy to sewn back on. So I'm not worried nor upset about it. Things like this happen. 


We do have the button btw.














All the accessories. Top right, The long headband. This is awesome! No flaws. Nicely made and is the right length. Below that is the two green armbands. The black belt (And yes the sakura is supposed to be PINK.) Then the sleeves. They attach by two bands. 









Close up of the belt. Few flaws on the pink part. smudges of black. Nothing to be worried about. It's too small to really see. I highly doubt anyone will be looking THAT close to my Hubby's waist.











Close up of the bottom of the sleeve. Sakura is done nicely! No flaws on either sleeve, front or back. 













Close up of the headband. This is my favorite part besides the pants. So cool! I can't wait until I see it tied in with the wig. I hope it wont be too heavy. Although if it is I can easily clip it in so he wont have issues with having to be retie it.













           Sakura Costume

  • Top with sleeves (Like a coat)
  • Sakura corset 
  • Outer skirt
  • Inner skirt










Top. This is fully attached. The fabric is soft, light but is not see-through which is important to me. I'm large in the chest and don't like to show much skin. It fits but becomes a bit baggy with the corset on. I wish it was attached to the inner skirt so it would be easier to slip on. 


The stitches are clean, no stray strings. It's not snug or tight around the bust which is also important. It fits! I'm very glad. It's styled and created like a traditional Hanfu top. I'm pleased.






 
Close up on the inner sleeve. LOVELY!!!! This was one of the most loved parts of the outfit and they did it perfectly! 














Top part of the sleeve. Very nice. They pay close attention to detail. I like the fact it isn't faked. You can stick your finger into the hole and feel where they stitched the fabric together. It's not just glued down to make it look like there is a space. I'm over all pleased with the top.









The top is closed with two snaps. Evenly placed so the top stays shut. It's sewn in firmly. These wont be coming off at any point. 




















Peek at the inside. It's very nice! These guys are seriously professionals. By the way they are not created in a factory like most cosplay sites. These guys work as a team. And they do a good job!!! The inside is silk or whatever (Not good with fabrics) but is smooth and will help keep me cool.









Oh gosh. This is my favorite part. When I tried it on my hubby said I swim in it. I do. I'm short but that's good! This skirt is supposed to be long and flair out onto the floor. And it does. It's soft fabric, most likely silk or chiffon. Very smooth, flawless. It's not cheap fabric like the fabric on my other cosplay that I bought from the site we used to buy from.












Close up of the inner skirt. Shiny but not cheap shiny. It's very nice!





















Inner skirt is closed by a zipper, which does not fall down once zipped up. And a single button. The skirt is heavy but these clip it shut. They are sewn in firmly and flawlessly.












The middle piece of the costume, the corset. It's tight! But it keeps all the pieces together and doesn't slip. I'll have to have help putting it on but that's not an issue for me. 


Did I mention the bells are real? The chime beautifully! I'll be very loud and hard to miss at the con.





Close up of the bottom of the corset piece. The bells are so cute! I'm so glad it's real bells. I wasn't sure because most cosplay places don't use real bells. They use fake plastic bells that break or beads. I'm glad they used bells! It made my day. The gold fabric is also really nice! It's soft and smooth and shiny. As well as the red fabric. 








Close up on the sakura. There are some small flaws. But they are too small to really notice right away in less your peering face to face with the fabric. Which no one would during a con.










Flaw #1

Little dots of yellow. No big deal. It blends well so you can't really make it out. It's nothing to freak out or be upset about.










Flaw #2

Some of the black parts are over lapping the yellow middle. But once again like all the other flaws it isn't something that is noticed right away. I'm not upset in the least.









See? You can't notice the flaws at all! It's really nice. I'm very pleased with the fabric choices and how everything has turned out. This piece does work like a corset. It makes my waist look slim and small. I love it.









Back side. It's cut as it should be. I'm amazed by how closely they looked at the details. These guys put their heart into making these pieces. They really show off their talents and I'm proud to be wearing their art.















It's shut by thick Velcro. I'm not a fan of velcro but it'll stay shut. The only issue is that it'll have to be closed by someone else. But once again that isn't an issue with me. I cosplay with my hubby. 

See how flawless the fabrics are sewn together? It's very nice. They did a great job.







The outer skirt. This goes on before the corset. It's heavy but stays on with walking and movement. It jingles! All the bells work and is music to my ears. No flaws.


















This piece is hard to explain because there are multiple parts of it. It flairs and covers the inner skirt so the inner skirt looks like a flower. 


There are three sections of "strips" (With sakuras on the bottom.)  When worn over the inner skirt the two side sakura "strips" fall on the sides making it look nice and full. The other one is on the back.











Close up on the bottom. It's flawless. I like it a lot. Everything is correct detail wise.

















Close up of the side detail on the outer skirt. 
















The three sakuras. I'll need to iron it out a bit but at least they neatly packed everything inside that box! I bet it save us a lot of money having it in a small box.













Another view of the sakura detail.















The outer skirt in full. Lots of bells! I'll be so cheerful. I love it. CLAMP's styles their outfits so they are eye catching and unique, this piece has caught that.  And a lot of people have trouble creating them in real life. This team did a wonderful job bringing it to life. 











Another view more of the top part. It's sewn on firmly. Nothing will be falling off. They thought of everything carefully when creating these pieces.














Last view. The fabric colors are dead on. I'll show the artbook versions at the very end. They did a good job picking the colors. 










Sakura Wig


  • Very full
  • Can't see netting when moved
  • As shown on the site
  • The color is a brown/honey color






Sakura wig (Middle) is very natural and real looking. It's soft to the touch, full and as I said above it doesn't show netting. The brown wig on the right is the wig for Syaoran (Bought from another site) and is very thin. So I'm glad it's thick and not like that one. Their wigs are well made and real. 









The headdress is also as seen on the site. One flower did fall off when I move the headdress and I must have placed it back on the wrong spot. There is an empty spot now on the left. So I'll just put it there. This is how it'll look on the wig during the con. The bangs might need be trimmed a bit, they are loooong. But that's a good thing. I can style it to fit my face.












Empty spot. I'm guessing the flower went there. The top part of the band is like the flowers sold in art stores. They can pop off and be placed else where on the band. So I like it a lot. It's very pretty and better than the foam one I would have had to make it myself. I was so glad they sold these. If you want one you'll have to ask about it in a e-mail. It's not yet on their site.















Close up on the flower. This picture also show the nice color of the wig.  













The bottom of the strings have lovely little silver half balls. I like them. They are very eye catching.












Can't see the netting. That's how a good cosplay wig should be. 











They did a good job with details. Sakura's wig has a little pony on top and they did a good job on making it stay up without damaging the whole top part of the wig like it is with our cheap Syaoran wig.












Side view. They got the side strands like they should be. Not too thick but thick enough to look like how Sakura has it in both CC and Tsubasa.















Back view. I love how fluffy it looks! It's cut correctly too.


















Overall scores

Syaoran outfit- 4 1/2  (Would have been a five but there are stains)
Sakura's outfit-4 1/2 (Only thing I would change is having it all in pieces)
Sakura wig-Five stars (Perfect)
Sakura's matching headdress- Five stars (No flaws)


Overall  I'm impressed with this company. We will be buying from the again in the near future. They are very kind, answer all the questions asked, are patient. The shipping is fast when not during a busy period and Fedex shipping is the way to go when shipping through other countries. It does cost more but is worth it in the end. Keep in mind these costumes are custom made and they do not have pre-made costumes even through they do list sizes. You can have your costume made to fit your measurements without an extra fee! Their wigs are nice and will last a long time if taken care of right. All the styling you need to do is trim the bangs to fit your face and shake it out. The costumes all fit and were not missing any pieces. Everything came on time, before the date Fedex said it was supposed to. That's impressive. The people who crafted these pieces pay close attention to detail and make the costumes based off the original designs without missing any key parts. The make time for the costumes is around 15 days. That is not a long wait. But make sure you give yourself enough time and order around Two-three months ahead of your con in case it is a busy period. Feel free to ask the CosplayHolic members questions. They are very kind and will answer them for you. 



Would I recommended this site to others?
Yes! We'll be buying from them again. Not only do they not charge extra for doing custom sizing but they are also willing to take commissions for any costume they don't have on their site or ebay account. They always speak English (Or at least understand what you type) so don't worry about having any misunderstandings. 


Overall score of this company- Five stars. 


I hope you check out their site and give them a try. I know I cannot wait to prance around in my lovely Sakura hanfu during the many cons to come. This is one cosplay I will always love and will be proud to wear. If anyone asks where we bought our costumes I wont be ashamed to tell them we bought them at CosplayHolic. In a world where most cosplay sites steal pictures and use cheap fabric or miss key parts of the cosplay, this site is a gem among stones. It was nice working with them and I'm glad we got our costumes in time for the up-coming con in nine days. You can also check out their facebook page for more reviews and words from buyers. 


Please make sure you always do your research before buying anything online. Some sites carry stolen pictures. Some sites have poor and slow shipping. Save yourself from the hassle and do a little research. I did my research on this company BEFORE we contacted them. I felt comfortable ordering from this company. I cannot wait to buy more from them in the future. My fiance and I plan on cosplaying for the rest of lives. Even teach our future children about the fun hobby of cosplay. So we are so glad we have finally found a site where we can buy costumes that we cna't make ourselves. 


Thank you for reading I hope you have found the answers you were researching. If not please feel free to ask me anything. Either through one of the link provided below or through comments.  



Happy cosplaying.


Link to their FB- CosplayHolic



Links to contact me at- 
deviantart.com
Writing blog 






The original artbook version.