Hello geeks from all over the world!
It's cosplay costume review day today and this time it's not your typical anime bishounen that I have chosen but someone from a galaxy far, far away. Yes, of course I'm talking about
Star Wars. ;)
CosplaySky took contact with me and together we teamed up, which means that they sent a costume for me to review here on my blog! I'm pretty stoked, not gonna lie, as I've been wanting to go beyond my comfort zone and try cosplaying from movies for a while now!
For those unaware –
CosplaySky
is a big, established and well-known online costume store that has been
around for a long time and is selling mainly cosplay costumes, but also
props and wigs for affordable prices. They sport a wide selection
of costumes ranging from TV-series and movies to anime and video games.
My reviews are
always 100% my genuine opinion, no matter if the items were sponsored or
bought with my own money. I never compromise my honesty and true
thoughts to my readers.
With all of that said I want to welcome you to a honest review of
CosplaySky!
I hope you will find it helpful and feel free to leave a comment if you
have any questions after you're done reading.
Let's go!
~ "Forewords" ~
I feel like I should mention that I am observant when I browse online cosplay costume shops –
I have a habit of scrutinizing even the smallest details (I'm a perfectionist!) and comparing them with official
reference photos to see how accurate they really are. I do often try to find the
most accurately made costume possible but I also keep realistic
expectations in mind – you can't get something
that's 100% accurate, well-made and with high-end quality fabrics for cheap. The
simple and often true saying of "you get what you pay for" is something that I always keep in mind. :) Most
cosplayers do agree on that quality goes before price, meaning that
they are willing to pay more for a nicer costume and yes, I'm in that cast too. I do believe though that CosplaySky has an overall fair price versus quality standard,
meaning that considering the price you pay you do get something that is worth the money (especially if you are aware of how much it would cost to have a private seamstress do it custom-made for you). There might be some flaws or sizing issues but considering the affordable prices it's often a non-issue.
~ Contact, packaging and shipping ~
CosplaySky contacted me on the later half of last year, around late November. Yes, I acknowledge that this review has been super delayed and I'm terribly sorry for it but yeah, I got stuck in an economical crisis (still am) and didn't have any spare money to buy the remaining supplies that I needed to do this review in time. ;_; I also had issues with getting a photographer and with the weather being bad whenever it would have been possible to take the photos for this review.
I am not sure when or how long exactly my costume was produced, but I can assume it took around one week based on the dates set on my costume information sheet that came with the package. I have no sure-fire way to track or know how long the costume took to arrive (as I received no notification on exact shipping date) but from my email conversations I can land it somewhere between 1-2 months from China to Sweden, which is reasonable.
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| Costume bag. |
The costume basically came in a plastic bag and inside a zippered costume bag. The costume bag is pretty neat as it's roomy and all costume pieces fit nicely in it and because of the zipper it keeps all kinds of dirt out. Definitely keeping the bag for storage!
~ Costume thoughts, fabrics and sewing quality ~
Okay so, on the site it says that the costume pieces consists of three different fabrics: linen, cotton and polyester for the robe. That should be enough of an indication for the serious Star Wars fans who are looking for a 501st Legion approved costume to keep on looking, as this won't be anywhere near screen-accurate – despite the costume page claiming it is. It's a good jedi outfit for a casual fan or someone who just wants to dress up for fun (or to a convention) but if you're applying to be a part of any Star Wars costuming group with rigid costume standards then this likely won't fly. I'm gonna have to admit that I'm pretty new to the Star Wars universe (I only watched all movies for the first time last year, don't judge me lol) so this also means that I haven't spent countless hours staring down details on the screen and thus I am blissfully unaware of how screen-accurate this budget-friendly jedi outfit really is. For me, as a new fan, it's great for the price and fills its purpose!
What is included:
• Inner tunic (kimono style)
• Outer tunic (kimono style)
• Tabards
• Belt
• Under-belt
• Robe
• Pants
What is NOT included:
• Boots
My first impression was positive. The outer tunic, tabards and the under-belt feels like a medium thick cotton or linen fabric, which is nice when you've gotten used to expect everything from China to be polyester despite what the description says. xD The brown inner tunic seems to be a polycotton blend and is really thin but still okay. The robe is polyester and kinda thin too, which is good in the sense that it picks up wind and flies easily but not so good in the sense that it looks... cheap, for lack of better words. At least I always imagine Star Wars robes to be thick and warm.
The belt is fake leather with a metallic purely decorational clasp in front and it closes with velcro at the back, same velcro closure goes for the white under-belt as well. You will need a sash or cord or something to hold the inner tunic in place as it's a wrap-around kimono style tunic, just like the outer tunic is. The tabards are two really long rectangular pieces that you throw over your shoulders and secure in place with the belt(s). Pants are really ordinary pressed brown pants with a zipper and button closure and that has belt loops, if needed.
There's a leather pouch attached to the belt, I don't know enough to say anything more about it. ^^" Sewing quality is generally good and consistent, straight seams and such. There were some loose threads poking out in a few places but those were easy to just cut off.
One thing that I really don't get is why the robe has strings at the front, as if for tying it closed near the neck? I really don't get it and those strings just end up looking goofy and out of place when they live their own life on photos – I'd definitely cut them off or remove them as they are quite annoying and long enough to get in the way.
This particular costume is about 95% accurate to the stock photos on the site,
which is solid. The only difference I notice is that on the stock photos the fabrics perhaps appear to be thicker? Make sure to study the stock photos closely as
you are likely to get something really similar to it if you buy from CosplaySky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photos taken by
Sacchan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| Front view. |
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| Side view. |
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| Back view. |
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| Without the robe. |
Want to be one with the Force too? Check out the links below!
All Star Wars costumes: CosplaySky Star Wars costume selection
CosplaySky store & Star Wars jedi tunic rundown – Pros and cons:
+ Actual linen and cotton costume parts for the most part
+ Comfortable and easy to wear
+ Very accurate to store's stock photos
+ Affordable and recognizable
+ Decent sewing quality
+ The costume came in a convenient clothing bag
+ Great for fans who just want to have fun
+ Can be worn as a generic Jedi, doesn't have to be Obi-Wan
- The pants don't fit despite ordering custom size
- Likely not applicable for Legion 501st standards
- Not for those who demand screen-accuracy
~ Sizing ~
The sizing is generally adjustable with this kind of mainly wrap-around, loose-wearing outfit. Everything fits me despite the pants, which wasn't really a surprise anyway as I struggle with finding pants even in normal life as I don't have an ideal body type. The pants being unwearable (I can wear them but they're too small/narrow to be closed) is of little concern to me because I have a pair of fitting brown pants from another costume that I can use instead.
I ordered custom size but I'm not too sure how custom it really is – it might just be that custom really is just mixing and matching sizes from the standard sizes to get as close to your measurements as possible. So if you want to be safe (especially if you are a bit bottom heavy and/or have some belly) then order a size up as it will pretty much only affect the size of the pants and the belts (because of velcro closure), the rest is more or less one size with only the length varying. The fabrics have no elasticity.
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| Obi-Wan Kenobi reference image. |
~ Conclusion and final thoughts ~
Okay, so to wrap up this review I
want to make it clear that, despite some of my ehh-moments (robe ties mainly) I
am overall very pleased with this Force-positive costume that I received and with
CosplaySky's
service. ♡ I voice my humblest apologies for how overdue this review is but I really
enjoyed this collaboration with
CosplaySky and I'd warmly recommend their store forward.
Both beginners and more seasoned costuming fans can enjoy what
CosplaySky has to offer.
They are a reputable online
costume store with a huge costume selection and decent quality. They are
also pretty
fast with the turn-around times, but as with any online purchases from
overseas you should plan in advance and order at least a couple months
prior to the event you need the costume for, just to avoid any shipping delays. Their costumes also work as decent bases if you can't sew but want to do some small modifications to an existing costume.
I can recommend this Jedi tunic for
Star Wars fans who want to have fun while dressing up
– you don't even have to be Obi-Wan to wear it as it just so happens that his outfit is the most generally recognized one by the masses and thus you can use it as a base to do your very own Jedi character; I've seen countless Obi-Wan inspired Jedi creations come alive! Have fun with it and may the Force be with you.
Final Grade (from A-F): B+
Recommend to others: Yes
That about wraps it up. I hope you found this review
helpful and hey, do hit that "follower" button if you aren't reading my
blog yet, there's a lot more content coming up soon, including an Obi-Wan photoshoot!
A huge thank you goes out to CosplaySky for making this review possible and to you for reading this! ♡
~ Shiro Samurai says farewell.
