Area 88 Shin Kazama costume progress [part 1]

Hello geeks!

Around winter 2016 I started to work on my future Shin Kazama cosplay from Area 88. I don't have a set deadline for this costume so it might or might not be a long-time project, depending on how much trouble I have sourcing some of the military equipment for it etc.  

Note: I had this post saved as a draft for over a year and I had completely forgotten to publish it when I originally wrote it, oops. Thus most of the progress on this post (and all writing, except for small edits to make it clear that this was done on last year, not this year) were done during summer 2017!!

Earlier I had an incredibly lucky strike and managed to find a suitable fighter pilot helmet that I could use for Shin's iconic helmet. I haven't continued with the helmet yet but instead I managed to find some perfect military surplus leather gloves! These are actually replicas of gloves used during WW2 by American paratrooper soldiers and in the original light brown color to boot – and thus pretty awesome for Shin.

This image shows of Shin's gloves pretty well.

And here's the gloves that I bought:

It's real leather with that vintage smell.

I bought these from Varusteleka. I highly recommend their shop
if you need any military gear!

After Christmas (note: Christmas 2016!) I stayed some extra nights at my mom's and decided to make use of the time there and draft the patterns for Shin's flight suit. I checked through mom's old patterns and managed to find some sort of 80s overall pattern and, on first look, it seemed to be decent to use as a base but then I noticed that I'd get some issues with some details and so I decided to draft another one that I found in a sewing magazine. Even this pattern needed some modifications to work (mainly the collars) but at least it didn't have some weird shoulder tucks... or be ridiculously generous in size. I mean, I appreciate loose fit and all but when it's roomy enough to double as a sleeping bag for two, then I'm not sure if it's so flattering to wear, lol. xD It was easier to just use the pattern from the magazine as a base and then alter it, even though it was originally a jumpsuit pattern.

So yeah, I cut out the pattern pieces and saved the modification process for when I bring out the fabrics.

This cosplay progress was on halt until 11th April 2017, when I went back to mom's to celebrate Easter. While staying some extra days there I decided that now is a good time to continue on my cosplay!
I had already picked out some proper overall fabric called Enstex, or something really similar to it. Mom told me that she had bought this fabric roll personally from Finlayson back in the days when she had her own fabric store. Yes, this totally means I didn't have to pay for it! So yeah, this fabric is not the exact same color as Shin's flight suit, a bit more yellow-ish in tone. It's just that color that drives you crazy when you try to decide on if it's more yellow or more orange, lol. I thought it was close enough to work for Shin (I mean, this type of fabric doesn't come in many colors normally; the color I have at hand is already rare enough to find), just the right fabric type to give the legit "workwear look" and so I went with it. Besides, it's water and dirt resistant – hella convenient for conventions, especially outdoor cons like Närcon, where I currently plan to debut this cosplay.
By the way, I went to check for the same type of fabric in a local store, just to check the general color choices and yeah, it was mostly black, red, white, a really unflattering neon yellow (think safety vests) or that kind of prisoner suit orange, the really vibrant ones. Both of the latter ones would look like shit on me so yeah, suddenly mom's yellow-orange fabric seemed ten thousand times better, even if the color is not 100% accurate. :D

Okay so, I started to cut out the pieces that I needed from the fabric. I think I used about 3 meters of fabric, more or less. I also needed to modify almost all of the patterns to make them wider because it turned out that especially the sleeves and legs were narrower than I first had thought. Then again, this jumpsuit pattern was originally supposed to be made in a stretchy fabric and obviously Enstex isn't elastic and won't give in at all. So yeah, I needed to widen the patterns to make sure that I could fit into the costume and sit in it without any unwanted surprises. I also had to modify the neckline and add a collar to it (there was none on the original pattern). The collar pattern that I started with was just an ordinary dress shirt collar.

Fabric cutting.

I cut out all the pieces, save for the collar, which I'll modify and cut out later on. I also went to dig in mom's zipper boxes and found two fitting zippers for the suit – now I'll just need to wait and see which one is better, the 45 cm one or the 60 cm one. Couldn't find one in the exact same color (not a surprise) but at least I found a yellow one that would look okay with it.

All pieces (except collars) cut out. Both zipper options visible.

A few days later I zigzaged around all the edges and then I started sewing the pieces together. I started with the pockets and yes, I added pockets because why not? It's useful if I need to store small stuff during a con. This was my first time ever sewing pockets, lol.
During the sewing process I got a few shit strokes because at least a couple times the sewing machine suddenly just shut down in the middle of everything! It never did it before and of course I panicked because yeah, I feared that I might have ruined mom's expensive sewing machine. D: Luckily it was just the power cable not being properly plugged in...

There's not so much interesting to say about the sewing process itself – everything went rather smoothly, except that the fabric is kinda hard to sew. I had to rip off and replace the pockets with bigger ones though, because the first ones didn't align properly with the pants (since they had been widened and not the pockets), oops. I had some problems fitting the sleeves nicely so me and mom made a deal – I peeled the potatoes for the Easter dinner and she sewed on the sleeves for me. Win-win!

Early try-on. I still had to add the zipper and hem
the sleeve/leg openings. Collar is also missing.

Soon enough it actually started to look like something wearable and mom joked around and said that I looked like an escapee. Stepdad said that I looked like a smurf instead... I have no idea where he got that from, lol. I wanted to say that I'm supposed to be a fighter pilot but oh well, let them have their fun. xD
At first I was worried that I accidentally made the suit too small but turned out that it was really big once I could actually try it on. Unflatteringly big in the torso area, to be precise – I looked like a tent. Jälleen kerran yliarvioin omat läskini. Then again, it's safer to make it too big at first than vice versa since this fabric has no stretch mercy and I can always just sew in the excess, which I'll most likely end up doing.

I continued by hemming the leg openings. It was kinda annoying because the fabric would always wrinkle in the end and yeah, the end result wasn't the prettiest. Good thing I'll wear boots over so no one will ever see them, lol.
Hemming the sleeve openings was even worse; I had to redo it twice and still it came out fugly. I ragequitted. The problem is that the sleeve mouth is too narrow to be threaded into the machine, once I take out the bigger part of it. My explanations are glorious, I hope you can understand what I mean. :'D But yeah, because I couldn't thread it to the machine it made the whole sewing complicated and just... fffffffffffuuuuuu.

Welcome to bunch kingdom. Yes, that's the sleeve opening.

Omg I hated this part! The fabric was always in the way and I had to make sure that I didn't accidentally sew the sleeve shut on the other side and... blergh. I can't explain. It sucked major balls!

You shall not pass. 8C #wrinklelandia

I left the sleeves unfinished for a couple days and then, on my last day at mom's I suddenly realized how to do this shit. I just had to bring out the seam ripper, open the sleeve's seam a bit (starting from the sleeve mouth, of course) and then stitch/hem the mouth and finish it up by sewing the sleeve seam closed again.

I've partly opened up the sleeve seam (top, notice the hanging thread) and stitched the mouth
hem in place. Time to sew the sleeve seam back in place again.

I've come to notice that this particular color is a bitch to photograph. It gets overexposed easily, even in indoor lights on a sunny day (and it also looks vastly different in different light conditions). I will probably have to be careful where I photoshoot this cosplay, haha. One thing's for sure though – I'll be easy to spot at whatever con I wear Shin too – or, as stepdad said, you can see me even in a dark cave. Well, at least my con friend's won't have a hard time finding me!

Notice that I've attached a slip to the front opening, on one side.

As you can see on the photo above I had cut out some slips, or whatever you call them, to support the front zipper or whatnot. I also cut the collar opening deeper (incl. the slips) to make room for the big collar, which would be sewn on later. Or well, not actually deeper, just a bit more V-shaped.
Of course I sewed on a slip on both the right and left side of the front opening, the photo just shows the process when I had only sewn one on. :D I turn them to the inside of the suit and ironed them so that they'd stay inside. Next I'll have to attach the zipper itself, which is gonna be interesting because I've never had to sew on a zipper before...
Oh and yeah, I know that the suit looks humongous on the above photo but it's actually just spread out on a small sewing table and part of the suit (mainly the legs and other front half) are actually hanging off the table, but because of the awkward photo angle (taken from above) it's hard to notice where the table ends and so my suit looks like it's a size fatass.

This costume was on a small pause until approximately a month later, on mid May 2017 or something. Meanwhile I was working on another cosplay project I continued with Shin's collars while the other project was drying. To make Shin's huge collars I started with an ordinary collar pattern from a dress shirt that I modified to make it bigger.

Modified collar parts cut out.

I zigzaged the pieces and sewed them together to get full pieces, creating a seam in the middle of the back on both parts. I added interfacing fabric on the inside of both the upper and the lower part of the collar.
But when I started test pinning the collars in place I noticed that they were a bit too long and, also, that the front opening of the suit was not identical; I had to go in and change the curve so that the front openings would be as similar as possible. I also realized that I couldn't put the zipper starting from the very top of the suit as then it wouldn't look right, seeing how Shin's suit has that V-shape going on. So yeah, the original plan to use the 60 cm zipper got changed into the 45 cm zipper.

Fixed front opening more similar, to make collar
attachment easier.

Top part of the collar with interfacing. Ready to be sewn on.

I must say that this whole costume process just makes me incredibly happy. I know it's kinda cheesy but I can't help it and yes, I'm smiling like a mofo just by putting on the helmet! You know, that kind of almost childish excitement and joy – that's what I feel when I think that finally I'll get to be one of my childhood figures. It's an incredible feeling. ♥ Every cosplayer should do at least one childhood cosplay one day. Words can't describe how stoked I am for this project! This kind of nostalgy cosplays are of the best kind, really. Because you know the inspiration will not flicker.

I'll end this progress post here as it's getting pretty long by now. ^^" A second part will come later where I finish this suit and start making the harness!

~ Shiro Samurai

Lens review: Vassen Kirei Green

Happy summer folks!

Today is a day for another circle lens to be brought to the spotlight and reviewed – the Vassen Kirei Green (sometimes also found as I.Fairy Kirei Green)! Don't let the name fool you though, this is not your average green lens but a turquoise or seafoam green one!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

These lenses look very blue in their vials, but when compared next to the Kirei Blue you can tell that these do have a greenish tint to them. I personally really like the design on these lenses and think that it's a great cosplay lens! The color is really vibrant and the thick black limbal ring adds to the 'anime eye' effect.

This is the kind of lens that looks best in sunlight, outdoors and close-up shots; in some indoor lights they lose a bit of their 'oomph' and look slightly more... sophisticated? It's not a make-or-break type of deal at all but yeah, these lenses really shine in the ideal light conditions so make use of that when you wear them out! o/

One lens in.

As you can see my real eye color is a light blue-gray and these actually look pretty nice on me! The bright color doesn't clash at the center badly, probably thanks to the slight fading and the yellowish shades around the pupil hole. These lenses have a respectable size increase and yes, looks quite dolly indeed. Also, if you like the so-called 'halo effect' then you'll enjoy these lenses as this pair does provide it! It's not the most obvious halo ever but it's there and it's lovely when it shows up.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-clear sky. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Indoors, poor (natural) light.

Indoors, unlit corridor.

Outdoors, facing sun while being under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing sun while being under the roof's shadow. Cloudy.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun.

Outdoors, facing sun. Cloudy.

The comfort had me surprised. On all times I tried these before writing this review they were uncomfortable at first, mainly scratchy when I moved my eyes and they also blurred my vision. This discomfort lasted for somewhere around 15-30 minutes and once past that these were incredibly comfy! I had my doubts about these but after 4 hours it still felt like I wasn't even wearing lenses (despite starting at a screen all along, which normally makes lenses dry out even faster)! I have really sensitive and dry eyes naturally so 4 hours is really amazing in my standards nowadays. I think I could quite easily wear these anywhere between 4-8 hours, which is basically a con day. These also seem to be quite thin, which made them a bit hard to insert but, in return, it's probably a reason for why they feel so invisible once I got past the initial scratchiness – which only occurred if I moved my gaze, for some reason.

On all accounts this is a lens that is very suitable for cosplay, especially for characters with this kind of turquoise eye color! It's a beautiful lens, nice color payoff and the design is simple enough to be versatile yet striking. This kind of color is personally one of my favorites with circle lenses and I would recommend you to try these if you are of the same mind. :)

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Super nice and vibrant turquoise shade that is between green and blue.
Design: 8/10
Simple but very cute, youthful and versatile. A great cosplay lens!
Opacity: 7/10 
Approved color coverage, the pixels are dense but there's still enough transparency for a 'halo effect'.
Enlargement: 8/10
On the bigger side but not too big I'd say.
Comfort: 7/10 
Uncomfortable upon insertion (scratchy when I move my eyes, blurs vision) but once I endured the first 15 or so minutes then these were godly. I could easily wear these past 4 hours and it didn't even feel like I was wearing lenses, despite me having really dry eyes naturally.
Naturalness: 2/10

Too big, anime and colorful to fool anyone.

Thanks for reading my circle lens reviews! Stay cool out there!

Shiro Samurai says sayonara.

Lens review: I.Fairy Ruby Green

Hello everyone!

I'll show you all the beautiful I.Fairy Ruby Green circle lenses today, also sometimes known under the name Vassen Ruby Green. It's definitely a suitable lens for cosplay but it can also do a lot more than that!

Let's go~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 16.2 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

You might wonder how come the lens vials are so drastically different but I'll assure you these are as legit as they get – I bought these lenses from I.Fairy's own website ifairycon. The lenses are from different batches (one is plano, other is -0.50) so that might explain the different vials but honestly, I've never even seen an I.Fairy lens in those normal sized bottles before. xD I.Fairy lenses typically come in those smaller ones but oh well, maybe they had a shortage or something, who knows.

These lenses have a rather simple design featuring a black limbal ring with some longer and shorter streaks running towards the center. The design of the I.Fairy Ruby series is balancing on the line between anime/fantasy and semi-natural – although I'd personally say that it leans more towards the unnatural department. It's a really nice lens with great color pigmentation!

One lens in.

As you can see these lenses are big, not ultra massive but definitely sizable and will probably look weird without any kind of eye makeup. The bold black rim makes the lenses appear bigger as well, while also adding to the 'anime' eye effect. These lenses have a pretty intense impact and are very noticeable and stand out – good cosplay lens material, in other words. Color coverage is good!

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-clear sky. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Flash photo indoors.

Bathroom light.

Unlit corridor. (natural light in the distance)

Facing window. (backyard view, hence the green tint cuz trees etc)

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

The color is great, it really looks green and has an interesting shade! It actually goes quite well with my real eye color (grayish blue) and brings out the little hint of green that I have. It's not a natural green as it leans more to being emerald than any kind of realistic green normally found on human eyes, but it's a fancy shade nonetheless and a great color – if you enjoy green lenses you'll likely want to try these.

Comfort is okay. Nice upon insertion but seems to dry a bit fast-ish. Estimated 2-4 hours wearing time if you happen to possess equally dry and sensitive eyes as I do, if not, then probably 3-6 hours or something like that. It's really hard to give estimates to others as every pair of eyes are different, hence why comfort grades should always be viewed as individual – lenses that might be highly comfortable for one person might be shitty to someone else and vice versa.

Distance photos!

Want to see the I.Fairy Ruby lenses but in different colors?
I've reviewed some more pairs here: Brown, Red

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Beautiful green with an interesting emerald-like shade. Great pigmentation.

Design: 8/10

Simple but eye-catching and really versatile.

Opacity: 8/10

Solid opacity. My eyes look undeniably green with these!

Enlargement: 8/10

Big, as expected from an I.Fairy lens.

Comfort: 5/10

Generally comfortable but seem to dry a bit fast for me. I'd say about 2-4 hours wear on dry eyes. Fine otherwise.

Naturalness: 3/10

Big and with a fancy green shade ain't gonna look natural on most people's books.

Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you found this review helpful! ^_^

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: I.Fairy Sirius Blue

Hello peeps!

After some silence (blame the shit weather) I'm now back with another circle lens review and this time it's gonna be all about the I.Fairy Sirius Blue! I love the name Sirius, it sounds like it could be a character in a fantasy book. :D Thankfully these are about as magical as they sound!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 16.2 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I had high hopes for these as the design is really intricate and unique – it's not your ordinary everyday lens as the detailed pattern really makes these lenses busy-looking and enchanting. The size is also really generous and the thick bold limbal ring takes it to the next level. I guess the pattern could be described as geometric, although it kinda looks like it could be inspired from either flower petals, some fancy star or even a magic spell circle – whatever your imagination wants to interpret it as.

One lens in.

The blue color itself is on the darker side of medium and it's quite a deep color. I do honestly wish that it could perhaps have been a bit lighter (imagine icy blue, that would have been so rad!) but it's pretty cool as-is. I just think that a lighter shade would probably have made the elaborate pattern show up more and not disappear into the lens as much as it does, especially when viewed from a distance. It's not a big deal but I'm personally a sucker for intense light blue lenses and constantly hoping to come across the perfect pair, lmao.

The color coverage is good, although these lenses do the typical obvious ring in the middle were your real eye color shows completely and, depending on the light conditions and your real eye color, it might or might not 'clash' with your iris. This is extremely common with circle lenses in general and especially those with larger diameters so yeah, it's not something I really think twice about but I know that it tends to bother some wearers more than others. These do not blend all that well and because of the highly pigmented color these lenses end pretty abruptly at the center, meaning they won't look natural. Not like such a huge size and fancy pattern would look natural anyway.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-clear sky. There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural roomlight.

Indoors, yellow roomlight.

Indoors, flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Indoors, unlit corridor.

Indoors, facing window to the backyard. (green tint comes from the bushes etc)

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, indirect sunlight. (facing the sun while standing under a shadow)

Outdoors, facing sun.

Comfort is pretty nice. I can easily wear these past two hours, which is quite a feat on my stupidly dry eyes. Despite their size they don't feel uncomfortable and I don't feel them much at all, which is always a big plus. These lenses were also easy to insert and they feel quite thin. I would assume that average wearing time for me would be anything between 2-5 hours, but for people without dry and/or sensitive eyes I think 4-8 hours would be more like it. Better than average, definitely.

All in all I'm really happy with these! I'd say that this is an exquisite fashion lens over a cosplay lens; not saying it won't work for cosplay, just that the pattern makes the color of the lens look darker on distance photos and if you're looking for bright blue and 'popping' lenses then these will not quite cut it. But for alternative fashion and the like these are a great buy, especially if you like to take close-up photos as then these lenses really get to show off their fabulously artistic print! It's definitely a fun lens and is sure to make your peepers stand out and, depending on what kind of look you're going for, these can look quite ethereal and fantasy-like!

Distance photos!

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
A deep, darker-than-average blue lens. It looks good but I do personally wish that it was lighter as that would likely put more emphasis on the intricate print.

Design: 10/10

Beautiful, really stylized and detailed geometric print that is reminiscent of a magic casting spell.

Opacity: 8/10

Dense color pixels and thus provides a solid coverage.

Enlargement: 8/10

Really big and the massive limbal ring only adds to it.

Comfort: 7/10

Quite nice. I don't feel them much, easy to wear and no discomfort. Approximate 2-5 hours on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 2/10

This is a fashion lens for the bold ones, it's really far from natural.

Thanks for viewing, I hope you found this review helpful!

Shiro Samurai out.