Usagi Tsukino and Seiya Kou from Sailor Moon Stars

The first time I saw Sailor Moon Stars I was a young teenager. I was obsessed with the english version of Sailor Moon at the time and I was delighted to see that there was a whole 5th season that never aired in America! I obtained a "bootleg" copy of the season which consisted of a burned cd of video files that could only be played on Realplayer. I was amazed. The characters were so much more interesting! The show was so much better than the english dub! I wore that cd out. Sailor Moon Stars introduced the character Seiya, who would become one of my first fictional character crushes! Seiya and Usagi became my first "OTP" (look that up if you don't know what that is!). I drew fanart, watched the show over and over, and just connected to these characters on such an emotional level. Even as an adult I find myself rewatching the Stars season every six months or so and going right back to the feelings I had as a kid. 

I'm getting older, and my opportunities to cosplay are getting smaller and smaller. The time I used to have to dedicate to making elaborate cosplays is now dedicated to teaching, creative scholarship, and other daily life activities. Making a cosplay costume is a treat now, and my character choices are so important to me now. Cosplaying Usagi has been something I have been holding out on for years because I didn't think I could "fit" her or do justice to how influential her character and the show has been on my life. One day something in me just clicked. I was being a hypocrite. All this time I've been writing about and preaching about how anyone can cosplay and should cosplay any character they want, especially if they love the character. Looks don't matter! Age doesn't matter! I love this character. I have to cosplay her.

When I finally put on this costume and the Sailor Moon fuku I really felt transformed. I was brought back to my early days of cosplay when I was excited just to be celebrating a character I really loved, and not focused on competing or showing off my technical skills. I really missed that feeling. 

Also, my husband makes the hunkiest Seiya.

Construction

Usagi

For the skirt and the blouse I altered McCall's 7141. The pattern includes a pleated skirt with sewn in pleats and a side zipper. I used an invisible zip instead of the lapped zipper but otherwise the skirt was constructed exactly as the pattern noted. The blouse in the pattern was just used as a base since the collar and sleeve design of the blouse in the pattern is incorrect. I changed the neckline, drafted a sailor collar and facing, and drafted new sleeves. I also included a patch pocked on the front and a banded hem. 

The brooch is paperclay that sculpted, painted, and pinned to the bow. The bow is sewn onto the front of the blouse. The shoes are a thrifted pair that I sewed elastics onto. 

There is more information about the wig in the Sailor Moon entry. 

Seiya

For the Seiya costume I constructed the jacket and styled the wig. The pattern for the jacket was drafted by using one of my husband's button down shirts as a base and developing the rest from there. The jacket is fully lined and each zippered pocket is actually a functional pocket. The jacket is lined in "Star" fabric as a nod to the character ;) 

The wig was purchased at a local beauty supply store and I sewed on a wefted ponytail and wrapped the edge in elastic for Seiya's iconic look. The earrings were purchased at the Icing and I altered them to clip on's instead of pierced.