springtime yamato shoot! (Patreon)

This was honestly one of the coolest shoots I've done so far. We hiked up a small local mountain (which was HUGE to me as a life-long Floridian) to get some really pretty golden hour shots. The photographer, K (klowephotography_ on IG) was really wonderful with directing me AND letting me pitch my own shots, even though it took a little finagling to get the direction down. K loves to use vibrant colors and has some impressive photoshop skills, so I loved all the little details she added.

As for the costume itself- Yamato was (at the time) one of the most daunting costumes I had made. I had originally bought a costume but realized I didn't love the construction of the bow in the back and set out to see how I could do it. I cut up the existing costume to make a pattern out of and then constructed it out of a nicer fabric and had a better fit to my body.

For the bow I wound up making two separate tubes of fabric that had wire running thru each, and then wrapped them around two circles I'd made out of PVC pipe. The whole thing is held to my body via the belt wrapping and the magic of gravity.

The wig was my first time making a ponytail wig like this- we'd glued the base into a semi-hard shell and then attached the ponytail. It got the ombre effect with some rit dye baths, and then used some good old fashion sharpie-dye methods for depth and vibrancy of color. I crimped the whole thing to give it the signature wavy look. I think if I were ever to remake the costume I would try some other methods, but I was super proud of wht I achieved!

Also- everyone always asks about the shoes. They're honestly super comfortable! Felt the same as wearing flip flops. I much prefer them to heels at a con LOL. Only issue I had was trying to climb the rock of the mountain. That part we had to change shoes for.