Bulma

Hello people

I'm back from a looong cosplay and crafting break, since I posted last time.

 I gave birth to my daughter Olivia in August 2013 and I am currently on maternity leave. So I have looots of time for cosplay - NOT! But I was determined that I wanted to attend j-popcon this year, IN cosplay.

I chose Bulma because she's awesome and I love Dragon Ball Z and the manga. This version of Bulma has the amount of elements that I was able to complete in 2½ days, and it is so cute!

Below I will describe some of my material choises and things I consider important, when making a fairly simple cosplay.

I often start my research, by looking through google, for other cosplayers that did the same project. I saw that most of the girls in this outfit, had used a thinner cotton fabric or heavy jersey for the dress/oversize shirt. When I look at the reference pic, I see the pink fabric as being some kind of thick and bulky material, so I went with a soft and thick cotton fabric - the kind 80's jogging clothes where made from.

First two steps:
-checking up on the dos and don'ts by looking through other cosplayers photos.
-notice the materials in your reference photos: is it light and flowy or heavy and bulky, where are the seams?

The shoes are made by painting a cheap pair of canvas/plastic shoes. The flaps are made  from painted denim, with velcro ( It shows in the pic above, right). I used the same paint for the purse because they are similar on the referenc pic.

The socks and scarf are made from stretch jersey. The gun holster is made from leather I got of an old couch before I threw it out (I will make a tutorial for this - it's so easy!) The little purse is made from painted denim - I wanted to get the same color as the shoes, so why not just mix one big batch and paint the whole lot at the same time (I painted the bag after I stitched it)

The shape of the dress/shirt was important for me to get right. I didn't want a tight fitting pink dress, I wanted the oversize shirt look, so that is basically what I made. I did add a little flare at the bottom though.

As I finished the shirt and wanted to test out the bulkyness, with a belt over it, I realized that it was hard to keep the bulks evenly spred out around my waist so I added a thin elastic on the inside witch I zigzagged over, all the way around the waist - and it was perfect!

The "print" on the front and back of her shirt is made from black and white pleather. And it makes the feel of the cosplay very cartoony and crisp! I love it.

This cosplay is very comfortable to wear, especially as I wan't to loose more of the baby weight before doin' the cheeky cosplays I love so much. The little purse was perfect for holding my stuff during the convention.

All photos are snapped at j-popcon 2014 by Sascha