This is a reblog of my site http://geekysweetie.com – Other stuff may appear here such as reblogs from other wordpress.com sites. I blog and reblog about anime, video games, kdrama, toys, technology, and kawaii fashion and decor.
Doodle Champion Island Games by Google Celebrates Tokyo Olympics
I just woke up and what an interesting thing to see today as I opened Google.
Today’s Google Doodle is actually a little RPG Game featuring a cat hero who joins one of many teams focused around the theme of the Tokyo Olympics using folklore and mythology from Japan as the basis for a short little story. You’ll see famous legends such as Tanooki, Otohime, Kappa, and more as you walk around a fairly large sized world and engage with the various animal spirit inhabitants who live there, all while playing some fun mini-games like “Artistic Swimming” which is basically like DDR.
The first time I tried it using the default control settings it was difficult for me, since I’m on a laptop. My arrow keys are tiny and in a weird place on my keyboard and very close together.
But then I found out Google went above and beyond and even let you set up your own controls (Click the compass and you’ll find more settings you can configure). So I switched my keys to WASD which is more comfortable for me on a compact keyboard.
There’s tons of anime-inspired cutscenes, and an interesting, sometimes even sad story such as one woman wants to send a letter to her dead son underwater in Otohime’s palace. There’s sidequests like this and lots to do – unfortunately I only have about 20 minutes right now before I need to start work. But from what I saw, there’s tons to do, you could play all day.
I’m not even a big sports or Olympics enthusiast, but I am a big Tokyo Japan enthusiast and with the cute Retro RPG vibe and animal spirit villagers, this might be Google’s best Doodle yet.
Are you going to watch the Olympics? I’ll probably watch some of them myself. My fiance is really into sports and so we’ve watched the last few Olympics together. It should be fun to watch. It is unfortunate that Japan is still struggling with the Corona Virus and not allowing spectators at the Olympic Games. 48 Hours ago they declared a state of emergency and shut down their borders to foreigners – I read on Google. I thought their borders were already closed – at least to those of us in the USA – because I had a trip planned there and had to cancel due to the virus. But maybe they opened and reclosed them, or still had them open to certain countries – but now it’s a complete travel ban. Last I heard only like 20% of their population had been vaccinated. And with everyone in such close proximity at all times, that’s a recipe for disaster. Thoughts and prayers for everyone’s safety over there.
Anyways, since you can’t be there to watch the games, check out Google’s Doodle today – It’s a real gem.
I’m turning 40 tomorrow. I will officially be “Over the hill” or about half way through the average life expectancy. Although I know plenty of people in my own family who are well into their 90s and approaching even 100. So I think that hill should not be until you’re 50, but nonetheless, society is about to brand me as an old woman. Not only an old woman, but an old woman who plays video games. But that’s OK, because as I’ve gotten older, I have learned to stop caring what society thinks. I remember clearly, the day I turned 25. I’m pretty sure I had a quarter-life crisis. I cried all day and told my family that it meant that I had to give up everything I loved, my toys, my games, cosplaying, anime, etc. I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt shame for my hobbies. Games and anime and cosplay were popular with teenagers and early 20something year olds, but I didn’t know of anyone 25+ who enjoyed those things. Even my closest friends who used to play games with me, had long since moved on to other more adult hobbies.
Gaming isn’t the only geeky hobby that I embrace. Perhaps even more stigmatic is the fact that I will be 40 years old and collecting dolls. I started collecting dolls back in 2006. Even as a 20 something year old it was considered weird. My own family even later in life told me that they thought only “retards” (their word, not mine, no hate please, direct quote), only “retards” would carry a doll around. I carried it to take photographs of it outside, in flowers and trees, at a beach, and so on.
My family said they were wrong and they have met some of my doll meetup group members and organizers and have witnessed that many are/were even older than myself at the time. But now, 15-20 years later, I’m probably (one of) the old hen in the hen house now.
Prior to 2006 – even as a small child, I never once took interest in dolls. I liked animal shaped toys, but not humanoid ones. I was never one for barbie, etc. It was 2004 I think when I saw my first picture of an Asian Balljointed Doll on the internet. It would take me another year and a half to save up money for my first one. I still have her too. Dollzone Demi version 2. They no longer make her, or any other version of Demi. She’s turned yellow (because they are made of resin and it breaks down or oxidizes over time). But I still love her.
Balljointed Dolls are sold blank, no face, you paint your own, or hire an artist to paint it for you, or pay the company an extra fee to have it painted. They are sold bald. There’s no hair. You make or buy wigs. And they are sold nude. No clothes. They are also anatomically correct. They are adult collector dolls and not intended for children.
But yet, it’s such a very small hobby, that the stigma remains. That stigma society believes tells them that dolls are for children. Surely, a 40 year old woman with her doll in a public place is going to get some stares and maybe even hear some bad things behind her back, or more blazingly, right to her face.
But these dolls are not cabinet babies, they are meant to be works of art. And photography is yet another form of art. So naturally people like to take asian balljointed dolls out into public spaces to take photographs.
I don’t think society will ever accept that dolls are for adults too. And I have decided that’s OK. I stopped caring what society thinks – for the most part. Up until Coronavirus, I was actively cosplaying and attending conventions. I was 38 years old.
I’m overweight (Overweight cosplayers get hate too – damn so many stigma) But on the plus, it makes it so I don’t look as old as I really am. When you lose weight, your face loses collagen and loses elasticity, so I actually look about 10 years younger than my friends who are close to my age, some even younger than me. I could pass for about 32-35 easily. But still, even 30 is “old” in society’s negative mindset. 30 year olds shouldn’t be cosplaying or going to conventions or playing with dolls, or have pink, blue, green, rainbow hair, or watch anime, or any number of other “child like things”.
Well I’m sorry society, I don’t agree with you and your “rules”. I won’t follow your narrow mindset. I am turning 40 tomorrow and even when (if god’s willing) I turn 100, I’ll still be a gamer. I’ll be playing retro AND new video games, pc, console, and mobile games, I’ll be watching anime and Kdrama, I’ll be listening to KPOP and JRAP and probably still reviewing games and anime and dolls and toys here on my blog. I’ll still have the latest gaming computer, latest mobile phone, latest gaming console, and my doll collection by time I’m 100 will probably be damn near 100 (different dolls) itself. Sorry, not sorry. I’ll still take my dolls out in public. And probably care even less as I get older. I don’t know if I’ll still cosplay, but I’ll still go to conventions, and host my own meetups, and board game nights, and everything else.
How old is too old, to do what you love? I describe myself as a geek and a gamer. I identify as a geek and a gamer. It’s WHO I AM, AS A PERSON. That’s NEVER going to change. It’s the first thing I tell people about myself when I meet them for the first time. I don’t say Hi, my name is Jen and this is my career, I live in this neighborhood, I make this income, I have pets/kids/this car, like this movie or this book, no… The first thing I say… is Hi, I’m Jen I’m a gamer. I like to play games and watch anime. Since it’s literally my IDENTITY, I don’t forsee it ever changing.
I’ve played games since the first 8 bit NES, or even atarii at friends houses, or even had my stepdad lift me up to reach controls on arcade or pinball machines since before I could walk/barely talk.
I’m a gamer. I am a female. And I’m turning 40 tomorrow. That’s me. If you don’t like it, too bad. HAHA. I’m also a “casual gamer” and we get A LOT of hate, even from other gamers. What is a casual gamer? It means I play different less popular games. I don’t play mainstream stuff like call of duty or fortnite, I don’t care for action games. I play games for a different reason. I want to experience a story, to connect with and identify with the characters, or in some cases, I want to freely express and explore my own creativity, in things such as dressup games, simulation games, building games, so on where there maybe is no story or character progression. But it’s usually one of those two reasons – Story or Creativity – that’s the type of gamer I am, always have been, always will be.
Turning 40 won’t stop me from enjoying my hobbies. I know society will (continue to) judge me and others like me, who have a young at heart mindset… but that’s too bad. It’s their loss, not mine. They’re losing out on making friends with a good person with a good heart, a good friend. I won’t let their judgment stop me from doing what I enjoy. What is life without pleasure, without enjoyment, without ENTHUSIASM. It’s good to have hobbies and passions – and I am and always have been and always will be SUPER PASSIONATE about games, anime, dolls, toys, technology, and Kpop/Kdrama. Those are my passions. Those are my identity. They give my life meaning and purpose. They fill my life and my mind and my heart with love and enjoyment and creativity and wonder and amazement. This will always be true.
It’s a shame society forces people to give up what they love. Age is just a number. A birthday is just a day. You don’t suddenly gain maturity or wisdom by living one more day, or one more year, or one more decade. Wisdom and Maturity are awarded through overcoming struggles and hardships, from hitting rock bottom and climbing to the top, only to be pushed to the bottom again, over and over. And without your passions, your hobbies, the endless climb of life can be too much to bear for some people.
Take enjoyment in whatever makes YOU happy. Don’t stop something you love just because society thinks it’s for children. What is a child? We are all children of God. And god says judge not lest ye too shall be judged. So go with peace and go with grace. And the next time you see an adult enjoying child-like things. reflect fondly on how you were also once a child. I think instead of judging that person, you should admire that person, that they feel confident and comfortable enough to be their true selves and when you look at the happiness that person has enjoying their hobby, instead of mocking them, perhaps you should examine your own life. Are you perhaps the one lacking happiness? Your inner child is screaming, let’s play! But you’ve locked your inner child in a small tiny room. Let your inner child out once in awhile – it’s quite an enjoyable experience. I guarantee you will live more stressfree, happier, and receive more abundance in your life when you follow your heart’s desire, whatever that may be, even if others think it’s just for kids.
I’m turning 40 tomorrow and I feel more confident in who I am as a person, and what I want and desire from life. I’m getting married in 3 months. We just bought a house. We’re openly discussing adoption or perhaps natural birth (but with my age there are some concerns). We are building the life we want together. And no, my fiance does not share my same hobbies or interests, BUT he always respects me and encourages me to continue to enjoy my hobbies and interests, and I love him for that (and many other reasons obviously). So see – there are those who will love and accept you as YOU. Don’t change yourself for others – because in the end, you’ll both be miserable. There’s no greater feeling in the world than to be loved and accepted for the person that you truly are without hiding or holding back or changing yourself for that acceptance.
So this is to give a boost of confidence to all geeks, gamers, doll and toy collectors, cosplayers, whatever out there reading this, whether you’re 20 or 80 or 800, I’ll close with the old saying “Those who matter won’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter” – Stop caring what society thinks. Be brave, be bold, and be 100% Authentic Always. Be You!
PS: I’ll be unboxing my Smart Doll Starlight later today – it’s my birthday present to myself. Stay turned to this blog and my social media for lots of doll photos later. I decided I wanted a doll for my 40th birthday. 40 is a monumentous birthday. A transition from a young woman, into… I dunno what lol. An old woman? A middle aged woman? lol Whatever society chooses to call me, I am still just simply “me” at the end of the day. I’ll have my doll for my lifetime, to look back and reflect “That’s when I turned 40” 20 years from now, 40 years from now… It will be a cherished landmark of my 40 years thus far. All that I’ve been through, but also a window into the past – as the years go by – all of the unforseen, wonderful, sad, terrible, amazing, happy, exciting things that we can’t see until they happen to us. Come what may though, my games and dolls are here to stay.
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
#shiny #sparkle my new #mermaid #mermaidnails #nails #manicure #manipedi #nailart #turquoise #teal #cyan #aqua #bluegreen #greenblue #bluenails #greennails #kawaii #cute
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
#shiny #sparkle my new #mermaid #mermaidnails #nails #manicure #manipedi #nailart #turquoise #teal #cyan #aqua #bluegreen #greenblue #bluenails #greennails #kawaii #cute
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
I have a bad habit of not taking wig caps with me to my fittings and/or losing wig caps lol. I will buy wig cap before the anime convention next month. These pics aren’t great, because of no wig cap, and I also wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even lip gloss, lol.
But of course I was so excited that I couldn’t help taking like a million (OK about 40 lol) pictures in my costume.
As I was trying it on (and taking copious amounts of pictures in the fitting room lol) Kathy was putting the finishing details on the costume such as the ribbons on the crown and trimming the arm bands in the same cyan aqua blue color as the skirt / bows. That’s why you may notice some slight differences in each image. It was a work in progress.
It turned out SO cute though!!!
This costume has been a dream of mine for at least the past 3 or 4 years now. Ever since I got the UR Snowbird Kotori card in the Love Live School Idol Festival mobile game. I shamefully have not watched the Love Live School Idol Festival Anime yet – I hear it is really good though. I love the mobile game. Kotori is by far my favorite girl. I love all of her costumes. And her hair and face are just the cutest to me personally. Though everyone has their opinion on favorite girls when it comes to anime and games like this. There are a lot of other Kotori Minami Outfits I’d like to try someday.
But, the Snowman (sometimes also called Snowbird) Costume was my favorite!! I ordered a wand too but sadly it has not arrived – it’s been 3 months so looks like I got scammed – I would recommend not buying anything from Joebuy.com FYI lol. I have contacted their support 3 or 4 times inquiring about when my order will ship to no avail — but it’s probably just as well – while having a prop would make the costume more accurate, it would be a hindrance to enjoying my day at the convention. Hard to go shopping / carry a prop / carry shopping bags / and play arcade games or do an escape room puzzle etc.
This is (supposedly) a pic of the wand I had purchased (I say supposedly because these Chinese knock off sites are so notorious for stealing other people’s images etc). I purchased it on January 8th. This is now March 9th, and the order is marked as “processing” even though I have an email (and bank statement) saying that payment was received on January 8th.
Seriously guys don’t buy from this site… I’ve waited 3 months and it says it’s “In Stock” so why am I waiting 3 months? I think it’s a fake website / scam.
It’s a shame because it looked cute – and the snow bird to clip on my shoulder was perfect too — but like I said maybe it’s fate or kismet that the wand didn’t ship because I would have been stuck holding/carrying it all over all day.
As you can see, in the original Kotori Snowbird Costume – the top is like a teddy or lingerie, with a slit all the way down the front, bearing the stomach…
1.) I’m chubby
2.) I have scars from a surgery on my tummy
3.) I wanted to be a bit more modest because of my age (36).
Yet, even with the modifications to the top, it still perfectly captures the spirit and design of the character. I kinda like the fact that I “pulled off” a fairly accurate representation of the character as a “plus size” cosplayer. A lot of girls my size would be scared to cosplay a more revealing costume. But we were able to make a few modifications that made it more “plus size” friendly while still capturing the spirit and overall look of the original. I think us plus size gals should cosplay as whoever we want! And if you’re comfortable bearing your belly – more power to you, but I myself was not. The modifications to the top and skirt let me feel more comfortable – and still clearly represent the intended character. Anyone who has seen the UR Kotori Minami Snowbird Card in Love Live School Idol Festival would still know who I’m cosplaying as – and I don’t feel anyone would shame me for wearing something too revealing for my body size/shape (or age for that matter being in my 30s now).
People might still be like “EWW a fat Kotori.” but I don’t care. I’m comfortable in the costume, and feel it represents the character and does justice to it. I’m proud of my cosplay. And my opinion of my cosplay is the only opinion that should really matter to me. It has been a literal dream of mine for years now to cosplay this exact character. But I always wondered how I would pull it off, given my weight. But now, seeing my cosplay vision realized, it’s so exciting and so amazing and awesome. I’m so glad I stuck to my gut and my heart and went for the character I wanted to go as!!
This just proves cosplay is for everyone. You can always modify costumes to suit your needs. Just go have fun with it. You’ll be happy in the end. Even if you overhear people saying negative things, just ignore them, and enjoy your day. I’m sure I might get a few negative replies here about my costume, my appearance, my weight, or even the fact I haven’t watched the anime yet (maybe I’ll try to watch it before Tekko) (but at least I’ve played the game lol. I’m not a fake anime/gamer girl by any means. I do know the characters and chose this as a character and game that I love.)
Other modifications were made
– Skirt was lengthened a great deal.
No bloomers —
Because instead of thigh highs, I ordered custom leggings from Artscow.
I wish I had made the blue stripes on the one leg wider and more noticeable now that I’m looking at it. But overall happy and would recommend Artscow. Their lead and delivery time felt a bit long, but you can make any kind of leggings – or dresses – or anything you want with your own art work. It was easy enough to create a white/blue stripe pattern in photoshop and save and upload my design. Price was fair too.
I chose leggings instead of thigh highs because:
1.) I couldn’t find blue and white vertical striped stockings anywhere. – horizontal stripes a plenty, but vertical no where to be found.
2.) I know I could have bought fabric paint and painted my own stripes onto plain white opaque stockings
3.) But 1, I worried about a steady enough hand to make the lines look straight and neat and tidy.
4.) I worried that my thigh highs would roll down to like knee highs, which is usually what happens when I wear thigh highs. Especially since David Lawrence Convention Center is HUGE. And I’ll be doing a LOT of Walking…
I know in the original artwork for the card within the game, we can’t see what Kotori’s shoes look like. But action figures and other character goods have been released which show a blue heeled shoe.
I have a VERY wide foot – So wide that sometimes even buying wide shoes does not fit me…. I found a pair of DOUBLE WIDE shoes on amazon… They run actually BIG… I had to return and go a size smaller (in length) and still my heel pops out sometimes. My shoes are not pictured in any of my cosplay photos yet. And yes, I know they’re not the right shade of blue. But none the less, they are close…. They aren’t very comfortable… But women wear uncomfortable shoes all the time. I can do it too I guess, for a day…
These are the shoes I ordered:
I know, not exact, but you have NO idea HOW HARD IT IS to find a “CUTE” wide width shoe – period – and then expect it to be BLUE — or a very specific SHADE of blue??? Forget it LOL….. Not happening….
If I was a millionaire I would make my own company that made wide width shoes for young women that were cute, sexy, trendy, AND MOST OF ALL, comfortable!!
Like most women, I love shoes!! But I can’t buy/collect shoes like other women because they NEVER fit — and what DOES fit me — Birkenstocks, Clarks, Cobbie Cuddlers, Earth Brands, etc — do not offer attractive designs….
Anyways — I think I’m going to wear my shoes from amazon (pictured above)… I may regret it – I haven’t broken them in — the toe box is a little too narrow, the heel is a little too wide, the top of the toes feel like they’re putting pressure on my toes. A bit – like not overly uncomfortable… I dunno lol. It’s like they’re not as comfortable as my Go to Shoes / Sandals (Clarks usually) — But sacrifices must be made in the name of fashion — at least when it comes to cosplay! LOL… But all this walking…. Maybe I will bring a backpack or some type of tote bag large enough to fit a pair of comfy shoes and trade off if my feet are hurting too much – I don’t want to ruin my whole day at the convention and not enjoy myself! And I could use said tote or backpack to store my goodies, my wallet, and anything I pick up at the convention.
So after writing this last paragraph, I took a break from writing this blog post, and decided to order a custom print crossbody bag that should hopefully be able to fit a comfy pair of shoes.
I ordered this from Artscow whom I also ordered the leggings from. I am kinda iffy as to if it will arrive before Tekko but nonetheless, I will use the bag on other occasions, even including just everyday use. And it’s not like this is the last time I will wear this costume either, so I will have it for next time I bust out the Kotori cosplay 🙂 To get free shipping (for orders over $20), I also ordered a Mini button with the same image (for just $0.99 – much better than the nearly $20 shipping fee lol).
I’m not even sure it’ll be large enough to fit a pair of shoes? I hope so though. I found this other crossbody photo bag on another site, for like twice as much (shown below)
Now clearly that looks large enough to fit a pair of sandals, flipflops, or flats.
The measurements on snaptote’s site are as follows:
9.5″W x 12.25″H x 1″D
The measurements for the one on Artcow are as follows:
10.25″(W) x 12″(H) x 2.5″(D)
Which means if those measurements are accurate Artcows is a bit wider, a quarter of an inch shorter, and almost 3 times deeper….
If the picture from snaptote is accurate in showing the bag on a woman’s body….
That should be plenty big for shoes —
If not… Well a girl’s gotta have a purse anyways — and I like the idea that my purse will show people “who I am” – both at the convention as part of my cosplay — and for everyday use by showing I’m a geeky anime and gamer girl. So all is not lost even if it doesn’t suit my plans for packing a spare pair of comfy shoes lol.
It’s like someone can come up and ask me who I am supposed to be at the convention and I can show them my purse and tell them I’m Kotori Minami from Love Live School Idol. OR Someone on the street or at a store or restaurant could see my bag and be like OMG I love Kotori too, or I love Love Live School Idol Festival too! Or even just “I love anime too” or even just “I love your bag!” I get compliments all the time anymore when I’m out I think it’s 2 fold – 1 I’m happier now than I have been in a long, long time. People are drawn to that happy energy – and 2. I buy 95% of my outfits on amazon and etsy custom made, and really weird farout there, I will do some reviews of some of the shops I frequently purchase from online, but the number 1 place I have found is on amazon and called CowCow – not to be confused with ArtsCow. I haven’t tried making a dress on Artscow yet – they do have that option though. – I have unicorn dresses, cat dresses, dinosaur dresses, candy dresses, rabbit dresses, just all these wacky crazy print dresses lol. Everywhere I go, people take notice because I’m unique and stand out because I’m not afraid to be myself and embrace it and rock my geekyness. I get compliments all the time. For a long time too I was dying my hair rainbow colors – but had to stop because of my hair getting so damaged from continuous bleaching. I also had a formal event to go to, so seemed like a good time to give my hair a break for a bit. lol.
My Fashions
Anyways the last prop that you haven’t really seen up close yet is the crown. I ordered this crown on ebay for hella cheap, and my seamstress sewed the blue/white striped bow onto one end. It clips into hair with two barrettes. It is a little heavy and weighs the wig down some. I’m hoping once I have wig cap and wig on properly it will be less slippery.
Yes, I know it’s not quite the exact shade of blue, but close enough and so cheap (I think it was like 2 dollars).
I even have the perfect nail polish for my costume too, assuming I can remember what shade this was lol. I always get my nails done at the salon because Gel polishes are just so much better than regular polish, Lasts 3 or 4 weeks and I can go swimming in it or do anything and it doesn’t come off. So nice.
Having shown you everything there is to see, I will leave you with some close up larger images of my costume itself. Sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. I actually had a really stressful bad day yesterday – Seeing my costume — and my boyfriend’s reaction to my costume though made my day so much better / darn near perfect lol. But the stress from earlier in the day left deep shadows on my eyes and broke out my skin a bit. I also don’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss, and had no wig cap, so my dark hair is showing through / looking a mess lol.
Hopefully I will take more pics at Tekko – I was just excited lastnight seeing my finished costume for the first time and wanted to see the “complete look”.
If you see me at Tekko feel free to say hi!! Come talk to me about some Shoujo anime/manga, video games, or Asian Balljointed Dolls and similar toys. I’m really shy but if others talk to me first, I generally will reciprocate 🙂 I’m just recently getting back into cosplay and conventions. I’m dragging my boyfriend to Tekko with me even though he’s not into anime – It’s so nice to have someone to go with. We are both looking forward to the Escape Room and Arcade and other fun activities – Maybe some Board Games. I’m probably mostly looking forward to the Dealer Room LOL I wonder if they will have any Asian balljointed dolls or accessories, or pure neemos, or other dolls? Not that I can afford to spend much there this year :(… Life happens lol. Next year I will plan better and save more. :). My upcoming trip to Peru and some unexpected car repairs have zonked me hard. We’re also looking to do a short overnight/weekender local roadtrip type trip next month (potentially if it isn’t booked full yet). It’ll still be fun though just to wear my costume and walk around looking at everything and playing in the Arcade and Escape Room with my boyfriend.
I’m really looking forward to Tekko – it will be my first anime convention in probably 10 years or more. I’ve (recently) been to a few other geeky conventions but not anime specific, nor as large as, Tekko. I used to go to Tekko when it was further north outside of pittsburgh – I forget where? A marriott somewhere – maybe cranberry or monroeville- when it first started and for the first 3 or 4 years. – Man it’s been forever since I’ve been back to Tekko. I can’t wait! We will have so much fun.
Here are a few pics showing more of the details of my costume. Please excuse that they’re not photo perfect yet (no wigcap, shoes, makeup etc and I’m looking a little stressed/tired) — The costume is still cute though!! Can’t wait to wear it at Tekko!!
kawaiifluff 