Fushigi Yuugi was one of the first series that I watched with my two cosplay teammates, all the way back in middle school. As annoying as Miaka is (especially in the dub!) and as ridiculous as some of the situations were that the characters ended up in, this series will always have a special place in my heart. Nuriko was by far my favorite of all of the characters. I love his brashness and the fact that he never apologizes for being who he is, even if no one else really gets it.
This costume is made up entirely of different fabrics from Joann's Casa collection. All in all it was a pretty easy costume to sew and it's really comfortable to wear, aside from being a bit warm.
Top: The top is actually two separate pieces, the kimono type top with the sleeves attached and a tank top style top underneath it. Both tops were made with Navy and Champagne Casa satin and the sleeves on the kimono top are made out of Cornflower Blue Casa crepe. I used a kimono pattern to make sure I got the right basic shape for the top and drafted the other pieces. All of the details on the collars of the tops were hand painted by my teammate (dressed as Tasuki).
Hip wrap: There is a rectangular waist pad between the tops and the hip wrap that is made out of Hot Pink Casa crepe and some batting. It velcros in the back and the hip wrap goes around it. The hip wrap is made out of Tango Red and Champagne Casa satin. It's closed/held up with some snap tape and the green ribbon attached to the top. Again all of the details were painted by hand by my teammate.
Skirt: Just a basic circle skirt made out of Coral Casa satin.
Accessories: The "scarf" around my shoulders is a big rectangle of Yellow Casa chiffon. My crown is made out of craftfoam, puff paint, and medium & large size gems (one of which was painted red with nail polish). It is tightly wrapped around the bun on my wig, so it cannot be removed from the wig. The phoenix hair ornament is made out of 16 gauge wire and aluminum foil covered in fimo. The tail feather and wig details were carved into it by hand before it was baked and painted. The flower and dangling beads were attached with glue and the hair ornament was secured with a hair comb.
Wig: The top "bun" was made up of a bunch of strips of 16 gauge wire sandwiched between 2 pieces of craft foam (that were painted the same purple as the wig) and then covered in fiber from a 30" weft in the same color. The bun was attached to the wig with two 1" bolts that were glued into the bun and then screwed into the very top of the wig. Then the base wig was braided and the bangs were trimmed and styled.
Awards: 1st Place Adult Advanced Presentation ~ Connecticon 2012
