Duo has always been my favorite pilot from the series and I've wanted to do this cosplay for such a long time! I'm so happy I finally got to do this one right!

Based on the drawings of Duo and looking at the pictures of the cosplay you would think this would be a very simple costume. While the shirt was actually pretty simple, (I had some issues with getting the collar to sit properly on the neck line and to hit the right width in the front) the pants were a completely different story. First off, these pants are completely finished, which I take great pride in. The pockets are real and functional and there are snaps going down the bottom sides for closure. There was no pattern that I could find for the jodhpurs so I had to completely alter a casual pant pattern that had the right seams for the pockets and loops. I did multiple test pieces for the pants until I got the sides to stick out just right and the same way on each side. I had to re-stitch the final pant side seams a couple times to get the tailoring just right so they didn't sag in the back. There is also an additional line of stitching down the front to give added dimension since the costume is all black material. Because of this I also chose to use black sateen which has a little bit of shine to catch the light as well as a little stretch to it so I could move. The boots are not completely accurate, but I didn't want to spend a couple hundred $$s on real leather jodhpur boots so I got the Chelsea slip on version and added my own straps which wrap around and buckle on the sides.