After The Idolm@ster and PriPara, Aikatsu seemed like the next idol franchise that I should get into, but I was intimidated at first by how many episodes there were. I'm glad that I got over that in late 2015 when I decided to watch it, because it's a really fun, digestible series.
Of all the great costumes in Aikatsu, I went with the season one stage coord because I had a friend who was interested in cosplaying Sakura, and we thought that these would be good for us to work on together. I think it was a good decision, because they came out really cute for how simple they were!
This costume ultimately would not have been possible without Spoonflower's custom fabric services or Sparkle Pipsi, who designed the specific fabric that I used: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/sparklepipsi The skirt, tie, and scrunchie are all made using this.
The yellow parts are spandex jersey knit, and the white parts are scuba knit that I had left over from my Starry costume. The light blue parts are felt, and the dark blue skirt lining is sateen. The outside of the skirt has a wire in it to give it the wavy shape, and there's another wire in the petticoat for additional support. The petticoat itself is made of alternating white and yellow tulle. The boots are the same ones from my Cure Beauty costume, just repainted and with new tops. There are six acrylic jewels: a big one on each boot top and a somewhat smaller one on each sleeve and cuff. There's a little fiberfill in the sleeves to give them that extra poof.
The wig I used was sold as a character wig, but I ended up having to restyle it myself anyway. The side ponytail is heavy and awkward, but I was able to make it work by the second time that I wore the costume.
Aside from wig problems, the costume was both smooth to make and comfortable to wear. I even got to wear glasses! I bought a pair of large violet glasses similar to what Aoi wears most notably in episode 29: http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/aikatsu/images/4/41/Tumblr_mlwlycbbhF1riwdldo3_1280.png/revision/latest?cb=20130427080700 I like them enough that I've worn them out of costume, too!
