Azusa Miura – Idolm@ster – China Exotic
So, when the new DLC’s for Idolm@ster 2 came out, I was happy to see mini qi pao dresses. It’s not technically what we would assume as a chinese dresses (ie: cheongsam). Think of it as an A-line hip hugging sheath dress that barely covers your butt.
I got three yards of fabric at the LA fashion district. Unfortunately, there was not many brocade in purple. So I found the next best thing. This is a nice satin-y print with flowers on it. I also got almost 8 yards of gold trim for the dress. The lining is actually leftovers from Princess Yukiko. Yes, I use whatever leftovers I have for lining if I can afford it! lol
I made the bolero in one morning. I took a pattern and modified it to look like Azusa’s version. The photo hardly does it justice. If you drape it on a mannequin, you can see the awesomeness. The sleeves are short. The most annoying part is adding the trim to the sleeve seams. It just needs a good old ironing. The black trim is from Kashcool’s (or whatever it’s called now). I custom made a mandarin collar for the bolero. All that’s left is ribbon and a hook and eye.
The dress is taken from Butterick 5706. I’m a fairly curvy Azusa (hey, kinda fits the character!). I’ll be wearing capeizo dance tights underneath. The trick was to modify the dress as I went. I made custom darts to make the dress much more form fitting. I may have to invest in a pair of dance shorts (flesh toned), but I think the dance tights are good enough…myaybe?
The hair accessory is back at Skyfall. Just remind me I left it in my storage closet in the kitchen with the rest of my Newtype manga if I start OCD-ing before Anime Expo. This is meant to be worn for my friend’s flash mob event at Anime Expo 2013. While the con has issues, I am looking forward to this! Go My Way!
