Tai Ho and Yam Koo
Suikoden II

Inspiration: A group of friends and I started a summer tradition of doing a Suikoden cosplay meetup once a year. This year we focused on Suikoden 2, and because I wanted to do matching costumes with my husband, we decided on Tai Ho and Yam Koo. Since Yam Koo’s face is covered and his clothing is loose, I figured I could get away with a cross-play.

Materials/Construction Details: These costumes were rather simple to make. I bought suiting material in tan and baby blue and slightly modified a kimono pattern. I chose suiting because I wanted a material that would be light, but wouldn’t have to be lined so that we could be cooler. I simply used a serger on all the seams on the inside to keep it clean. The brown and navy blue trims were also made out of suiting materials.

Wig: Tai Ho didn’t need a wig, but I bought a punky blonde wig for Yam Koo. I only styled it slightly since Yam Koo’s hair is supposed to be messy anyway.

Prop: We made several props for these costumes including fishing poles, made from bamboo poles and twine, and special Chinchirorin dice. We also lucked into finding the perfectly shaped basket for me to carry around at a thrift shop. Since there was a Hai Yo in our group, we also made little rating signs so we could have cook-off pictures. My absolute favorite prop that we made however was the ho humm cat. We made this guy by blowing up a photo of the cat in photoshop, printing him out to size, gluing him down to foam board, and cutting him out.