Xianghua
Soul Calibur II

Inspiration:  This was my first costume and the one that started it all.  Going to our first con was actually Tom’s idea, but I was very excited to go.  This was decided about a month before AWA, so we had little time to decide upon and make our costumes.  Soul Calibur II had recently been released, so we decided to go with costumes from that game.  We went with Xianghua and Kilik so we could cosplay as a couple.  These were a good choice it seems, because despite our lack of costuming skills, we were well received at the convention.

Materials/Construction Details:  This costume was put together almost entirely with hot glue and iron-on transfers.  Some pieces were even made out of poster board.  Looking back at these first costumes really shows me how far I’ve come.  One obstacle that had to be overcome was the red and gold pattern that ran down Xianghua’s legs.  This may sound weird, but a friend of ours had a pair of mannequin legs he let me borrow.  I put a pair of panty hose on those legs and then painted the design on using paint pens.  This was certainly easier than trying to paint the pattern with the tights on my legs!  The costume was finished with a lot of ribbon, bows, lace, and red velvet.

Prop:  The sword was a wooden Chinese sword painted red, gold, and silver with a red tassel added to the end.