Why Chocola?
As soon as I saw this maid uniform (well, waitress in the show, but c'mon, it looks like a maid dress) I knew I had to cosplay it. It is just SHEER perfection in its design and I knew the tailoring would be a fun challenge for me! I'm not usually one to do big and flashy costumes or super detailed and complicated things, but when it comes to sewing, if I'm REALLY inspired to make a piece, I pour tons of hours into getting the look just right, and doing as clean of work as possible. (Not counting my "gesture" costumes, where I just blow steam and sew carefree, hahaha.)
Anyways, this project was a huge labor of love and took a while to get to the final product, but I'm super proud of how it came out! I of course saved the pattern for this so I could do another Neko girl in the future. Although Maple and Coconut are my faves, followed closely by Azuki, I think Vanilla will be my next one, since she'll look so cute with Chocola, and I'm a weird completionist about character outfit variants!
By the way, the pattern is available for sale in my Etsy shop for digital download! There's one version with ALL of the pieces and accessories (minus the bell and tights/stockings), and one with just the accessories, so everything minus the skirt and blouse/vest.
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Buy the Neko Maid Dress Pattern here!
Buy the Maid Accessories Pattern here!
Costume Stats
Started: November 2017
Completed: February 2018
Status: active
Wig by: Epic Cosplay Wigs
Worn at: KatsuCon 2018, Indiana Comic Con 2018, Louisville SuperCon 2018, Lvl Up Expo 2020
Awards: Two Judge's Choice Awards- KatsuCon 2018, Judge's Choice Award- Louisville SuperCon 2018: Costume Competition, Best Craftsman (Masters)- Lvl Up Expo 2020
About This Costume
Whew, where to begin. There is a LOT going on in this outfit, and I mean a LOTTTT. Though it appears simple, I infused it with plenty of techniques and craftsmanship in this cosplay! So for the overview, I patterned everything you see! Only exception is the black hoop skirt, which you can't see. That's from FanPlusFriend- I've had it since high school, hahaha. The pink buttons were resin cast and coated with clear nail polish, and glued onto the outfit! All black and pink bows were handmade and handsewn on.
I chose a "pastel black" for Chocola which is actually a very deep plum color. For Vanilla I plan to use a deep navy for her "pastel black" fabric. It took over 100 hours to create this outfit, most of which was spent in hand sewing or perfecting the pattern and fit. Sewing it wasn't too hard otherwise. It'll go even faster the second time around!
The wig is the Gaia from Epic Cosplay, and I stubbed the pigtails by chopping off the hair and melting the fibers together with a lighter. Beware, this smells! I then addded two matching clip ons for her pigtails. The ears and tail were handmade by me using faux fur, though I would like to try to remake them in a more realistic fur if I can. My hairbows were made of white ribbon and created so that a bobby pin can slide through the knot and attach to the wig's pigtails.
For the headband and wrist cuffs, I interfaced the pieces to get more structure. The headband has 1/4" bias tape top-stitched on, and handmade pink bows handsewn on top. I then hand tacked it to a black plastic headband in three spots. The headband has small little teeth on it, so it doesn't slide around the headband. As for the wrist cuffs, they come on and off with small snaps at two points each. A pink heart was glued on each one. They both have black elastic threaded through slots that were cut and sealed using a soldering iron. Black bows were hand tacked onto the elastic.
My nametag was made using PETG plastic, and I traced the name on in paint marker and then painted the pink in with nail polish. The back has felt on it and a brooch pin glued on to attach to the outfit.
So, oof. The blouse. This part was a bit of a doozie! Although different people interpret the construction differently, I personally opted to set the white blouse into the vest part of the dress, and keep the whole unit separate from the apron and the skirt. This keeps the white blouse always perfectly set and it won't shift in weird ways, or slip around, and the vest won't flip up or do anything odd either!
The white parts have 1/4" bias tape top-stitched on, and have various bows handsewn on as well. The shelf has elastic laced through it similar to the wrist cuffs. The scallop "wings" on the shoulders of the vest have upholstery interfacing inside so that it can stick out. The front has a separate panel on it.
Why Chocola?
I've been planning to do Chocola's maid outfit since summer of 2016 and acquired the materials for it but was a bit lazy to get started on it. However, I was searching for cute ideas for ColossalCon cosplays, and stumbled upon this art of Chocola and instantly was feeling this adorable design and knew I could make it with materials I had on hand easily! It's a bit skimpy for my tastes, however, it was a bit fun to get out of my comfort zone!
Costume Stats
Started: May 2017
Completed: May 2017
Status: active
Wig by: Epic Cosplay Wigs
Worn at: ColossalCon 2017
Awards: none
About This Costume
The entire look was made from materials I had on hand except for the beads on the bikini bottom ties, the flower beads, and the little ring on the bow on the back! The black parts of the suit are a really thick spandex with black foil on it, but I used the wrong side of the spandex for a matte look. The red parts are milliskin matte, and the "polka dots" are actually tons of Swarovski stones, because apparently I hate myself and love using expensive gems on something I'll rarely wear. (Insert laugh-cry emoji.)
The hair flowers were made of worbla and glued to hair clips! Oh and the choker was my repurposed Black Cat collar- I switched out the gem tag for a bell! Despite the really simple explanation, this was the most difficult swimsuit I've made so far. It was a bit of a pain, all those little details, but in the end it came out great I think!