Character: Orihime Inoue
Series: Bleach
Version: Time Skip School Uniform
Debut: Anime Fest 2013
Over the years I’ve done a lot of Bleach costumes, and the character I’ve cosplayed the most from that series is Orihime. It’s funny because the very first time I cosplayed her I did it because it was an easy costume to throw together last minute. I had only seen maybe five episodes of Bleach at that point and really had no strong feelings towards her one way or another but, as it often goes when you cosplay a character I started to find myself drawn into the series and into her character. At this point if you asked me who my favorite anime character is Orihime would be in my top three. I love her and I feel like I can really relate to her. As dumb as it sounds I owe a lot in my life to Bleach and so I really wanted to remake that very first Orihime costume I had thrown together so many years ago. Not only because it means so much more to me now than it did then, but also because it is a testament to how far I’ve improved in my costuming skills.
For this updated version of Orihime I went with the time skip version. I made the skirt and jacket out of a stretch suiting. Because the fabric has such a nice weight and stretch I decided not to line it. The skirt is a simple knife pleated skirt with a zipper closure. I topstitched all of the pleats at the top of the skirt so they would lay flat under the jacket. The jacket is based off of a commercial pattern I slightly modified. Since the jacket was unlined I topstitched all the seams open so that it would lay flat and give it a little flare. I made the red bias tape for the side pockets and used the same fabric to make the faux welt pocket on the breast. I hand stitched the pocket closed and backed it with some of the suiting. Since the jacket was unlined I did not want a true pocket uncased just hanging out inside the jacket. To accommodate the signature hair pins Orihime has I made two small button holes on the lapel. This allows me to insert the hair pins onto the lapel without too much worry they will get bent out of shape. I made the bow out of the same red fabric from the pocket.
The wig started out as an Epic Cosplay Wigs Athena in Autumn Orange. I had wanted the Eros but they had sold out (literally 10 minute before I placed my order!) Thankfully they are extremely accommodating and sent me the Athena with no additional charge. I heat set the part into the bangs and did some trimming and thinning out of the hair around the face. I also trimmed the bottom to be about 5-7 inches shorter.
I made the hairpins many years ago for my original Orihime costume. It was very important to me to keep at least one aspect of the original costume in this updated version. The hairpins were made of shrink plastic in two layers. If I were to make them again I would probably sculp them out of clay or sculp and cast them in resin but I like that I have this one token from the very beginning.