The Lala Satalin Deviluke Work-in-progress

What have you been up to? :)

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

I resumed watching anime! After being busy with events and training, I think I deserve to watch a new series again. A friend recommended To-Love Ru and I must say, I got hooked! 

I love the main character of this series. Her name is Lala Satalin Deviluke and she's an alien who fell for an average joe earthling, Yuki Rito. The story revolves around the daily life of Yuki, which turned out to be extraordinary now that she got accidentally engaged with the princess of Planet Deviluke, Lala. 

Lala is a fun and quirky girl who appreciates even the tiniest things that 'we human beings' usually overlook. Her crazy inventions spiced up Yuki's ordinary high school life, sometimes including his close friends and classmates. 

Often mistaken as a cosplayer because of her cute outfits, she depends on her dress mascot 'Peke' to help her dress up like an ordinary human being to avoid attracting attention. 

Because of her bubbly attitude and positive nature, I decided to cosplay three versions of Lala. Her default suit, her casual outfit and school uniform. It's not like I am preparing for a big shoot or anything! I just love making costumes/ preparing for a cosplay. It sparks my artistic nature and takes out my free time. :)

I have been updating my instagram account about the progress of both cosplays.

I started making her seifuku skirt and bow. I followed this tutorial on making a round pleated skirt for the cosplay. It's coming out nicely! I am almost done, actually! Just a few steps away in completing my very own skirt!

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

Then I bought brown shoes for her seifuku cosplay. (This one is for my Yui and Saeko cosplays)

I always wore my loli-like black shoes for seifuku cosplays. But now I can complete a handful of my cosplays stored in my closet because of this. Yay! 

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

Before buying the fabric for the skirt, I found this pink shirt that I never really used since I bought it. So I sew letters on it and turned it into Lala's shirt from episode 21 of Season 1 To-Love Ru. :)

Tadaaa~~ 

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

Costume change! I got my Peke clip from Bananahouse Clayground - makers of polymer clay goodies! I love how cute and accurate my clip turned out! Will definitely order my cosplay accessories from them from now on. hihi

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

I am planning to wear this cosplay in town soon. I have always want to do a photo walk around town in costume, just like what cosplay and fashion enthusiasts do in Harajuku, Japan.

I wish I'll have the courage to do that soon! Waa!

And now for my main target, the default battle dress of Lala!

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

I really find this costume cute! Her hat and tail are so adorable! She transforms in this dress when battling enemies or using her powers during her adventures. This is actually one of the complicated costumes I ever listed on my cosplay plans. It's a body fit suit - everything is covered with costume except the head. I just hope my seamstress can make this costume. I certainly want to wear this during a convention or photo shoot and emit that Lala-chii goodness to everyone! Hihi

I already printed out a lot of reference photos for the seamstress. I am figuring out what fabric to use for the costume and its details. I am still researching for the entire costume.

Photo uploaded in my Instagram account.

I tried starting with her leggings. I dyed a pair of cycling shorts to violet and wore it on top of my white stockings. Seems legit? :)

I'll still ask my seamstress for advice. She will have the final say with this. I am no expert when it comes to fabric choices and such.

That's it! <3 Wish me luck on my Lala adventure! I hope by cosplaying this character, I might meet more To-Love Ru fans and have fan conversations with them just like what happened when I cosplayed Saber. :)

*fingers crossed~!

~ Love lots,

Cee

PS: I changed my instagram account from @yourstrulycee0217 to @yourstrulyceedotcom

You can follow me by clicking this link. Thanks!

Post by Cee.

My Oiran Accessory Style

Remember my Geisha-inspired photo shoot with my friends last February? Well, a photographer sent me a message telling me that she loved my version of a geisha and she asked me to model for her for a shoot. Of course I said yes! Who can say no to a photographer taking interest in cosplay and Japanese fashion?

So for the upcoming shoot with this certain photographer, I am going to upgrade my geisha-look into an Oiran-inspired kimono get up. (For Oiran information, click here and here.)
I will explain what an Oiran is soon. :)

Only a handful of photographers take interest in cosplay here in our city. Cosplaying and dressing up is not very popular here and we are still labeled 'weird' by the people who don't understand our hobby. By inviting other photographers to our cosplay shoots, we introduce to them the wonders of the hobby of dressing up.

At least, some of the photographers we invited appreciated our hard work at the end of every session



This is what I came up after searching modern oiran looks and get ups. I used my kanzashi and fabric flowers for this. Red is used to convey strong themes about the personality I will be playing on the photo shoot. I will be using modern artistic styles on the makeup (in contrast to the previous geisha shoot where I followed the traditional geisha makeup style). I already have a reference for the makeup! I can't wait to do a trial for everything.

I am also planning to buy another kimono to layer it with my black one. And of course the obi tie will be in front. I will be using my creativity on this get up instead of following the traditional look of the Oiran. I will be trying on a wig in one of the trials. I want to incorporate ancient hairstyles of the Chinese (which I found very fascinating while watching the movie 'Saving General Yang'.) Can't wait!
. ^_^

I am planning to watch the movie 'Sakuran'. It's a story of an oiran who rose to fame after being a maid girl. The plot sounded like Memoirs of a Geisha. I need a lot of reference for the poses, facial expressions, makeup and fashion. I hope this movie will give me a lot of ideas.

That's it! Watch out for my trail posts soon. ^_^

Thank you for reading!

Cee

#ThrowbackThursday: Before and After photos, 3 years in between. :)

#ThrowbackThursday

 Fixing my blog, I found my old post about the OtakuFest Cosplay event that was held last 2011 here in Zamboanga. It was my first time cosplaying in public with friends (first time applying proper 'show' makeup, first time styling and wearing a wig and first time posing for in-character photos). So yeah, back then I thought I did really great on every aspect of cosplay. Oh the noob life!

Three years has passed and I think I improved a bit on every aspect. I learned how to choose high quality wigs for my cosplay, put on decent makeup and pose properly in front of the camera. Although I still get tensed during shoots and events, but at least everything looks a little better than before. :)

I still think I need to improve A LOT in cosplaying. And your lovely comments will help me in producing better cosplays in the future.

What do you think I should improve? Poses? Makeup? <3 Browse my previous cosplay on this site and tell me what you think! ^_^

Love lots,

Cee

(Quick post since I need to study for a big day tomorrow. >_<)

Baby Photography: Princess Arianna Dominique

Hey guys! So my niece from far away visited our house for an overnight stay! She is this beloved niece who is so witty and hyper. Arianna can make faces and answer simple questions when asked. She is so advanced for a two-year-old.

She loves posing in front of any camera (be it a phone camera, tablet camera or DSLR). Although very hyper, she still listenes to my instructions like asking her to look at me, smile or pout.

My mom had this white dress from and we dressed her up and comb her hair for a nice photo shoot. It was literally breath taking! She ran around the front yard, only posing for a few seconds. It was difficult using my nifty fifty too. The blurring is too great that I can't manage it always. Oh the learning continues!

Yours truly presents:

Princess Arianna Dominique

That certain glow in her eyes is so captivating! Such innocence.

A few lucky shots for me! Hyper kid is hyper! 

Her smile is so contagious! Thank you so much for the fun, Nana!