Rei Hino from Sailor Moon

Character Name: Rei Hino (Sailor Mars)
Series: Sailor Moon
Specifics: Rei's infamous pink overalls
Cost: ~$100
Time: 3 weeks
Started: May 2017
Completed: May 2017
Debuted: Anime North 2017


References




Gallery



Photo credits: Kris Byers Photography and Cosplay For A Cure


Costume Information

I love Rei's pink overalls and I had wanted to make them for a while. They're a wonderful example of early 90s fashion. I mean, they're pink overalls that have a belt!

Also, something cool about Sailor Moon is that each of the scouts have their own casual wardrobe of outfits that repeat over the course of the series. Rei's pink overalls are actually her third most worn outfit (worn in episodes 21, 39, 51, 65, 76, 89, 101) thus recognizable to many Sailor Moon fans.

I decided to make this costume when two other costumes I was working on fell through less than a month before Anime North. I knew that Anime North, being the biggest anime convention I currently attend, was the perfect time to make it as it was the best chance of the overalls being recognized.

Since most overalls aren't shaped like hers or have a belt, I knew I had to make my own pattern. The first thing I did was make a mock/rough version of the overalls. I started with a kid's pajama pattern from McCall's. (I'm very short.) Then I began taking in the pants and adding more fabric above the waist band to create the overalls. This took about two weeks of trial and error.

In the end, I ended up tapering the side seams from the hips up to the waist. I also changed the size and shape of the top half of the overalls until I found shapes that were both accurate to the reference images and somewhat flattering to my figure. Since I wanted to line the top half of the costume, I put a seam at the waist that would be hidden under the belt. I also put an invisible zipper in one of the side seams.



I went out and bought some pink twill and white piping for this costume. When I cut out my pattern, this is what it looked like:



I'd like to note that I learned two new things in making this costume. The first was pants pockets. I put my first proper pants pockets into this costume, which I'm very proud of:



The second thing I learned was how to properly install piping. Installing the piping on this costume took me something like 20 hours (!!!) because a) I had to figure out what I was doing, and b) I kept re-sewing the piping until I liked the way it looked, and sometimes this meant re-sewing the piping more than ten times.

Here are some progress photos of installing the piping:







The order of the construction went something like this: I made the bottom half of the overalls, sewed together the top half of the overalls with the piping down the center and sewed the top and bottom together. Then I installed the pipping around the edges of the top, installed an invisible zipper up one side, installed the straps, and then sewing in the lining. It was actually pretty fun to figure out what order I had to fit this costume together, since it was a bit of a puzzle.

After all this, I added the metal dungaree clips to the top.

Instead of rolling up the bottoms of the pants, I made them like cuffs. This gave them the look of being rolled up while not exposing the "bad" side of the fabric or the inside of any seams.

The shirt was a white t-shirt I bought at H&M and altered into a tank top. The only thing I didn't alter was the collar.



The wig was an Arda Venus from the first Silky line that I bought to replace my old Rei wig years ago. I fluffed up the bangs a bit and trimmed them. I made the side piece of the bangs a little longer to make the division between her bangs and the rest of her hair less harsh than my older wig. I also used a hair straighter to straighten the wig, especially at the back.

In the first episode Rei wears this outfit, she carries a bag. I decided I wanted to make it, and so I started researching it. I learned that that animators who worked on Sailor Moon had worked previously on an anime called Kingyo Chuihou (Goldfish Warning). It turns out that the fish on Rei's bag is Gyopi-chan, a character from the series. The writing on this bag -- "Kinchu!!" -- is what Kingyo Chuihou is shortened to by fans. This bag was a Goldfish Warning easter egg. So by making this bag, I made a Goldfish Warning easter egg, which I think is pretty cool.

I started with a plain white paper bag. I sketched the design on it, then went over that design with sharpie. I mixed acrylic paints to get the right colors, and painted the design, and then went over it again with sharpie. This was time consuming (it took ~5 hours), but I love the way it came out, since the bag looks like I bought it, not painted it by hand!





The last thing I made was the pen Rei has tucked into her front pocket in the same episode. Since I didn't want ink anywhere near my costume, I made her pen out of a stylis. The flower on the top was made by fusing two piece of felt together with heat-and-bond, except for a "pocket" onto which the top of the stylis could slide in. I then glued the flower to the sylis.



I actually already had the teal socks. I bought them two years prior in anticipation of making this outfit one day. I knew when I saw them that it was unlikely I'd find the right color of socks again.

I found the white shoes that would work at a local store for under $20 so they were definitely the easiest part of this costume.

And that's how I made her overalls!

Overall (LOL!), this costume was super fun to wear. Most people, including other Rei cosplayers, had no idea what I was cosplaying, but the people who did recognize the costume got so excited that it made me really happy. One of my favorite moments had to be joining the other Sailor Mars cosplayers at the Sailor Mars photoshoot at Anime North and have someone yell, "HOLY SHIT SHE MADE THE OVERALLS!" Seriously, having people stop me at a con to say things like "I just got your costume and it's awesome!" and "OMG! You made the bag too!" made me grin from ear to ear!



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