Photoshoots: YinPhoto
Completed: December 2024
Debuted: Anime Frontier 2024
Cosplayers: Fauna Cosplay, Victoria Bane
Why this costume
As is often the case, my friends (looking at you, Fauna Cosplay) are responsible for dragging me into new cosplays. When they asked if I’d be willing to do a Bungo Stray Dogs group for Anime Frontier in 2024, I said, “Of course. Who’s my government assigned character?” I initially planned to make Koyo and still will at some point, but I ran out of time for her outfit this year. I opted instead to thrift and alter for shippy photos with Fauna and make Dazai!
How I made it
Like I said above, this is primarily a thrift and alter build. I lucked out and found a great men’s button-up and trench coat at my local thrift shop. I snagged a wig, a new set of trousers (that will also double for work pants), and some nice dark brown wool suiting from Mood. Thanks to Black Friday sales and my Mood points, the materials for this build all came in at well under $100.
The main piece I made was the vest. I opted for a fem look for this build since I didn’t want to bind. To that end, I used Charm Patterns Lady Dandy vest. To reduce the bulk under the vest, I also slightly tapered in the button-up at the waist. I didn’t have quite enough fabric to add bust darts, but thankfully it wasn’t much of an issue.
Dazai also wears bandages around his wrists and neck. To give those a bit more visual interest for photos, I lightly aged them by wetting down gauze and then dipping the edges in watered down brown-black acrylic paint. While still damp, I unrolled the gauze and let them dry. I don’t anticipate wearing this costume a lot, so I decided to wrap these manually for AF. If he becomes a regular part of my cosplay rotation, I’ll make more permanent wraps.
The Geeky Seamstress 