Many years ago I got an amazing present for my birthday. The manga collection of Sailor V. It is not a secret that I love Sailor Moon and I absolutely loved her story. I had actually done another Sailor, I cosplayed Sailor Neptune some time before. And I decided to make a Sailor V cosplay as well.
Minako Aino is the protagonist of the story in Sailor V. I think there is much more to her than people think. Of course she becomes Sailor Venus later in the series but she has her own story as well. For a goddess of love you would expect her to be just petty and vain but her character is so much deeper. Although she is silly and lively she has to deal with a lot of dramas and hide a lot of her pain. For some reason I always felt a bit like her. Give a face to others but keep the worries to yourself.
How I made my Sailor V cosplay
Unfortunately, this is one of the few cosplays I didn’t take pictures of while I was building it… But it was actually quite easy to make!
I started this cosplay making a pleated skirt. They are very easy to make, if you don’t know how to I already wrote a tutorial on how to make a pleated skirt. The fabric I used was a very stiff cotton for both the skirt and the top. I finished the bottom of my skirt with bias binding and made some extra bows for the back, the front and the hair. The hair one was secured with hairpins but you can always glue it to a barrette.
The crop top was pretty straight forward. I just had to modify a female base pattern. I should have left a bit of extra room on the sleeves because they were too tight. It would be similar to a shirt pattern but with a few adjustments. If you want to see thow the sailor neck looked before I sew it see my Sailor Neptune Cosplay Notes as I used the same pattern. The pauldrons and the glasses were made with foam, and I simply attached them to the top with velcro.
Although I could have bought them, I decided to make the gloves from scratch using stretch fabric. I never finished the gloves the first time I wore it and I added the orange rim with a bit of padding much later. One less thing to do when I decide to make a Sailor Venus cosplay.
Wearing my Sailor V cosplay
I have worn Sailor V twice for photoshoots. I don’t usually make cosplays for a convention in particular anymore, unless I am planning to enter a competition. I just madee the cosplay because I wanted to and because I liked the character. Maybe one day I will wear it to a convention, it is comfy and fun to wear!
First time I wore it, I just went out with my friend Gabi to take some pictues, we decided that same day that we were bored and went out to hobby. Sailor V happened to be almost ready so I chose her. At the time I didn’t have any orange fabric so I never finished the gloves until much later.
Next time I wore my Sailor V cosplay was with the photographer Ian Moore. We had met several times before but never had the chance to shoot together. We were having so much fun with Sailor V that we spent most of our studio time taking pictures of her.
I had so much fun during this photoshoot, I was just being silly and crazy! But I think it kind of worked for the character, I ended up with so many amazing photos! I just chose some of the best ones to show you here.
| Character | Sailor V |
| Series | Sailor Moon |
| Finished | May 2016 |
| Photo | Gabriel Ivorra / Ian Moore |
| Worn at | Cresta del Gallo / Mill Studio |
| Building time | 1 week |
| Contact Lenses | EOS New Adult Blue / Dolly Eye Starry Eye Blue |
