Notice Me Senpai

So I like my anime and my manga. Following the massive amount of time spent reading and then watching both Naruto and Bleach, I ventured out in search of more indie or alternative anime. I'm not going to go into a list of favourites here, that's a (long) post for another day, but I will say that I have yet to find a series I can't watch. Sure, there are plenty that are badly animated, badly translated, with terrible plots and annoying or poorly constructed characters, but sometimes it becomes part of the charm.

I really do enjoy slice of life and high school themes, for some reason. On one hand, it makes it relatable, but at the same time Japanese youth and school is so far removed from my Western childhood experiences that it's fascinating and completely different as well. I suppose I tend to seek out slice of life anime for something comfortable and less action-packed as well.

The best part about this style of anime is that it's often very easy to cosplay. Hooray, more dress-up fun! I must admit that my hair colour (not to mention my physique, sigh) make it hard to find characters that I can easily cosplay without the need for extensive wigs and corsetry. If I was platinum blonde, or white-blonde, it would be a different story, but how many interesting female characters do you kow with dull blonde hair and chubby cheeks?

Because of this, I decided that for a casual costume party there's no need to be a specific character; if I have a generic outfit, I can be anyone. Which led to the design and construction of my Anime School Girl Shirt.

Typical of Japanese school uniform (according to pop culture anyway - surely not all modern Japanese schools still do this??), the shirt has a sailor collar in a different colour. I chose purple because it matches almost everything. The neckline is a lot more open than you would find on a schoolgirl, since I don't want to actually feel like I'm in restrictive schoolwear. I had to wear a uniform for twelve years, urgh. The collar also has a stripe of white along its border, an iconic design for both sailors and anime schoolgirls. Traditionally, this school shirt is worn with a wide bow that hides under the collar, much like a floppy bowtie. I used a ribbon.

To make this shirt I confess to taking a lazy shortcut. I found an old school shirt of mine that miraculously survived my teenage years with nary an ink stain or missing button, and snip snip! Off went the collar, to be replaced by the purple sailor collar. I also re-hemmed the sleeves to shorten them by a few centimetres. I decided the shirt, being a cheap-o mass produced item, was a bit too frumpy and shapeless, so I added a bit of style with the bottom hem. I cut away at the sides so that there was a curve over the hips and a longer tail and front (like many shirts are already). This shortened the shirt to a more fitting length and added some elegance.

Throw on some cute or colourful tights, black school shoes or Mary Jane pumps, and a pleated skirt, and you're a bona fide anime school girl! This awesome little skirt I found in a thrift shop for R30, bonus!

I've worn this shirt to a number of parties, and it really is a versatile item. It's light enough so that you don't overheat, it's comfy, and it goes with anything. I've worn it with little pleated skirts and thigh highs for a sexy school girl look, or with longer skirts and piggy tails for innocence, and even with jeans when I was simply too lazy to whip up something more inventive.

I've since decided that I need one in every colour, and a range of colours are now available to buy from my store, yay! From kawaii to killer, this top is a must-have addition to any cosplayer wardrobe.

A big shoutout and thank you to Lauren for modelling this shirt for me!!

#anime #cosplay #fancydress #shirt #collar #school