Pink Roses

Utena Tenjou - Rose Bride Dress

Description: This was my first sewing attempt in fact and is done completely by hand. Am I crazy? I don't know. This costume idea came about when I started looking for a new job. I knew that if I wanted to find a new job I would need a normal hair color. So I started looking for characters that were blond. Utena was my second favorite series (Kenshin being my first), and in the manga Utena is drawn with blond hair. I then looked at the Utena outfit and decided no way was I going to wear spandex shorts on my fat legs. Then watching the series she shows up in a pink rose bride grown, and I knew I had to do that. I went on-line to see what pictures of cosplayers I could find in the pink rose bride gown. I only found one, so that made me happy to have a unique costume. I also noticed that most of the Anthy red rose bride dresses where done wrong. How do I mean wrong? Well first I figured out that the dress to stay out and full would require having a hoopskirt underneath it. Most did nothing of the sort. Then I figured that the top part must have been a corset. I already had a hoopskirt and corset from my Renaissance gown, so this part was easy. I ordered a costume from a place on-line. The dress came to me in about two weeks, and I was almost in tears. My dream costume looked horrible. I guess what could I expect for so little money. I decided I could do a better job, and I now had a pattern to work off of. So I went to Jo-ann's and bought the fabric and started to work on my dress. You may notice that I went with a black trim instead of a dark blue or navy blue that others choose to use. This was an artistic decision. I felt the dress just looked more stunning with the black trim. The shoulder pads were part of my favorite part of making the dress. Most people seemed to use very limp tassels for their costumes, while they looked very puffy in the anime. So I used brushed yarn to get the effect I wanted. I think they turned out very well. (Actually they are most likely the best shoulder pads around). The flat part and the ball are both made of wood, and covered in gold cloth. The same gold cloth I used on the crown. The head band I used for the crown was actually very unique because it doesn't sit straight on your head but actually curves back a little, so it's a combination headband and tiara. The earrings are actually just pieces of cardboard that have been painted gold. The Utena ring was made by someone and broke as soon as I first tried to wear it. I ended up glueing it back together. So in fact the ring was free so I'm not one to complain. The shoes I found at Walmart for five bucks. The other part of the costume I'm happy about is the teal trim. Most people had very plan and flat trim,, I pleated mine to give it a fuller appearance. Oh and in the end I did end up buying the Utena pink wig, because it just didn't seem right without it. You may notice the bangs do curl up around my eyes; this was done using massive amounts of hair spray.

Utena Tenjou - Pajamas

Description: I had wanted to do another Utena costume and I came across the picture of Utena in Sleepwear. So I bought some male's pajamas from Target. They were a little dark so I bleached them, then painted the cuffs purple with a fabric marker. This was a very simple costume, but very comfortable to wear. Add the pink wig and that was all that was required. Only thing left to do was my ChuChu Balloon. At Ani-magic I jumped into the pool in this costume, so it really is wash and wear. The buttons on the shirt are purple roses just like the image I've gone off of for the outfit.

Costume Description:

Utena Tenjou - Christmas Outfit

Description: My Anthy and I wanted more costumes to walk around in together. We already had Rose Bride Dresses, and Pajamas, and we wanted something unique so got to work making Christmas outfits. I was surprised how easy it was. Once everything was pinned I just sent it through the sewing machine. The hardest task was working with all that fur trim. Why did I decide to make a costume on my second sewing machine attempt that uses yards and yards of fur trim! But, what an experience, I must say, I'm VERY happy with it. I LOVE invisable thread. I think I'll buy cases of the stuff and ONLY use it. The hardest actually was working with the zipper, and the velcro. But everything really went together easier then I expected. The sleeves do have abit of a puff to them, and I made the hat nice and big. The whole thing is very puffy and fluffy, and I feel like a Chibi-Utena in the outfit, however it's abit warm.

 Utena Tenjou - Girl's Uniform

Description:  It’s currently an ‘unripped’ version, but with starch, I plan to make the cut up version of the outfit.  I made the sleeves abit to big, but with some last minute safety pins, and later sewing, it all worked out fine.

This outfit came about when our Nanami bought a girl's school uniform. However it was huge on her, but fit our Anthy perfectly. I aggreed to make a new School Girl's Uniform for Nanami (so Anthy got the one the fit her, and it didn't have to resized for Nanami). So I picked up extra material to make myself a school girl's uniform at the same time.

Utena Tenjou – Halloween Outfit

Description: The Rose Garden Cosplay group works to protray the Utena characters in ALL their outfits.  With Yaoi-con happening on Halloween, we decided to throw together the characters in their Halloween costumes.  I'm Utena, so I got the job of making Utena in her Witch costume

I’m very pleased with how it turned out, even if it was a last minute rush ‘ghetto’ job of a costume.  I plan on altering the jacket and changing the outfit into a regular Utena Duelest costume in the future.  (I HATE the red shorts!  But goodness do I have the Utena white legs or what?)

Utena Tenjou - Boy's Uniform (TV Version)

Utena Tenjou - Duelest Uniform (TV Version)

Utena Tenjou - Duelest Uniform (Manga Version)