Last Easter weekend, I have successfully expose the new look of Pokemon XY's Serena at a certain convention held somewhere in downtown Seattle, with thanks to my big sister Elise. Although one hour is a little short, it's more than enough to give 'em hell to those who never watched the Pokemon anime series (well most of them did but which generation?) and prove that anime is better than video games. Says who but who cares?
It all started when after studying about a certain Pokemon XY episode where the female character Serena changed her look after her humiliating loss at a Pokemon contest when her Fennekin got tripped. I was just wondering if there will be someone willing to dress as Serena's new outfit and the results turned out to be benign. I wanted my little sister Ces to do it but she refused.
It seems the only option I got to fulfill my dream to show the new Serena cosplay to the world is my big sister Elise but she feels like she's not up for the challenge. I'm not willing to give up so after numerous fracas with my mom and numerous negotiations, my big sis has accepted my offer, only the condition is she will be at a very limited time at the cosplay convention.
With the deal accepted, although some fracas did followed, work on the new Serena cosplay is underway and to do that, me and my parents went to the Philippines to spend almost a month to do some stuff. We done a lot of things while we were in the Philippines.
During my stay at the Philippines, we went to Binan, Laguna, in search for a tailor capable of recreating Serena's latest outfit. I even asked them to do Ash's latest outfit as well. Yes. I was talking about the Kalos Ash cosplay for me. They charged us almost 2,000 pesos or around $45 but only in downpayment terms and we told them to do as quickly as possible because we have to go back to Seattle before the month's end to make final arrangements.
While waiting for the outfits to finish, work on her hat is underway. I bought this particular hat somewhere at SM Center Muntinlupa for a cheaply 200 pesos and what I'm going to do is to make it red as possible while matching the design of Serena's hat. Of course, some fracas did follow after knowing that the hat I bought was pinkish and not reddish. Instead of throwing that hat away, we bought some supplies to make sure it matches her outfit. We bought some red acrylic paint from National Bookstore and some black cloth somewhere at Market Market.
I was getting nervous at first because I wanted the black cloth we bought to be as curvy as possible but my mom managed to do it anyway. We made the small black cloth as curvy as possible and then stick it with some glue. Voila! We successfully replicate Serena's hat!
With the hat done and both of our outfits finished as scheduled, we knew they were ready but there's some final preparations to be done so when our Philippine time is up, we headed back to Seattle to some final preps. My mom managed to make some closing parts for both of our outfits. My Kalos Ash cosplay and my sister's new Serena cosplay, they're now ready for the convention! It's amourshipping time! (Don't ask why)
Not as I hoped for but this more than enough to show Serena's new outfit to the world. Also, I even bought her a Braixen plush as well as borrowing my little sister's Pancham plush I gifted it to her last Christmas. In tune with the times, right? As for my Kalos Ash cosplay, it really worked! I was the only one in the convention to wear it. Now, I don't want to be all smug about this but this has to be one of the best challenges we've ever done. Moments of fracas really payed off to show that they should think twice about updating their cosplays. Me and Ate think we have the moral victory but I have been proven once more that anime is better than video games.
I did see someone dressed as Misty, Dawn, or May, but why did I never saw someone dressed as Iris at the convention? Maybe because they didn't see the Pokemon Black and White (Best Wishes) anime several years ago. For those who never saw the BW anime, watch it on Netflix. That's an order.
Anyway, if you want to dress as Serena on your next convention, please, not the old one. The new one. The new Serena look. I'll show you how to dress as Serena.
1) Start by finding a red hat but it has to look like the one Serena wore. It's kinda like a red fedora hat with some black stuff in the middle but it has to be that close.
2) A sleeveless red trench coat is a must for every Serena cosplayer. It may be difficult to find at your nearest department store but if you're lucky to have a spare red trenchcoat, try to remove its sleeves. Make sure the coat is not too long nor too short.
3) Although it's difficult to find a pink dress like the one Serena had, your best bet is to find yourself a pink one-piece dress with the Peter Pan collar on it. I know it sounds challenging but this is the only chance you got if you want to dress as Serena. Oh, and be sure to wear a black sando before wearing that particular dress. Lastly, don't forget the blue ribbon to put in on your pink dress.
4) Black stockings are not hard to find so if you happen to have one of these in your closet, use it.
5) Boots. Any kinds of boots will do as long as its brown just like Serena's.
6) Keep your hair as short as Serena's.
7) Bring Pokemon stuff toys that matches Serena's. In the current climate, you can bring either Pancham or Braixen with you. That sounds optional but this will make the most out of your new Serena cosplay.
That's it. These are the step-by-step guide provided by me so you girls can dress yourself in Serena's new clothes in an event a cosplay convention occurs. Good luck!
