My other amazing daughter....

My daughter Andrea, struggles sometimes, with life in general, ( ok - reality). But she is incredibly bright, and creative, which is guess is why she struggles. She is involved in an unusual theater group where she spends most of her time and energy. But her Ichidan Acting Group is gaining her some skills. She has become one hell of a costume designer.

Like learning to speak Japanese, Andrea taught herself to sew. I came home from work one day, and she had my machine out and was sewing small pieces to make part of a costume. I've since helped her with some of the more tricky things like zippers and piping. But for the most part, she taught herself. She now makes full and complete detailed costumes. (She got her own sewing machine for her 19th birthday.) She sometimes uses a pattern to get the general shape of an item, but a lot of times, she just takes measurements, and runs with it. It's amazing how she can look at a drawing, and just turn it into a wearable and very detailed item of clothing. She even includes the jewelry, glasses, etc! Rings and pendants are very 'symbolic' in anime.

But first, some real quick background on Ichidan,... Ichidan is a group that does live performances of anime comic stories. Anime is japanese animation, (what we call cartoons - similar to our Superman or Spiderman comics). She makes costumes for several members of the theater group as well as for herself.

Here are just a few examples of her costumes:

This was one of her very first costumes which she made for one of her friends a few years ago. But the photo is her wearing it. Notice the boots! They were tricky. She leaves no details out! Not bad for a beginning seamstress. This character is named Sora.

This character is named Hatsuharu. She made this one two years ago. This coat was AWESOME, I should have had her to make me one! It's made from white pleather, (faux leather), with a white fur collar and buckle closures on the front. Again, amazing attention to detail. Hatuharu's motorcycle chaps were made of black pleather. The photo is her at one of their anime conventions in Salt Lake City.

This character is named Ishida. This is one of her most recent costumes. Again, amazing detail, from the bow he uses, right down to the white boots. I couldn't find a good cartoon of Ishida, but it gives you the idea.




















I don't know how many costumes Andrea has made, probably about 15 or 20. Not bad for a teenager that taught herself to sew.