Costume Gallery

Construction Gallery

Costume Information

Character: Sailor V (セーラーＶ) / Minako Aino (愛野 美奈子)

Series: Codename: Sailor V  | コードネームはセーラーＶ

Variant: Manga

Completed: 2016

Debut: Private Photoshoot

Having confidence from making my first Sailor Senshi fuku in 2011, I knew I would eventually want to tackle making Sailor V, especially since Minako is my favorite character from Sailor Moon. I didn’t have convention plans for the year, so it made sense to choose a solo costume over a design meant for a group. For this project, I was able to source some pattern pieces from my first Sailor Venus fuku, which were from Sparkle Pipsi (collar & chest armor). The collar, skirt, and sleeve cuffs were made from dull satin (BFF Collection @ Hancock that I bought from their closing sales). The skirt is 2 circles with 2″ pleats. I used this tutorial, and it really helped me out because I’m terrible at math. The skirt closes with an invisible zipper and has 1/2″ horsehair braid under the bias tape to give it some bounce. The blouse was modified from a princess seam dress pattern (thanks Sparkle Pipsi for the idea!), and I modified the sleeve pattern as well. It’s made from ponte roma and includes serged seams and a neck facing. The cuffs were handstitched onto the sleeves. Chest armor is spandex lined with fleece.

The chest bow was also patterned from Sparkle Pipsi’s tutorial/pattern. I used extra thick interfacing (Pellon) for it to keep shape. For the hair bow, I just scaled down the pattern and it attaches to the wig with an alligator clip. Gloves are from WeLoveColors. They were cut and I attached the toppers, which were made from Yaya Han’s stretch pleather fabric from JoAnn. Anklets and choker were made from strips of fabric to match the rest of the costume, and snap in place. For the moons, I cast them in resin with molds purchased from Etsy. My husband spray painted the gems and the brooch, which is just a clear plastic Christmas dome. I bought some faux gold earrings on clearance at a local shop and painted them red with acrylic paint. Glasses are cat eye cosmetic frames (thank you Daydreamernessa for the idea!) purchased on eBay. The mask is just glitter cardstock glued on top, with a pattern I made based off the glasses frame’s shape. The shoulder armor is yet another awesome inspiration from Sparkle Pipsi — a 2 liter soda bottle cut in half and painted, attaches to the costume with velcro.

I chose white Karmen pumps from Payless for comfort. They do have them in navy, but they were not on sale and I wanted control over the color anyway. I used Angelus leather paint in Dark Blue to get the look I wanted, which took about 4 coats. For the wig, I used the same one from my Artbook Fruit Maid Minako costume, which is a Venus from Arda Wigs in Fairy Blonde. I added some volume to the bangs with plastic rollers, hairspray, and steam.