[Yakumo Yukari Cosplay] Touhou Project's Boundary of Gensokyo: Purple and Red Vintage Dress

This Yakumo Yukari cosplay outfit can finally meet everyone in these convention photos from Zhe-T. For the overall coordination, I chose a purple jacquard dark-patterned dress paired with black lace and pink ruffles. When restoring this character from Touhou Project, I highly valued the layering of the skirt hem and the silhouette shape of the shoulder cuffs, because the characteristic of Yakumo Yukari's clothing is exactly that vintage yet magnificent dress vibe, perfectly embodying a sophisticated Lolita outfit.

For headwear, I wore a pink frilled bonnet paired with a striking red bow in the front. To neutralize the softness of the pink and purple, I intentionally used a red gemstone choker and the red bow on the chest to brighten the colors; this color-blocking combination doesn't look messy but is instead highly recognizable. The black folding fan in hand is also a signature prop for this character; whether opened or closed and held in hand, it can enrich the poses during photography. In the second sitting photo, I used the folding fan to block part of my lower jaw, coordinating with my gaze looking at the lens, hoping to reflect that mysterious and effortless feel.

To shoot this set of photos well, I put quite a lot of thought into the hair, makeup, and prop preparation. The blonde curly hair was layered, paired with blue-purple colored contact lenses, beautifully restoring the character's deep and slightly alienated temperament. The material of the clothing is not ordinary fabric, but a jacquard material with dark patterns, which presents subtle color changes under the light. The waistband features a wide black design with red lines making cross-strapping, which both tightens the waist to improve the outfit's fit and perfectly echoes the red decorations on the body. This corset-wearing style is actually very exhausting because during the shoot, I needed to walk around the convention hall and strike sitting poses on a plush cushion, where the pleated skirt hem could easily get twisted together, requiring frequent rearranging.

The Zhe-T venue was quite crowded on the day of the shoot, and the reflective marble floor inside the hall actually added a bit of difficulty to the shoot because it was easy to reflect shadows. However, our photographer made excellent use of the reflections and dark-toned background, allowing the deep purple clothing and red shoes to form nice reflective accents on the floor. In the second image, I specially sat on the white plush cushion I brought, which has the advantage of beautifully supporting the heavy skirt hem, letting the purple layered fabric naturally spread out on the mat. Paired with the glossy red thick-soled lace-up high heels, it beautifully elongates the leg proportions visually.

In addition to shooting standing and sitting poses, I also tried some movements interacting with the folding fan and small props. Although bearing a blonde wig and a heavy skirt hem on-site is a physical chore, getting recognized and taking photos with many creators who know Touhou Project made me feel this outfit was highly meaningful. For post-processing, it was mainly about adjusting light, shadow, and color saturation to retain the richness of the purple while highlighting the glossy texture of the red bow. I am highly satisfied with the overall texture of the final photos; though the practicality of this outfit is not very strong, as a cosplay costume, the detail restoration and styling tension both achieved my expected results. Being able to completely express my understanding of this character through the attire and the lens brings a great sense of accomplishment.