Today I finally changed into this long-awaited Belle uniform and quickly snapped a few mirror selfies. The costume is from @cos Xueshuangfang; I had heard good things about their tailoring before, and receiving it definitely didn't disappoint. The overall piece features a black, white, and grey argyle patchwork paired with a bright yellow necktie, making for a striking visual impact. The white mandarin stand collar is accented with two metallic round buttons, plus a dainty metallic badge at the chest that nails the premium texture.
The most time-consuming part of wearing this outfit was putting on all the various accessories. The cuffs feature red, white, and blue tricolor stripes, and there is a golden armband on the right sleeve whose diamond-shaped insignia needed to be rotated to the right angle to look natural. Hanging from the waist are a vintage pocket watch and a brown teddy bear charm; these two little trinkets add an adorable touch of contrast to the sharp, crisp uniform, swaying gently with every step.
For the wig, the deep blue short hair was trimmed to frame the face neatly, with bangs cut to a length that doesn't obstruct vision. To match the aesthetic, I chose blue-green colored contacts and slightly deepened the pink blending in the eye makeup so the dimension still shows under indoor ceiling lights. The trickiest part of taking a mirror selfie is finding the right angle, as the phone screen partially blocks the face, and you also have to balance showcasing both the shoulder silhouette and the waistline. After trying several poses, I settled on placing one hand on my hip while flashing a V-sign with the other, which structured the outfit's lines without looking slouchy.
The indoor lighting leaned warm and yellow; while it doesn't replicate details like studio strobes, it provides a cozy, everyday lifestyle vibe. I didn't push for overly complex poses, just wanting to capture how the new costume fits in person. The fabric has decent weight; the argyle pattern is printed rather than jacquard-woven, but for this price range, it's genuinely well-crafted. The tie is made of stiffer material, so the knot holds its crisp shape without collapsing.
This session was primarily a costume fitting, as well as a chance to practice mirror selfie composition and light control. Mirror selfies really test how you handle lens distortion: holding the phone slightly higher with a subtle tilt yields much more flattering proportions. Overall, this outfit boasts a high level of finish, immediately channeling the character's signature capable vibe once worn. Once the weather clears up, I plan to head outdoors for a proper finished shoot and fine-tune the wig's layers and makeup details even further.