[Kinomoto Sakura cosplay] Cardcaptor Sakura's cottagecore flower sea journey

The photos shot today were actually planned out a long time ago.

Speaking of which, this outfit is a bit special; it's not an officially released cosplay costume, but a dress that Mom used to love. The cut of the dress itself has a strong vintage cottagecore feel, with a white puff-sleeve top paired with a dark red long skirt, tied with a large brown bow at the waist. The overall tone is retro and gentle. The moment I first saw it, I thought it was simply too perfect for Kinomoto Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura. Therefore, deciding to do this cosplay this time was largely inspired by this dress.

To match this outfit, I specially prepared a flat-topped straw hat with a black ribbon, wearing brown shoulder-length short hair and green contact lenses. In terms of makeup, I didn't choose overly intense anime contouring, but instead leaned towards a clear, natural everyday makeup, because Sakura herself is a sunny and energetic girl, and overly heavy makeup would instead look deliberate. The summer outdoor cosplay location was chosen in a grassland blooming with small yellow flowers.

The weather on the shooting day was fantastic, with blue skies, white clouds, and plenty of light. Shooting great photos in a sea of flowers really tests the cooperation between the photographer and the coser. Because the grass grows quite tall, the composition can easily look cluttered. My experience is to have the photographer use a wide aperture to blur the foreground flowers, concentrating the visual focus on the subject. This preserves the atmosphere of the flower sea while avoiding taking the spotlight away from the person. I held up the straw hat or turned slightly to the side, keeping my expression as relaxed as possible, imagining Sakura strolling through this scene, enjoying the summer breeze.

After the actual shooting, my biggest feeling was that summer outdoor cosplay is truly physically demanding, especially walking among the flowers while wearing a long skirt. However, when seeing the fresh and bright summer vibe created by the collision of blue skies, the sea of flowers, and the dress colors in the final photos, I felt all the hard work was completely worth it. This cosplay, put together from a dress of Mom's youth, not only let me fulfill my craving of being Sakura, but also endowed this character with a unique memory spanning across time. Every time the shutter is pressed, it's like having a conversation with a past era. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will still try more of this kind of character performance with a sense of daily life and everyday feel, blending more 2D elements into reality's light and shadow, and recording these moments with the lens.