The shooting date was fixed on November 14, 2024. That day in the photo studio, when I completely restored this casual outfit style of Yazawa Nico, I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time. The line in the post saying "I really want to know how old people who are still into Love Live! are" resonated with me deeply. Indeed, from chasing the anime back then to putting on this outfit myself now, time feels like it was pressed on fast-forward.
This time, a top and skirt featuring pink and black polka dots were selected as the main visual elements. Among many complex European lace stitching designs, this outfit actually tests fabric selection and tailoring significantly. The large red rose on the front of the top is a very classic decoration; to make it look three-dimensional and full in front of the lens, hard lining canvas was used inside for support so it wouldn't collapse due to shooting poses. I also specially picked pink velvet gloves that fit the arm curve tightly, combined with a black lace choker featuring teardrop pendants, directly maxing out the overall look's exquisite feel.
For makeup and hair, what took the most effort was matching the eye makeup with contact lenses. To recreate the character's charm, the base makeup was made very translucent, focusing heavily on the echo between red contact lenses and dark eyeliner. Especially for the outer corners of the eyes, I slightly lifted and thickened the lines, paired with straight bangs and a pair of golden hair clips for accentuation, creating a tsundere and sly visual effect under the lights. The wig was a custom-made black wavy curl, where I tried various styling waxes to achieve this natural, airy curve.
Aside from the clothing itself, that pink trident is also worth mentioning. Including the handle, this prop is nearly 1.5 meters long; posing with it in the studio required constant balance control. Especially for full-body mirror poses like in photo 1, adjusting standing postures repeatedly was necessary to prevent proportions between the prop and body from looking awkward. However, this type of composition holding large props often adds tension to the photo set.
During on-site shooting, I leaned toward capturing naturally flowing expressions. Actions like winking with a peace sign were actually not meant to intentionally recreate a specific official image, but rather reflected a relaxed state while interacting with the camera and reflector. Compared to fixed posing before clicking the shutter, these spontaneous movements make the final shots feel much more vivid.
Regarding the studio environment, I deliberately selected a solid-colored background studio with relatively open space this time. This made it possible to capture full-body mirror shots with a touch of everyday life like photo 1, while facilitating lighting setups for close-up angles in photos 2 and 3. For camera settings, I habitually use a large aperture to emphasize the subject, softening background clutter via shallow depth of field. When handling this pink-black color blocking and styling with metallic reflective elements, accurate white balance is crucial. I selected shots on the laptop on-site while shooting to ensure the polka dot patterns and red rose color hues were restored with precise accuracy for this Studio photoshoot share.
Additionally, when wearing this gear, several small details significantly impact the final photos. For instance, the choker at the neck shouldn't be pulled too tight to avoid unnecessary skin folds; the polka dot mesh cuffs also need to neatly tuck in glove edges to guarantee visual continuity during hand gestures. Although these scattered preparation tasks were tedious, it is precisely the stacking of these details that makes final photos look not just like "wearing clothes," but truly merging into the character's state for Casual cosplay.
I can't help but reflect that for the character Yazawa Nico, beneath that tsundere exterior actually lies a deeply serious core. Years later, as experience grows, re-interpreting her makes me realize I no longer merely pursue superficial similarity, but reflect on her gap moe—that confidence mixed with slight clumsiness both on and off stage. Pink hoodies, black lace, plus those sparkling tiaras and bows blend together into a wonderful sense of nostalgia. From 10 AM to dusk that day, with several lighting rounds swapped, although my arm holding the trident was a bit sore, the happiness gained during the time spent with the character was genuinely real. This is why I've always been willing to record these moments on camera—every complete recreation is an affirmation of my own passions alongside Love Live! µ's.