[Aston Machan Cosplay] A Record of Cold-Water Hand-Dyeing for the Umamusume Valentine's Day Look

This Valentine's Day themed styling of Aston Machan cosplay from Umamusume: Pretty Derby took quite a bit of thought from set building to final makeup, but the most headache-inducing yet fulfilling part was solving the costume color character accuracy issue.

When I received the physical item, the cream-white top with deep brown hollow-out lace and the skirt hem had excellent texture, but the base white of the costume was way too bright compared to the official illustration, lacking that warm ecru tone. To achieve a visual effect consistent with the official illustration during the shoot, I urgently ordered Katsuraya dye powder No. 65 the night before the shoot.

I did several experiments before deciding on the hand-dyed color ratio. The final ratio was one part dye powder to 25 parts hot water, and after dissolving, it was mixed into 350 parts cold water, then a small amount of table salt was added to help fix the color. Later, to prevent uneven dyeing, I specially mixed three or four batches of dye solution in this ratio. The actual operation was truly like a chemistry experiment; all clothes had to be fully submerged in the water to soak for five to ten minutes, during which I had to constantly stir by hand to ensure every part of the fabric absorbed the color evenly. When rinsing with clean water after taking it out, it must absolutely not be wrung dry; I kept reminding myself that I would rather spend more time to protect the garment's shape and lace decorations. Because I was in the middle of winter, the feeling of stirring repeatedly with my wrists in cold water was truly severe—my fingers froze bright red, but for the next day's final photos, I could only grit my teeth and persist.

After drying, the clothing color was indeed much more natural, and that warm feeling of yellowish translucent white finally came out. By the way, if you want to try this kind of local garment dyeing yourself, make sure to handle the skirt hem and top separately, and don't dump those small accessories all in one pot; they should be dyed in small quantities multiple times, otherwise it's very easy to create obvious color differences between the collar and skirt hem due to insufficient water levels or uneven soaking time. This should also count as an essential preparation task before shooting.

On the day of shooting this look, I specially went to get milk-white manicures to keep consistent with the design details of the Valentine's Day card. As a result, during the shooting process, I was constantly holding various plush rabbits and stars, so the manicures were basically covered completely. I couldn't help but feel a bit regretful, but fortunately, the set effect was very sweet and warm. The background with those huge donuts, ice cream shapes, and the pink-and-white interwoven balloon arch just maxed out the macaron-style atmosphere. Paired with the orange-red curls and beast ears decorations, it indeed looked extremely cute on camera.

Some movements were also temporarily adjusted at the shooting live site. Because I was sitting on the plush carpet, the casual bending of my legs could reveal the lines of the white long stockings, which could both showcase the character's lively and playful side and make the frame's composition look relatively relaxed. Although the entire process went through the torture of cold-water hand-dyeing, seeing the character accuracy effect in the photos at the end made me feel this effort had its reward. This is also the most deeply remembered behind-the-scenes memory of my personal Aston Machan cosplay styling from Umamusume: Pretty Derby, recorded happily as part of this cosplay sharing.