Hello. Hopefully not broken any rules by making this.
I'm trying to get the following character done as a cosplay for MCM May Expo.




It'll be my first cosplay ever and as far as I can tell the upper shirt/jacket thing will be the hardest part. However I am running into some issues as to what sort of pattern I should use. There is some conflict whether it is a shirt or a jacket. Most shirt designs don't seem to hang in the way the art implys and my attempts to find a jacket pattern result in either suit or varsity style patterns.

Is there a certain name for this style of attire I should look for as a jacket/shirt and if there isn't does anyone have any advice how I would go about getting round that issue

How items hangs on the body is generally related to two things. The first as you as is the pattern but the second is which fabrics you choose. You can modify a shirt pattern and as long as you use a heavy weight fabric such a cotton drill for example you will get the look you want.

It might be worth looking at gothic style clothes - I'm pretty sure that Simplicity have there own range of gothic clothing though might be just for women. The costume patterns (especially the civil war coat ones)are often very useful and so something like this might be good:
http://www.simplicity.com/p-2089-men-costumes.aspx

Naturally it will need to be modified to angle the bottom end but this would be a good base And the sleeves will need to be widened at the top. Oh and you would need to add the cuffs (these are usually sew on seperatly anyway)

I have a lot of patterns for gothic lolita clothing and even though they are for girls I'm sure I could figure out dimensions for you if you wanted to go that way? I usually find drawing patterns out from exisiting patterns found online and adding stuff to it is easier anyway - plus cheaper as you don't have to buy multiple patterns over and over

This site has a mixture of free and pay for patterns. There all PDF. and you have to either print out or draw up your own based on measurements given but there a good place to check out (especially the free ones )

http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns?for=2

Good Luck Feel free to PM or write back here if you have any further questions

Yessss. A wonderful choice.

For his top, the easiest thing I can recommend if you're not looking to buy patterns is to get a shirt and take a pattern off that. Find one that fits comfortably and pin it into a new shape. You can easily fit a zipper up the front thanks to the seams in the artwork (even if it is questionable in the game's canon to have a zipper!), and lengthen the front and back to have the pointed and rounded effect his shirt has. Jackets are also an option, but I've always seen it as a resized shirt, mainly for the shape and fit whereas jackets aren't normally so fitted around the waist.

If you're concerned the shape isn't right, look at slim fit shirts. Normal shirts can be quite baggy/generic, whereas slim fit ones are tailored to fit a man's waist and hip area. You should be able to get a pattern for one, if not, you can usually pick one up with good fitting from about £8+ in most supermarkets (which is about the same price you'd pay for a good pattern)!

The sleeves just need widening at the top. Attach elastic to fit your arm into the inside where the red band fits and they should fit easily with a nice flare at the top, without showing off any mess!

Also seconding fabric choices - thin cotton won't hang correctly, but if you get a nice cotton drill or even a suiting it should hang correctly. I'm in the middle of remaking my Vyse using cotton drill and lining it, so it has a good weight to it and won't budge.

Good luck with it! Can't wait to see it - I love seeing SoA costumes