Luke fon Fabre
Tales of the Abyss
Status: Retired
Cost: ~$150
Bought and worn in 2008-2010
My very first cosplay!!
Tales of the Abyss stuck with me; it's my favorite JRPG, and I highly recommend playing it. (I only wish it could get a remaster...) I decided to be Luke because of his character growth from beginning to end. This boy changes so much, and I loved the message that people can change. Luke was never a bad person, but he was spoiled and frustrated. Everyone in this game makes mistakes, and we're shown that there are very real consequences for those mistakes, but you can always make things better.
I bought the costume from an ebay seller. To my horror, I burned a hole in the jacket the first time I went to iron it, because I didn't understand the issue of ironing synthetic fabrics on the cotton setting at the time. I was so mad at myself, and while I was paralyzed by my frustration, my dad took me to some stores to show people what happened and ask them for ideas. Of course, the hole wasn't fixable, but we decided to paint the lining underneath white. It was a messy fix, but I could fortunately cover it up with my wig, so no one ever noticed.
Luke's undershirt was juuust a little too small on me. If I were to raise my arms, my bra definitely showed, so I always made sure to wear a tight black sports bra to provide a little bit of compression and to match the crop top.
The wig was originally something from Amphigory, and I only have one photo of it from behind. (I have no idea where the other pictures went. Did I delete them in shame?! Hahaha.) It was actually gorgeous, but I never styled it correctly. I later on got a different long red wig, which is what you see below. The color is beautiful, but I never did get around to dyeing the tips orange. It was also my first time spiking a wig, and I was very proud of it at the time, but I know I could do better now. At least that means there's been improvement over 10 years!!
Photos by WashuOtaku, Headphone Studios, and my friend Kristyn.
