Prince Falenas (Freyjadour)
Suikoden V

Inspiration: While Final Fantasy is my first love, Suikoden is a close second. I probably love this series on a more personal level even since it’s less main-stream.  This was my third Suikoden costume, but if I had time I swear I would do so many more (Schtolteheim Reinbach III, Queen Arshtat, Odessa, Elza, and Marica to name a few)!  The Prince is the silent hero from Suikoden V, and though he is indeed a boy, he’s feminine enough for a girl to pull off.  The colors in his costume are stunning and his character is so full of emotion (despite never saying a word).  If I had to recommend one game to people, it would definitely be Suikoden.  Seriously, stop reading this and go play!

Materials/Construction Details: Since I was making Georg for Tom at the same time, I thought I would save myself some effort and purchased this costume off of an ebay store.  Boy did I learn my lesson!  Parts were missing, the craftsmanship of certain pieces was just horrible, and a lot of the pieces weren’t even accurate.  So despite this technically being a commission piece, I had to remake nearly half of it.  The scarf I got with the costume was a fraying piece of red fabric, so I had to remake that, appropriately gradient dying it from red to orange to yellow.  The shorts came to me as a skirt, so I had to take them apart and work them into shorts.  The waist piece was the complete wrong color and had to be remade.  Other various pieces such as the ankle bands, headband, and tooth earring had to be made.  I’m not really sure I saved myself any time in the end.

Also, I had to bind my chest for this costume, which was a first and I’m hoping the last for me.  It probably wouldn’t have been so bad, but I couldn’t use the traditional wrap around methods since the Prince has a bare back.  Let’s just say the methods I had to use were less than enjoyable.

Wig:  I bought a long white wig and braided it down the back, leaving some hair towards the front on the sides.  This hair I cut short at an angle to frame the face.  I trimmed the bangs a bit and then sprayed the little curl on top into place until I was sure it wasn’t going to go anywhere.  I don’t know why, but I really like characters with white hair.

Prop:  My weapon was an actual metal three piece staff.  It could either be screwed together into one long pole, or taken apart into three sections held together by a chain.  It was painted red with black flame and gold detailing.