Takiko's Photo Thread

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:48 pm

Time for Takiko's debut! She is a WM Doll 164D with head #153 (full review in my signature).

I'm actually just taking a coffee break during her first photo shoot, but I thought I'd go ahead and share a couple of the photos. She does kind of always look a little bit too serious, but that's part of why I like her so much. I couldn't help but juxtapose her serious expression with some cute pajamas! As a bonus, she's blaming Sakira for having to wear these pajamas and not me

justintime · Post by **justintime** » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:29 pm

Very Very nice photos, cool clean style. Back drop and styling is perfect.

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:47 pm

RandomShock wrote:Time for Takiko's debut! She is a WM Doll 164D with head #153 (full review in my signature).

I'm actually just taking a coffee break during her first photo shoot, but I thought I'd go ahead and share a couple of the photos. She does kind of always look a little bit too serious, but that's part of why I like her so much. I couldn't help but juxtapose her serious expression with some cute pajamas! As a bonus, she's blaming Sakira for having to wear these pajamas and not me

I love the kigurumi she is wearing!

Great photos too. I also love the expression contrast with the Kavaii (Japanese for cute) outfit.

since you seem to like that type of pajamas here is a link for you:

https://kigurumi-shop.com/

You may thank me, but your wallet won't when you see how many nice kigurumi they have for sale.

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:59 pm

arkham71 wrote: https://kigurumi-shop.com/

You may thank me, but your wallet won't when you see how many nice kigurumi they have for sale.

My wallet has already resigned itself, but thank you. Purchasing the dolls for this project hasn't even been the largest cost

. I would like to get a kitsune kigurumi for Sakira (hmm, the Fennec fox on that site looks nice...), though I'm also probably going to need to get her a fat suit to wear underneath it. She was originally going to be the one wearing this, but she kind of looked ridiculous due to how skinny she is. That, and Takiko is the designated cat between them.

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:40 am

RandomShock wrote:
arkham71 wrote: https://kigurumi-shop.com/

You may thank me, but your wallet won't when you see how many nice kigurumi they have for sale.
My wallet has already resigned itself, but thank you. Purchasing the dolls for this project hasn't even been the largest cost . I would like to get a kitsune kigurumi for Sakira (hmm, the Fennec fox on that site looks nice...), though I'm also probably going to need to get her a fat suit to wear underneath it. She was originally going to be the one wearing this, but she kind of looked ridiculous due to how skinny she is. That, and Takiko is the designated cat between them.

I don't want to hijack your thread but here's a link to some kitsune ears and tail that I have been looking at myself:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000107 ... 5613%23451

They're a little less expensive than a full kirigumi, but some aliexpress stores are a bit iffy...

Its nice to find another person interested in Japanese outfits.. plus I think I own the same steampunk style top hat your avatar is wearing.

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:05 am

Hmm, I think I might have looked at that tail and ear set before. I've been slowly searching for a set like this (I think I prefer the slightly less reddish one linked on that page). Takiko is the cat, while Sakira is the fox, so I've been thinking of doing several kitsune-themed cosplays for her, such as Ahri from League of Legends (doing nine tails might be a bit hard while still looking nice) and a Miko outfit with kitsune ears and tail. Ideally, I'd want to get Summer (golden brown fur) and Winter (grey fur) variants for her (as for Takiko, definitely a black cat).

Funnily enough, I've been seeing that hat around quite a bit lately. I picked it up off Amazon...along with a ton of other things!

Speaking of Japanese outfits, I'm planning on getting some Gothic Lolita outfits made for Sakira, which should be lots of fun. Her more petite body should lend itself really well to that style, but it's impossible to get anything off-the-rack.

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:41 am

RandomShock wrote:Speaking of Japanese outfits, I'm planning on getting some Gothic Lolita outfits made for Sakira, which should be lots of fun. Her more petite body should lend itself really well to that style, but it's impossible to get anything off-the-rack.

The great thing about dresses is that you only have to match the top of the body since the skirts flare out over the crinolines and/or hoop skirts. Most hoop skirts and crinolines have drawstrings so they fit all sizes. They also tend to be white so you don't have to worry about staining your companion's skin. Of course, you probably know the trick of the white catsuit under the costumes to avoid staining already, but being able to put the crinolines directly against the skin would allow you to show some of those sexy bare ankles.

If she is super petite I would suggest going to Asian Lolita and cosplay shops. Asian sizes run much smaller than Western sites offer. While the shipping might be higher it will be a lot less than having clothes altered, or worse yet, custom made. Less cost = more money for additional cosplays. Cute cosplays that I will get to see via your photos on the forum.

Okay now I have officially hijacked your thread out of my love for cosplaying and Gothic lolita fashion. You have my humblest of apologies. **Ark bows deeply to RandomShock*

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:05 pm

Hijacking is totally permissible, since I will always have more photos to re-hijack the thread. I've currently got 40 photos that I've tagged from yesterday's kigurumi photo shoot that I need to work on, and I still have the second part of that photo shoot to do today (Takiko's 'free' standing poses).

Unfortunately, even with Asian sizes running smaller than Western sizes, I've still found it difficult to clothe Sakira. While this is kind of a problem I've been seeing with most dolls, the Sino 158 body is a pretty extreme case in regards to her torso length and width. Even with a Chinese small, her body proportions are even more petite (and having baggy clothing where it should be fitted misses the point of this whole endeavor).

However, I'm also okay at this point doing made-to-order clothes; I just put in an order at EZCosplay for four cosplay outfits that should hopefully be fun. I also have bookmarked a couple of Gothic Lolita shops in China that offer customization. The cost of customization doesn't seem to be too bad, even if it does limit the selection a bit. Shipping costs can be a pain, though. Aside from EZCosplay, I've ordered clothes from Aliexpress and LightInTheBox in the recent past...seeing the shipping cost at the end is always an unpleasant surprise.

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:41 pm

Ok, since you say it's okay I will happily continue the conversation. Perhaps you can give me some tips for when I can finally afford my own synthetic companion.

I've purchased quite a few things from Aliexpress without issue, but they seem to have a bad reputation here on the forum. Heck, I have a stand for a head I purchased on its way from a store on there. In fact, the head itself is coming from a manufacturer that only sells via Aliexpress. Plus, if it wasn't for that site getting quality cosplay props in the U.S. would cost a fortune.

I was going to suggest LightInTheBox. While I haven't bought from them I have heard very good things about them. I used to be pretty active in the D.C. cosplay community so, while I am male I know a lot of good places to buy cosplay from. I was the old guy with the decent camera who would always dress up like a Victorian gentleman at the anime cons.

Oh, I am sure that you have heard of arda wigs right?

https://arda-wigs.com/

They sell excellent wigs that last! While they are on the expensive side it's worth it. I bought a lot of wigs from them while working on a certain project and their products were awesome. They also sell wigs with really long, anime-style hair. I had a friend of mine wear a really long black one with a "princess cut" for a photoshoot I did. It looked so real you would have thought it was her hair. They also were tangle resistant, something that is rather hard to find in synthetic fiber wigs. Oh, and no I don't work for them, they just make great products.

Here's another tip. Go with crinolines if you can. Hoop skirts are impossible to sit down in unless you can push them down with your hands. Unfortunately, even the best synthetic companions cannot do that... well not yet at least.LOL

Do you know of any places that sell quality cosplays and/or Gothic lolita outfits at reasonable prices? I would love to bookmark them for later use.

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:05 pm

My experience with AliExpress has so far been pretty decent, in that everything arrived as expected and the quality of the goods was pretty decent (bought some shoes and the string bikini Sakira is wearing from her steampunk bikini photo shoot). My only sorta kinda issue with them is just the way they are setup; being just a space for a million different retailers. There were a couple small things I didn't buy from there simply because it seemed silly to buy one thing from a retailer.

I've made a few purchases from LightInTheBox, and I've overall been pretty happy with the results....though, lately I've found there's a decent amount to be found on Amazon as well, which would result in faster shipping at about the same cost overall. Like with AliExpress, getting things from LightInTheBox is fairly slow.

I hadn't seen Arda wigs before, though a quick look and I found this, which would be excellent for a Spider Gwen cosplay. Well, I'll wait a little on that, since I'm going to need a stunt harness and cabling to suspend Sakira. I haven't bought many cosplay wigs yet, but instead bought several from https://www.wigs.com (ie, just starting out with normal looks using good quality wigs). I've been a bit reticent about buying cheap 20 dollar wigs just because of the quality.

I'll post about my experiences (and links) with Cosplay and Gothic Lolita shops once I start receiving goods from them. As I mentioned, I just put in an order at EZCosplay, so it will be about a month or so before I see how it went.

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:07 pm

Still in the middle of this photo shoot and selecting photos, but I thought I'd post this ultra-cute photo of Takiko. Gotta love the expression!

: 20210111_201055.jpg (1 MiB) Viewed 2889 times

Olive · Post by **Olive** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:13 pm

Meow meow

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:09 pm

RandomShock wrote:Still in the middle of this photo shoot and selecting photos, but I thought I'd post this ultra-cute photo of Takiko. Gotta love the expression!

20210111_201055.jpg

Kawaii neko Takiko1 Nyan! Nyan!

Such a cutie.

I dug around in my bookmarks for some other wig sites you might like. This place has a nice wig section, and their section of lolita accessories is amazing:

https://www.lolitain.com/

This place has nice lolita style wigs but I have never seen one of their wigs up close:

https://www.gothiclolitawigs.com/

I hope this helps with your two beauties.

RandomShock · Post by **RandomShock** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:58 pm

I had those two in my list of bookmarks already, but with your reminder, I noticed that there is just a little over a day left on a 50% off sale at Lolitain. Time to spend some money!

Chose a few more of Takiko's kigurumi photo set to share....

arkham71 · Post by **arkham71** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:03 pm

RandomShock wrote:I had those two in my list of bookmarks already, but with your reminder, I noticed that there is just a little over a day left on a 50% off sale at Lolitain. Time to spend some money!

Chose a few more of Takiko's kigurumi photo set to share....

Wow, the closeup of her with the kigurumi open and showing cleavage is quite nice. You can almost look into her eyes and that face with the serious expression and imagine her saying "How much longer are you going to make me wear this thing?" LOL

All joking aside this is a great shot. It creates a feeling of playful sexuality without going too far either way. It's not just nice technically it gives your companion emotion that the viewer can see. In other words, you gave her a feeling of life through your photography...