Immediately following the previous Otakon, Avi went on our Facebook group and asked people which full group we wanted to do next--not counting two bathing suit pictures and the white shirt shot (which some of OPIB did, except for Teren and me), there were only five group costumes featuring all ten senshi left. Everyone who voted, voted for the kimono group picture from the fifth artbook, and we figured it would be an easy enough costume, since no sewing would be required. In fact, nothing in cosplay is ever truly easy.

First, we had to decide whether we wanted to wear furisode (the most formal kimono for young unmarried women, which is what the senshi are wearing in the reference image we were mostly going off of) or yukata. The perfectionist in my heart wanted furisode, so we'd match better, but for one thing, some of us were married, and for another, furisode is *ridiculously* expensive, and would need a lot more accessories, and third, tying an obi for a furisode is a *lot* harder than the bow used for a yukata, and a lot of yukata (even in Japan) come with pre-tied obi these days. Since Avi and I were the only ones who had ever worn kimono before, we knew we'd probably have to help the rest of the group, so simplicity won out.

I had a perfectly good red yukata that I had bought for the Sakura Matsuri in 2015, but while browsing Rankuten to try to help somes of the other girls find a good yukata in their senshi's colors, I found a surprisingly plain one that looked closer to the furisode that Rei is wearing in the reference image. It was surprisingly cheap, too, and I had a purple obi that I thought would go well with it, so I sprung for it. Getting ready the Saturday of Otakon was a bit challenging, but twelve of us ended up looking pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself.