Tifa Lockhart

Name: Tifa Lockhart/ティファ・ロックハート
Appearance: Final Fantasy VII
Variation: Advent Children
Age: 22
Height: 5'4"
Blood Type: B
Description: Tifa Lockhart is a female protagonist in Final Fantasy VII. She is Cloud's childhood friend from Nibelheim and a member of AVALANCHE. Her personality is much more laid back and selfless in comparison, with a motherly streak concerning all her friends and her attitude to others. Tifa is quick to hide her true feelings her being shyness a key aspect of her character, and she is caring and loving to a fault.

Bright and optimistic, Tifa always cheers up the others when they're down. But don't let her looks fool you, she can decimate almost any enemy with her fists...

Worn at: AnimeNEXT 2010

Why I chose this costume:
Ironically, she wasn't my first choice. I wanted a third costume for AnimeNEXT and I was originally going to cosplay as Yuffie Kisaragi in her Advent Children outfit. I think I was partially discouraged from being Tifa. Then I decided I didn't want to cosplay as Yuffie, and wanted to cosplay as Rikku from Final Fantasy X-2. First her thief outfit, got shot down from that, then her songstress outfit, which was likewise shot down. Somehow I wound up back to Tifa and decided to just cosplay her.

Mechanics of the outfit:
I cannot even begin to describe what a pain in the butt it was to make this costume.. It wasn't the design that was the issue. It was the fabric. I didn't buy pleather, I want to say it's vinyl pleather, but I'm not totally sure. It was basically a knit (stretchy) fabric with a film of the shiny stuff on it. I had to experience this first hand when the film on the back of the pants started to melt(?) off. I think it was because it was hot and I was sitting outside during the convention. But the cape in the back covers it so it's not too big of a deal.

The only parts I made are the pants. The rest my mom made because I ran short on time (and I don't know how to sew a vest yet..). I cut up the shirt, the shoes, gloves, and ribbon I already had.

Disclaimer: The entire outfit is not made by myself.

Personal Feelings:
I have to admit, prior to cosplaying her, I never played the game. In fact, I still have yet to finish it! But I watched "Advent Children" and just been reading online, and the more I read the more I fell in love with her character and her personality. Her personality is somewhat similar to mine, and I love that she isn't like the generic female character, she's strong, a heroine even. For more images, check out my deviantArt!

© 2010 TheBigTog. Any use of this photograph for ANY reason without the expressed written consent of the author is prohibited.