Sushi Ra - Obi Insanity!

I told you that Raine's Alter ego, Sushi Ra, was going to be seen again someday!  And this time, she's wearing two wigs and a hairpiece. Because everyone knows, Big Hair plus Big Shoulders makes everything else look smaller.

      

          I had to find a way to use the rest of this cool sushi satin, so I decided to make a roundabout kimono.  I designed at first a more literal kimono because I like the two layered effect of the "collar" and thought it would make for a good change for a cool color combination, but in the end thought that making an actual kimono would not only be obvious, but not original, so instead I changed it to something else.

This blouse's insane sleeves are definitely the standout of this outfit, don't you think?  They are inspired by that big pillow thing on the back of the kimono belt, called the Obi, or more specifically, the Obi Jime.

The shorts again employ my newly discovered excitement for "drafted draping."  Yes, it looks a little diaper-ish, but the baggy pleated look is in right now and I finally figured out how to do it while not ruining the shape of the backside.  The secret is that it's not baggy because it's loose, it's baggy because I chose where it was going to stand away from the body.

Sushi Ra - A Delicious Treat and a New Alter Ego

I remember there was a random skit on Saturday Night Live with Jamie Lee Curtis in the 80's.  She played a teenager who was rebelling against her parents and insisted she be called, "Sushi Ra".  That is the only thing that I remember about the scene.  It must not have been that funny, but the name stuck with me after all these years.  When I found this sushi fabric, I knew Sushi Ra would have to rise again.

This dress was meant to look like a life-size sushi roll.  Obviously in addition to looking interesting and edgy, the band around the middle is meant to be the seaweed wrap holding the whole thing together.  Adorable, isn't it?

I originally sketched the dress to have a ruffle applique detail on the side.  I wanted to make multi-colored circles to look like tuna rolls stitched onto the left side of the skirt and bodice, peeking out from behind the belt.  I spent hours gathering strips of fabric and stitching them together to make three circles, and when I placed them on the dress, it looked SO cheezy!  Interestingly, I didn't get as upset as I expected.  I still got to use the medium-sized tuna roll, however, by folding it in half and making it into a clutch purse as shown in the picture to the left.

Of course, the funny Japanese theme is also inspired by John Belushi's Samurai character from the 70's as well.  That is one reason why Raine's hair is weird, because his hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. I have put the most popular Samurai skit on the top of the page here.  Back then, this was considered the most HILarious skit of all time.  Funny how tastes in humour change, huh?

I have a lot of this fabric left, so look forward to seeing another Sushi Ra sighting in the future!