I probably shouldn’t be allowed into thrift stores.

Why? Well, a week or two ago, I needed some dress pants. My sister, the shopping master, once managed to walk out of a thrift store with three designer pairs of dress pants for a fraction of the original cost. Amazing.

So I decided to follow suit.

But:

I blame it on the diversity of the thrift store. In a typical store, you only find current clothes, the latest fashions. In a thrift store, you don’t know what you’ll find. The unfashionable. The ill-fitting. The cast-aways of other people. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Thus, when I saw a black graduation robe, I couldn’t help but think,

I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t. I went off and bought a matching shirt

and skirt

and Ravenclaw-colored tie

and a cardigan, some leggings, and nice shoes, and there you have it: a rough estimation of Cho Chang’s outfit!

And, just because I’m that dorky, I decided that

Solution: make a wand. Out of wood. Hand-carved wood.

After quite a bit of effort, I finally finished. Chestnut wood is way harder than I expected. But at least, I have a costume for Anime Boston! (Am I preparing a bit too much in advance? It’s likely.)

My wand!

And here’s the finished costume!

Yup I'm a dork... just ignore me.