Awhile back I said I'd ordered a Jyn costume kit off aliexpress and would report back on the quality. Well, it came in today! Here are my thoughts.
I knew I was taking a risk on quality when I made the purchase, and I'm still undecided on whether or not the risk was worth it. I'd put fabric quality at meh to poor, overall construction at middling. I gave them my custom measurements, but some of it still feels too big. Here's what I think of the individual pieces, top to bottom:
Scarf - Crap. Feels like it's made out of tarp material. Lightweight and slippery with a sheen.
Jacket - Absolutely the wrong color and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the stripes go down both arms? Also missing pocket details. A dye job and some tailoring might make it usable.
Vest - Not terrible but needs a lot of work. Color is fairly okay. It feels a bit too baggy on me towards the waist. The webbing and the greeblies aren't the worst but I would definitely attempt to replace with accurate materials. The lining is orange satin rather than red cotton. I feel like the pockets are too small. The quilt rows on the back don't come up high enough either, I don't think.
Shirt - Meeeeh. I like the color, but it's made out of a slightly stiff material and I had to safety pin the bib down in the front to get the desired look because it wouldn't stay down on its own. Ironing could fix that, though. The sleeves are a smidge too long. The horizontal front seam is incorrect and the yoke itself I think is too small and doesn't come down quite far enough. There's also an invisible zipper running almost the entire length of the back.
Pants - Feels like it's made out of almost the same material as the shirt, but slightly heavier. Fits fine and is constructed nice at the waist, but they are a few inches too long, need to be taken in below the knee, and I don't know what the hell they were thinking for the webbing. It actually loops around the back of the knee, back through the metal loop, and fastens via velcro. It's not tight at all. Color is a very dark blue.
Holster - Absolute piece of crap, but I was expecting that. Party City level. I've already ordered a nice one from Legendary Costume Works.
Gloves - Ehhhhhh? Thin faux leather, stitching looks alright, very loose and large around the wrist. Not sure if it's supposed to be that way. I'd probably weather them to make the stitching fade a bit.
Overall, I'm not incredibly impressed, but I don't mind having been the guinea pig on this to let you guys know what to expect if anyone else decides to go down this route. If anything, I think they'll be helpful to take apart and learn from--as someone only just starting to learn to sew and with no experience drafting and modifying patterns, I think it'll be good to have a sorta close baseline.
If anyone has any questions about it or would like to see more detailed photos, just let me know! I'm happy to help.








