Britches and Stitches

Following her impromptu performance on Velveteen’s runway, Tsubaki had been noticed by some big names in the fashion industry. One of those names was Peter, the owner of Cottontail Couture. Peter was kind enough to extend an invitation to her to tour his design studio, and how could she refuse something like that?

“Good morning, Peter.” Tsubaki greeted as soon as she entered the building.

“Ah! Tsubaki, I’ve been expecting you. Welcome.” Peter walked over to her and extended his hand for a friendly shake. “I loved your performance on Velveteen’s runway. I could hardly believe that was your first time!”

“Thank you. It was quite the surprise for me too.” Tsubaki admitted sheepishly. “But I was happy for the experience, and for the chance to keep the dress I wore.”

“It suited you so well,” Peter agreed, “Speaking of clothing though, let’s get on with the tour, shall we?” 

“Yes of course.” Tsubaki followed him as he took her around the studio, pointing out the projects he was working on and his vision and inspiration for each one. 

Finally, they stopped at a mannequin with no clothing on it. “And that brings me to this. See, I have a proposition for you, if you’re interested.”

“Go on.” Tsubaki prompted, curious.

“You mentioned on the phone how you have been interested in and following fashion trends for some time now, but I understand that you haven’t dabbled in making any clothing yourself. If you’d like, you’re free to use any of the tools and materials I have lying around here, including this mannequin, to make an outfit. I’m curious what someone like you would come up with.”

A certain spark of excitement lit up behind Tsubaki’s eyes, but she was quick to temper it. Before she just agreed to something like this willy-nilly, there were questions she needed to ask. Her business-oriented mind demanded it. If there was profit to be made, she would find it. At the very least, she needed to protect herself from any potential exploitation. What if she made a beautiful outfit only for Peter to take credit for her work and sell it himself? He didn’t seem the type to do that, but these were the kind of things she needed to protect herself from. “I’m interested, but I need to know if there’s any catch. Will you be keeping it? Selling it?”

Peter shook his head. “Of course not, you’re free to keep whatever you create. I merely wish to see it.” 

“Alright.” Tsubaki finally agreed, and with that, she got to work. Given that her runway dress was black, she wanted to see what a beautiful white dress might look like. After picking out the material and cutting out the amount she needed, Tsubaki got to work sewing. By the end of the day, she had created a short, skin-tight white dress, along with a beautiful silk scarf to go along with it. 

“This is magnificent.” Peter complimented.

“Thank you,” Tsubaki smiled. “Now, let’s see if it still looks good when I’m actually wearing it.” They both chuckled.