Hi!

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to cosplaying. I've never cosplayed before and, while I have a good idea of what I should do, I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing it. Two of my friends are badass cosplayers and they've been helpful, but I'm reluctant to ask them too much in case I irritate them.

In any case, I want to cosplay as the female playable character from Pokémon Black/White! Here's a picture of her:

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Black_White_Hilda.png

First of all, I'm not sure about the shorts. I've found shorts from Miss Selfridge that are kind of torn, and I sort of have an idea of how to sew on the frayed bits.

http://www.missselfridge.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33055&storeId=12554&productId=7808291&langId=-1&categoryId=&parent_category_rn=&searchTerm=distressed%20short&resultCount=1

I was wondering if those looks okay, and if anyone could let me know what sort of material to use and how I'd sew it properly without it being too amateurish.

Secondly, the vest. I've looked around quite a lot but I haven't really seen any sleeveless vests/jackets with pockets like those. Any advice? Or have you seen anything similar?

Finally, what sort of fabric would I have to use to make the pink pattern on her hat?

Thank you very much in advance, and sorry if this is bothersome! ;;

Have you thought of checking thrift shops in your area? Because that's a lot of money to spend on jean shorts when you could either take actual jeans and turn them into shorts super easy, or get some jean shorts and fray them up yourself.