If you’re like most people, you’ve seen Kpop Demon Hunters on Netflix, and as a result you either have Soda Pop or Golden stuck in your head right now. (Which is it? Let me know in the comments.)
I’ve written before about how to remain comfortable while in cosplay and also about how to cosplay without breaking your budget (or your sanity).
In this article, I’m going to combine all those ideas and break down exactly how I would go about creating Rumi’s ‘Golden’ costume.
Now, a few notes before we start. First, I am not a professional cosplayer or even a professional costume designer. Your experience, preference, and needs may vary. And that’s ok!
Second, because of licensing, we can’t actually show you Rumi’s ‘Golden’ outfit, so you might want to pull up a picture on another tab while you read.
Ready? Let’s work bottom to top.
Shoes
Shoes are usually either the easiest or the hardest pieces of a costume. They come between your feet and the floor, though, so you want something comfy, especially if you’re going to be walking around a lot.
A quick Google search for “Rumi Golden boots” turned up a few results from fast fashion sites on one end of the budget to custom-made cosplay gear for triple digits on the other. Neither of those are going to work for comfy budget-friendly feet.
Looking at screenshots from the movie, the boots are iridescent white platforms with chunky heels and black laces.
(This is a good time to mention that some Google image results come from other fans’ cosplay or offbrand products that don’t accurately reflect the character’s costume. Always refer to the source material if you can)
Since searching for the character’s boots specifically didn’t turn up any good results, I searched for everyday boots instead.
I typed “tall white platform boots” into the search bar, and as of this writing (late August 2025), Walmart has a pair of white platform knee-high lace-up boots for $52.99. (I’m in the States, so adjust your results accordingly.) They have white laces instead of black, but those can be swapped out easily enough.
Typing “tall white iridescent platform boots” also returned results, but most are in the triple digits for price.
For a budget cosplay, white boots will work fine.
Base Outfit: Shorts & crop top
Looking at screenshots from Kpop Demon Hunters, the shorts appear to be high-waisted, and the crop top is a sleeveless turtleneck. These are the terms I’d search for when looking for something ready-made.
A Google search for “iridescent white sleeveless turtleneck crop top” returns a number of results, most of which are fast fashion. (Hard pass.)
There are also some shiny silver tops and a white crop top from a dance company.
My personal advice? Go with something from a dancewear or gymnastics company if you can. The fabric is designed to be breathable and to move with you.
As of this writing, the site Coquetry Clothing has some shorts that would work well. I’ve bought costume pieces from them before, and I’ve been pleased with the quality.
One last piece of advice: Get the shorts and shirt from the same place if you can. That will make the color and sparkle pattern match.
It might not stand out if you wear all white instead of an iridescent shimmer color, but others will definitely notice if your shorts are sparkly silver and the top is flat white.
Jacket
everything else about this costume, the jacket is sparkly. It’s also the biggest opportunity for customization (which is a polite way of saying you’ll need to get a black jacket first and then heavily modify it).
Doing a search for “crop long sleeved black jacket” returned a few results from reputable sellers like Walmart and also Kohl’s.
Keep shoulder and elbow mobility in mind. Just because you can fit in a jacket doesn’t mean it’s going to be comfortable to wear all day.
Once you have the jacket base sorted out, you can search for decorative pieces to make it look as close to the original as possible. This is my favorite part.
Here are some places I’d start:
- Look for “gold knight armor” and use one of the epaulets for the large shoulder piece. (An epaulet is the decorative shoulder piece of a suit of armor.) Sure, you could make it with air-dry clay and spray paint, but do you really have the time to smooth out all those lumps?
- Most of the decorative lines could be made with metallic gold trim. Look for round and smooth trim at your local craft and hobby store. (Sort of like this. You can also use this trim around the ends of the sleeves.
- For the more sparkly designs, look for sequins on a string, like these. You want the goldiest gold ones that ever did gold.
- Some of the lines could also be made with gold chain (often found in the ribbon section of a fabric store, or a hardware store if you want to feel hardcore).
When it comes time to attach all these pieces, you can sew or glue them together. If you’re going with glue, I recommend checking out this website, which is my favourite site for all things glue.
The chest strap appears to be part of the jacket, perhaps holding it on Rumi’s cartoon body. I wouldn’t recommend actually using the chest strap to functionally hold your jacket on, and I would make sure it’s detachable.
Browse your local craft or fabric store for one-inch sparkly sequin ribbon and a large gold button. If you don’t have access to a sewing machine, you can still achieve this look with glue and stick-on Velcro.
Sewing the straps together where they cross and using sew-on Velcro instead will give the outfit significantly more durability, however. You can attach all 4 ends of the chest strap with Velcro, or you can sew one end on (say, the right sides), and use Velcro for the left . Just make sure you can get the jacket on and off!
Accent Pieces: Waist Chains
Here’s where costume and cosplay can depart a bit. Chances are, no one’s going to be walking around with character reference photos to match with your outfit at a con or Halloween party.
Because of that, you can make the waist chains as accurate or inaccurate as fits your budget. If you have a lot of time and money, well, the sky’s the limit. If you’re limited on either, though, you might want to pick up some extra gold trim or chains at the craft store.
There’s a dangling accent piece that almost looks like a chandelier earring like this. This is one area where I think fast fashion is ok. After all, you’re only buying this for the parts, not to actually wear it as an earring.
If you’re stuck on the chunky gold belt, you can make one with some wood tiles, gold spray paint, duct tape, and a glue gun.
In fact, that’s how I made Beast Boy’s belt.
I bought wooden tiles and spray painted one side silver. Then I flipped the pieces over and stretched one cord across the top and one across the bottom. (This prevented the individual pieces from flipping over.)
I attached the cord with duct tape (hot pink, because no one was going to see it), and hot glued a plastic buckle to the large circle. When the other end was clipped in, you couldn’t even tell it was there.
Costume magic!
Wig
This is one area where I’d recommend spending a little extra money. Unless you have ankle-length hair that you’re comfortable dying bright purple, it’s worth investing in a decent-quality wig.
Ideally you’d find one that’s already braided in Rumi’s style, but if not, either ask a friend or go on YouTube. Hair is not my area of expertise.
Total
Using some back-of-the-napkin math (which is only slightly more accurate than a magic 8 ball), you should be able to pull this look together for around $250 or less.
Hey, I said cheaper. Not cheap.
Written by Tori Struder
Tori Studer is a teacher and freelance writer. She has an unnatural love of grammar, Dungeons and Dragons, and learning anything new, and she believes a great pun is its own reword. When she’s not writing, she can be found haunting local bookstores or taking random online classes.
What do you think of Tori’s suggestions for this neat DIY cosplay idea? Comment below.
