Today I want to talk about Sumire's hair. Sumire has long, wavy hair that she typically puts up in a ponytail. It's difficult to say how long her hair would be if she let it down, but a good ballpark estimate should have her hair down to her ankles at its longest and straightest. Sumire's hair color is also not as easy as it would initially seem- yes, she has black hair. But it's more specifically a shade of black that's tinted purple. Not only that, but the end of her ponytail is an actual shade of purple. But that's not the whole story, because this only shows up on her sprite- it does not show up on her chibi, and it does not show up in the memolobby. MOST official art seems to agree that it doesn't exist, with this event CG being the only exception on the wiki. While the easy explanation is that there's probably half a dozen people on this earth who knows about this and so it's forgotten, a more interesting hypothesis is that this is the power of the Mystic at work in a unique way, showing up whenever she's about to train- her training zeal is so strong it makes her hair change color! However, I personally subscribe to neither of those, because I think that it's more interesting for it to simply be that when she trains, especially with cardio, it's almost impossible to tell where the purple of her clothes stops and the black of her hair begins. It could also be a very clever way to show just how fast Sumire really is, in a way that Blue Archive can't explicitly show. Whichever it is, Sumire's ponytail is a very majestic thing to behold, and I'm glad she has the long hair because it really makes her appearance stand out. Her hair accessories are simple, but naturally go into the broader scope of who Sumire is. Her ponytail is tied with a purple hair scrunchie, this purple being a deeper and richer purple than the rest of what she wears, while also being a subtly smart thing for Sumire to do so her hair doesn't get in the way, or get close enough to her to absorb her sweat and weigh her down. Think about it like an animal's fur- a cat, when dry, is likely going to be very light. However, fur and, to a lesser extent, hair, captures sweat very well. It's why during a hot day, sweat can cause hair to stick to someone, or cause hair to feel dry after the sweat has dried, because what remains is salt (among other things but let's not get into what sweat really is). Thus, it makes sense for Sumire to have her ponytail be so far above her, while also being so far behind her. Granted, knowing Sumire, I wouldn't be surprised if she intentionally dipped her hair in water to artificially weigh her down for some of her training. It's very impressive how well Sumire takes care of her hair, considering how much effort it likely is. There's probably a satisfaction to it for her, going through and washing away the day's sweat and watching her hair flow together better, until it's eventually smooth like a river and she's ready for tomorrow's exercise. Then there's her flower hairpins. These seem like they'd be used to keep her hair in place, but they're only on her right side, so that doesn't seem right. I'm pretty sure the answer for these is an obvious one, though- she just likes how they look.
Sumire's fashion design is important to get out of the way, because even her part time outfit has her wearing the same color scheme. The first thing that is apparent is that Sumire wears a lot of purple- I believe lavender, specifically. However, the nexst thing that the eye catches is that she wears neon green, and I think that this is the more important color- she's wearing those ot be spotted from a distance. And it just so happens that purple is a complementary color to green, making her stand out even more! Or it's simply because she likes the color purple. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sumire's outfit is a lot of her simply liking how it looks or feels. I'm also not enough of a health nut to make some claim on the purple and green, but it gives her an organic look, the sort of look you'd see in that area of the grocer's. After the color scheme, there's the matter of which article of clothing to talk about first. And I believe that this is a good test of someone's character, because it shows you what that person most immediately sees in Sumire. I see her jacket- it's extremely stylish, but it is also a very close thing to a labcoat! It gives Sumire an added depth to her character- she's not just someone who works out a lot, she's someone who researches what it means to exercise, what it means to get fit, how far the body can go and how you can push it that much further, and the optimal path to a healthy body. Since most of Millennium is not as enthusiastic as her, this gives her a reputation. Another article that I think about a lot is her glasses- they're simple, yet are the only orange on her outfit, being used to be able to exercise even during the times of day when the sun would blind her. They're so effective at this, that they reflect light off them even when she's not using them. But it also gives her added character, because when she puts those shades on, it's training time, the bane of many a Millennium student! Her top shows that she remains ergonomic even with her chest potentially forcing her off-balance, and I wouldn't be surprised if she wears something to bind her chest closer in order to keep her center of gravity closer. That, along with allowing her lower chest to be exposed to the air and cool off better, makes this an incredibly efficient article of clothing. And then there's her yoga pants, showing her sleek thighs and strong calves. She could definitely kick a ball very far with those legs, along with walking 500 miles, and definitely 500 more. Wouldn't fall down after walking 1000 miles to your down though. Her shoes also show some depth to them- they're closely bound to her feet, meaning they're sung on her. On top of that, she's likely wearing short socks to help her feet not blister from the shoes, while also keeping her cool by exposing her ankles. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if those shoes had holes up top in order for her feet to breathe better.
All of that to say that Sumire negotiated a good deal with her employer. That, or she's known well enough in the world of athletics that they had a good idea what would fit her. But first, her hair takes on a more apparent purple tint, but less saturated and still ultimately black. This time, in order to accomodate the equipment for the job, she's wearing her hair in twintails, giving Sumire an astonishingly cute look to her while remaining very practical. The ting, as explained earlier, is not here. However, her hair seems to be less united than in her ponytail, being a bit more all over the place while still being composed. This seems like it's her wearing a hairstyle that she's not used to, along with there not being as much mass in the twintails, leading to her hair being a bit more wild than normal. Since she's serving customers, she needs to have her eyes visible, but she still needs to avoid the sun blinding her. Thus, she wears a visor, though said visor seems to be a baseball cap as well, which is almost certainly because of her working in a baseball field, so her outfit is to dress like a player on the field! She seems to have it held by hairpins, allowing for her hair to work without needing to tie it into an actual baseball cap (or smash it in said baseball cap). Her flower hairpins seem to have become one bigger flower accessory, likely still a hairpin. That flower hairpin feels like a glimpse into her days off, that she's actually a botanist on the side, giving her even more depth and another reason as to why she dresses with flowers. Perhaps she's meant to represent the saying, "My body is a temple", but temple has been replaced with garden?
Sumire's hair and how it smells. Yes, obviously if you catch her before she can take a shower it is going to smell sweaty like the rest of Sumire. However, she seems to me like the sort of student who'd wear calming scents like lavender, not so much for the intent to calm, but for the intent to clear the mind and improve focus. That might seem contradictory, and they're certainly very close, but think about it this way: Hina would likely pick calming scents to not think about anything and just take time for her body to relax. Sumire picks calming scents to focus specifically on her training, putting her in the zone.