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Overview

Miss Mey-Rin. You don't wear clothes merely to regulate your body temperature and to protect your skin. You can change your mood or change yourself with them. They're magic items that make the world look wonderful.
Nina Hopkins[1]


Nina Hopkins (ニナ・ホプキンス, Nina Hopukinsu) is an established tailor who owns a tailor shop called Hopkins' Tailor Shop, which is based in London.[2] She is known as "the tailor who announces the seasons."[3]

Nina regularly designs and sews Ciel Phantomhive's clothing, particularly for special occasions, such as his coronation.[4] Her family line has outfitted many generations of the Queen's Watchdog.[5]

As of late, Nina has been commissioned to design all of the costumes at Sphere Music Hall.[6]

Appearance[]

V14 Nina

Nina in color.

Nina has light-brown eyes and styles her brown hair into a curly ponytail worn on the left side of her head. Suggestive of her position as a tailor, Nina presents herself as a proper and well-dressed woman to polite society. She dons a tight, low-cut, long-sleeved top and a vest sewn with black lace placed over it, as well as a tear-away skirt that reveals shorts underneath—something Elizabeth Midford had remarked on in the past as being "unladylike."[7] Beneath the shorts, she also wears visible garters. In addition, she sports thigh-high boots and accessories, such as a large bow, choker, glasses, and earrings, on a regular basis.

Personality[]

Nina is a dramatic, theatrical individual, who is prone to long rants, loud outbursts, and exaggerations; especially when inspired to create clothes, she would burst with excitement and zealously translate her ideas onto paper. She detests being interrupted while outlining her rough drafts, as indicated when she snapped at Sebastian Michaelis after he attempted to provide his opinion.[8] Moreover, if she finds that the outfit she constructed does not the suit the person it is for, she would become exasperated and impulsively rip it apart, even while the person is trying it on, which is what she once did with Ciel Phantomhive.[9]

Nina is exceptionally talented at her job, capable of swiftly designing outfits; in fact, she had tailored a shirt in the time it took Ciel and Elizabeth Midford to enjoy afternoon tea.[10] She tends to craft modern and voguish outfits, as evidenced when she modeled Sieglinde Sullivan's outfit after the "Alice Style," which she claimed is the "current craze" among young girls.[11] Nina has a radical perspective on fashion. She loathes dressing in conservative clothes and supports constant reforms. A strong advocate of liberal concepts, she believes women should discard restrictive customs and free themselves from social constraints.[7]

In addition, Nina is headstrong, stubborn, and quick to defend her fashion views; for instance, not only did she refuse to reflect on Sebastian's criticism of the color red on Ciel, she reacted to the criticism with hostility, kicking him out of the room and dismissing him as an amateur.[12]

Furthermore, Nina exclusively cares for women and boys—but they must be fifteen years of age or younger—a preference she makes no mystery, having confirmed it herself.[13] On two separate occasions, she demonstrated said preference by blatantly ignoring Baldroy and Finnian in favor of paying attention to Mey-Rin, and insultingly calling Sebastian "Mister Hardhead."[14]

History[]

In March 1886, Nina designed Ciel Phantomhive's coronation outfit, which Ciel wore while he was inducted to earl at a conferment ceremony.[4]

A year later, Nina was commissioned to design and tailor clothes for the new Phantomhive maid Mey-Rin.[15]

Plot[]

Red Butler Arc[]

Nina tailors a dress for Ciel Phantomhive, so that he can disguise as a young girl at one of Aleister Chamber's parties.[16]

Circus Arc[]

Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis return to Phantomhive Manor after taking care of Baron Kelvin and investigating the Renbourn Workhouse. Elizabeth Midford declares that she would like them to wear new clothes so they can go on a boat ride. Sebastian calls in a tailor so she can get her wish, with Nina Hopkins arriving shortly after.[17]

Nina warmly greets Mey-Rin upon her arrival, inquiring if the maid costume she had made for her has come in handy again, while groping Mey-Rin's body, much to her apparent embarrassment. When Finnian and Baldroy go outside to greet her, she clearly ignores them, something they both angrily comment on. She asks Mey-Rin to lead her to Ciel, coming in through the front door, which Sebastian reprimands her for.[18]

Ch37 Chaotic measurement

Sebastian prevents Elizabeth from seeing Ciel's slave mark while Nina measures Ciel's body.

Nina then proceeds to take measurements of Ciel and notes that he has become even thinner lately. As a result, she is inspired to create fancy, matching, Easter clothes for Ciel and Elizabeth. She goes into detail, describing the potential outfits; when Sebastian commented that the color red would make Ciel look too childish, she throws the three of them out of the room while she continues to work.[19]

Soon after, Nina retrieves them from their afternoon tea and obliges Ciel to try on a new shirt. She decides the silhouette is not correct and rips it off of him, exposing his slave brand mark. He attempts to prevent Elizabeth from seeing it, but when Nina grabbed his arm so she can measure, Sebastian is forced to awkwardly cover it. Nina questions this, but Ciel claims he has hurt his leg and needs support, ordering Sebastian not to remove his hand. This makes Nina's job of measuring unnecessarily difficult, prompting her to complain. In order to allow her to complete her job, Ciel tells Elizabeth that it embarrasses him to have her stare at his naked body so much, which causes her to turn her head and look away. Once Nina completes the measurements, she tells Ciel he can dress again, and she moves elsewhere in the room.[20]

Luxury Liner Arc[]

On Easter Day, Nina heads to Phantomhive Manor to celebrate the holiday with Ciel, Sebastian, Elizabeth, Edward, Soma Asman Kadar, Agni, Baldroy, Finnian, Snake, Tanaka, and Mey-Rin, whom she affectionately hugs. When Soma points out that he is sporting his regular clothes despite the holiday, Nina unveils her new spring collection; she has Ciel, Edward, Soma, and Agni dress in outfits she tailored, and is proud of the results.[21]

Elizabeth arranges the Easter Egg Hunt, an event in which all parties must vie to obtain her hidden egg. After Charles Grey and Charles Phipps announce their intent to take part in the competition, Sebastian establishes the rules of the game and has the participants divide into teams of two. Nina is paired with Edward, to her great displeasure, as she wishes to be paired with a woman.[22]

The game begins, and all the teams disperse. Edward urges Nina to hurry, which prompts her to tear away her skirt, thereby revealing the shorts she has underneath. Edward is appalled by her attire, saying that she should be ashamed. Nina leans in close to him, admonishing him for being stereotypical and narrow-minded. Flustered, he tells her to cover her legs. While they are distracted, Mey-Rin employs a slingshot and destroys their egg. Both Nina and Edward are, thus, disqualified, to their distress, the former of which saddened by the fact that she now cannot force Mey-Rin to wear what she has on.[23] After the hunt—Ciel is the victor—Nina joins the rest of the participants for a snack outdoors.[24]

Public School Arc[]

Prior to Blue House's win at Weston College's annual cricket tournament, Sebastian commissions Nina to tailor a suit for Ciel to wear during the Boat Parade, which is an event that honors the victors of said tournament.[25]

Emerald Witch Arc[]

Ciel, Sebastian, Sieglinde, and Wolfram visit Nina's tailor shop. On Ciel's request, Nina drags Sieglinde away to measure her. Her assistants, Meg and Augusta, meanwhile, measure Wolfram. While Nina gushes over Sieglinde's would-be outfit, Sieglinde is awed by a portrait of a girl with a bob cut and asks Nina for the same haircut. When Sieglinde shows off her new hair to them, Sebastian scolds Nina for disrespecting the social rule that ladies should have their hair up when granted an audience with Queen Victoria. Nina calls him hardheaded and bids the group farewell when they leave.[26]

Blue Cult Arc[]

Outside the Sphere Music Hall, a couple of tradesmen accidentally drop a box, and Nina, followed by her two assistants, scolds them, asserting that, unlike the tradesmen, haute couture is delicate and that she cannot stand men.[27]

After dropping off her tailored clothes, Nina and her two assistants exit Sphere Music Hall. When Ciel offers to escort her home, Nina initially rejects him, as she does not see him. After he reveals himself, however, an ecstatic Nina climbs in his carriage. There, she affirms that all of the costumes at the music hall are made by Hopkins' Tailor Shop, a business she manages. She explains that although she would have refused to design costumes for men over fifteen, the attendees of the music hall convinced her to with their enthusiasm, and talks about how involved Blavat Sky is, for he produces both the S4's songs and their clothing, always attends the fittings, and gives "innovative" and "daring" suggestions, unlike Sebastian.[28]

Nina, then, acknowledges that there must be more to Blavat since Ciel is asking so many questions about him. Ciel commends her for being quick to catch on and states that that is what he would expect from someone whose family line outfitted many generations of the Queen's Watchdog. Nina confesses that while she knows the measurements of the S4, Blavat, and "those with the names of stars," she has never actually measured or seen "those with the names of stars," who are of higher status than the S4. She says that she was commissioned to design costumes for everyone, and begins to ramble about the Grecian robes she made for the special event attendees. Ciel urges her to tell him more about the ones with the names of stars, and she discloses what she knows.[29]

When Ciel requests that she brings Sebastian with her the next time she returns to the music hall, Nina flatly refuses to, in fear that Sebastian's "outdated grab" will tarnish her reputation. Ciel, then, grants her permission to choose Sebastian's clothes, to her joy. At Hopkins' Tailor Shop, Nina forces Sebastian to change in and out of several outfits.[30]

The following week, Nina, her assistants Meg and Augusta, and Sebastian, who is attired in clothes Nina has deemed fitting, head to the music hall, with the former reminding Sebastian that she is simply doing a favor for Ciel and that he must not get in her way. At the entrance, they greet the worker, who notices that Sebastian is new; Nina tells him that Sebastian's purpose is to carry things. Subsequently, Nina shows Sebastian where the four doors are, and they part ways, with Nina going off to distract Blavat while Sebastian investigates.[31]

Quotes[]

  • (To Mey-Rin) "Did my maid uniform come in handy this time, too? You're well-endowed, so you should emphasise your features more. You should come to my shop next time."[32]
  • "My lady! That notion is as old as the fossils! These clothes are primarily for freedom of movement and were made in respect of Mrs. Bloomer who advocated active women. Women should cast aside stiff and formal rules, and be freer! Clothes with loose silhouettes that are easy to move about in, such as those favoured in Greece and Japan, will become fashionable from now on. Silhouettes are important for men as well! And for beautiful silhouettes, taking fine measurements is of the utmost importance!"[33]
  • (Referring to Sebastian Michaelis) "This is why I hate hardheads. Do you not know the saying 'One cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs'? I do not want an amateur saying this and that!"[34]

Trivia[]

  • Nina often includes French phrases such as "ça va" or "très bien" in her speech.[35][36][37]

Etymology[]

  • "Nina" is the short form of various name that end in nina, e.g., "Antonina" or "Giannina."[38]
  • "Hopkins" is an English, Welsh, and Irish surname and means "son of Hob" with "Hob" being a diminutive of "Robert."[39]

Out of Universe[]

References[]

  1. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 164, pages 16-17
  2. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 107, page 7
  3. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 7
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 63, pages 22-23
  5. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, page 7
  6. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, page 5
  7. 7.0 7.1 Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 11
  8. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 15
  9. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 20
  10. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 19
  11. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 107, page 15
  12. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 16-17
  13. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 16
  14. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 9
  15. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 164, pages 6-16
  16. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 12-13
  17. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 6
  18. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 7-9
  19. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 10-17
  20. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 19-27
  21. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 66, pages 4-8
  22. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 66, pages 9-14
  23. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 66, pages 15-17
  24. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 66, page 36
  25. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 81, page 3
  26. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 107, pages 9-15
  27. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 115, pages 14-15
  28. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, pages 4-6
  29. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, pages 7-11
  30. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, pages 11-15
  31. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 116, pages 16-18
  32. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 8
  33. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, pages 11-12
  34. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 17
  35. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 7
  36. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 37, page 13
  37. Kuroshitsuji manga; Chapter 164, page 6
  38. Behind the Name — Nina
  39. Wikipedia:Hopkins
  40. June 2015 Issue of Square Enix's GFantasy Magazine

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