30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 18

I got super off-track on this, but what the hell, I'll keep going at will!

18. What is your best cosplay memory?

So many different ones. I have two favorite things - one is being in a period house in a period costume. There's a certain time-traveling thrill of tiptoeing around Gadsby's Tavern (the bathrooms are on a floor above the ballroom, so going upstairs by yourself feels like you're sneaking around) in a regency or 18th century gown.

The other quite different favorite thing is the fun a group costume can be.  Our Glee Lady Gaga group was perhaps the most intense one I did because we did a whole Masquerade dance that required intensive dance practices throughout DragonCon that made everything so much more fun.  There was also the Sgt. Pepper group costumes. And the Holyhead Harpies.  So many good times and inside jokes and being a part of something with good friends.

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 14, 15, 16, 17

 I got super distracted from this and never updated, so here are a few more days of it!

14. Your  costuming habits (eg. singing while working on a costume)

Nothing weird? I find sewing sufficiently boring that I have to have the TV on.  Lately I like marathoning old sitcoms. Currently Parks & Rec and Friends.

15. Your least favorite thing about cosplay

Drama and snobbery. First drama - this is a hobby. We are adults playing dress up. Yet I've seen a huge range of drama over my many years of this, most of it ridiculous. Interpersonal relationships are one thing - but a lot of the costume-related stuff is just silly.

And snobbery. We all have different skill-levels and budgets and reasons we do this. Some of us want to look screen-accurate, some of us are happy just to have a bathrobe and pretend to be a Jedi. That's fine. Unless you're making professional appearances, I see no reason to exclude people from playing in the same sandbox. And I will always prefer that someone come to an event in the wrong era than to stay home.


16. Do you belong to any cosplay/costuming groups? If so, what are they?

The Fabulosity Club! Which is not an official group, by any means, but we always get asked if we are a club when we have a group outing, so we made up a name.  I'm not sure I've ever been much of a official club joiner, but I did love the forums of old and I do love my many many friends that I have done costumes with be it DragonCon or a historical event!

17. What events have you cosplayed to?

Again, doing costumed for rather than "cosplayed to" - there was DragonCon for years, though it's not something I've enjoyed doing costumes for in recent years due to the extreme crowds, which can make it hard to move around and get/take pictures. And lots of historical costume events of varying sorts!

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 13

Still slowly trucking through this. It's just not going to be 30 days in a row!

13. Your cosplay specialty (ie. something that seems to apply to a large amount of your cosplays, it could be a specific series, or a common feature in their appearance, such as glasses)

Hmm - well, I used to do a lot of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and general movie stuff - these days it's mostly historical. It's been fun exploring something new, and also not being tied to having to look like a specific actress. I'm not sure there's really a common theme there?

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 12

I actually posted this on LJ ages ago and am only now getting to reposting here! I'm super  behind on everything! :-)

12. Your cosplay idol.

Oh, so many costuming idols. Holly/surlygirlie is a big one - she doesn't really have a website for her personal costumes anymore, but she was one of the first, if not the first to embroider her own Bespin costume. She and her group did amazing big costumes for a lot of DragonCon masquerades - Where the Wild Things Are, Muppets, Nightmare Before Christmas... all amazing!
http://makingmischief.net/bio/Holly.html

Pics of all the group costumes here: http://makingmischief.net/

There are actually so many of you - I almost feel like I don't really want to name names for fear of leaving anyone out. 

But I can't help calling out out two people who have always inspired me - Jen Thompson, who I was a fan of long before we were friends (and I'm so glad we are friends!) and who not only sews beautiful things but takes the most artful photos of herself in them:  http://www.festiveattyre.com/

And  Merja, who I think is amazing in every way - she's so talented, so nice, and also happens to look fantastic in everything she sews.  http://augustintytar.blogspot.com/

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 11

I'm super behind on this because of being busy, but here's Day 11!

11. Something cosplay-related that you will never do (eg. crossplay, cosplay from a certain series)

I'm not really into crossplay - but I guess I can't say I'd never do it since my friends and I did the Sgt Pepper Beatles that one time...which was hilarious and scary. Fav thing overheard at DragonCon was "one of them is definitely a woman." (And of course all four of us were...) And from a certain series? Hmm - is there anything I dislike enough to swear I'd never do it? Probably not? I am admittedly not into anime so it's unlikely I'd ever do something from it... But I guess never say never!

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 10

10. The dream cosplay that will never happen

Hmm. This is tough because I've sort of changed interests so some of the huge Amidala costumes which I've sort of fantasized about doing in the past I'm not really that interested in. And some of the other big fantasy projects (the red dress from Dracula) are not things I've given up on per se...

I still really would love to do a lot of the Sleepy Hollow movie costumes and more Titanic costumes.  And there's not really anything stopping me but time. So they're not things I've necessarily "given up" on.  Same with other things on my wishlist... So nothing really comes to mind other than something I had no solid plans to do anyway...

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 9

9. The dream cosplay that might just happen

The Sleepy Hollow Windmill dress. I say this every year, but by God, it's going to happen this year. Hopefully in the next few months. We'll see.

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 8

8. Your cosplay plans for the rest of the year (if you have no more for this year, then do next year!)

From my 2014 year in review:

1) Sleepy Hollow Windmill costume
2) Finish the jackets I cut out.
3) A new saque for the francaise dinner
4) A 20s dress
5) Mrs. Russell's green dress
6) Clare's plaid dress from Outlander
7) A drawstring dress out of this sheer white with silver fabric I have.
8) Pelisse
9) silk 18th century mantle
10) An Elsa jacket: https://blog.fabric.com/2014/12/pattern_hack_snow_queen_jacket.html

30 Day Costuming/Cosplay Meme - Day 7

7. The character you have cosplayed that is most similar to you (if none that you have cosplayed, then one that you will cosplay)

Again with the not-so-much cosplaying as costuming... I don't know if most similar, but certainly my favorite character I've done costumes for is Princess Leia.  What a great character. Sarcastic, sassy, strong... (that's very alliterative) Definitely one of my fav characters of all time. I've really only done the Bespin costume for her (an early fav from long before I ever costumed though) - and I did do her classic white gown but somehow never really wore it. I'll have to remedy that next costume appropriate opportunity. I don't even have pictures of it on!

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 6

6. Your favorite costume (that you have done)

Ooh, tough one! Maybe my Leia Bespin costume? I'm just so happy with how it turned out and so much work went into it (9 months of embroidery).

30 Day Cosplay/Costuming Meme - Day 5

5. Blatant self plug! Link us to your cosplay page, be it dA, ACP, Coscom, whatever!

Star Wars: http://www.padawansguide.com
Movie costumes: http://costumersguide.com
Ever After: http://everaftercostumes.com
My costume site: http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes
Public costume blog: http://costumersguide.blogspot.com/

30 Day "Cosplay" Costuming meme - Day 4

4. Your costuming communities, where do you go to talk about costuming?

This would have been a much longer list in the old days - so many great forums from Yahoo Groups (LotR especially) to the TFN Jedi Council Forums Costume & Props group, not to mention LJ. These days, just LJ.  I know there are public FB groups, but I just lurk because they are so public.

30 Day "Cosplay" Costuming meme - Day 3

3. Your most recent costume.

For myself, the Outlander inspired outfit:

But I just finished a waistcoat for Doug for the ball at Riverdale House.

I didn't make his full costume and we're still missing pieces of it but here it is:

30 Day "Cosplay" costume meme - Day 2

(Posting 2 days in one to catch up with a friend)

2. How many costumes have you done?

Let's see... 33.5 movie costumes - though 4 were not sewn by me but researched and either screen accurate or close matches were found as well as accessories and the whole 9 yards (2 Firefly, 2 Star Trek). I counted Oswin dress I made as half a point since I wasn't happy with it and didn't finish the belt, though I sourced a bunch of stuff for the costume.

47 historical, though I didn't count a few bodiced petticoats. I did count the corded petticoat since that was actual real work.  2 of these were not sewn by me.  One was altered to fit me (Edwardian and I accessorized it) and the other was my 50s outfit, which I researched and sourced stuff for. I'm also counting the waistcoat for Doug I am almost but not quite done with.

And 6 misc (TV stuff, Sgt Pepper) - 2 of these were researched and sourced (Amy Farrah Fowler, Lost Dharma jumpsuit), one was a group project (The Return's Pepper suits, so I wasn't the only one working on them) and another was the Holy Head Harpies cheer squad, which still counts as a costume but that was more put together (and someone else got the shirts made). I'll give half credit for that.

I didn't count the few modern pieces I've made.

So that's... 86. o_O  I've been doing this a while.

Edited: I should have put a link to this page which has all of them. I should really do thumbnails for the movie costume ones too because it's nice to see them all out there:

http://www.costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/completed.html

30 Day "Cosplay" costume meme - Day 1

So I've seen this floating around - I'm going to change it to costuming though because I don't really do cosplay so much as costuming.

1. Your first costume

My Jedi costume! First thing I ever really sewed - and worn to the first convention I ever went to, in 2000, at BaltiCon.  It's where I met Diane and Sue, who I am still friends with - and I photoshopped this pic of our joined-up group of Jedi. We were the only Jedi there because there weren't many at the time!  This was also the genesis of padawansguide.com