…and why not competition costumes?
(First, this is a costumer and convention Thing. Wander off, if this bores you. Costume geeks won’t mind.)
My work quality is good enough to at least enter SFF convention costume contests. I’ve entered, and won or at least placed in mainstream fiber arts competitions.
But I dislike the structure, the deadlines, the incurred costs (Do you want to know how much conventions COST? Airfare or driving? Hotels? Food? Memberships? Entry fees?) The prizes are often far less than the amount one puts into the damn costume. Winning gets you kudos. Winning enough times gets you noticed by professional props and costume people, if you’re angling to join that nerve-wracking wonderful business.
I’m not that inspired by manga or movie outfits* right now, not enough to put months of work into one entry. I veer between having stage fright and being completely unemotional on stage, neither of which are good for presentation. I’m much more of a behind-the-scenes person.
Because I do other things, I am incredibly slow at assembling costumes. About 50% of my costume stash is derived from thrift-store finds, the other half made from scratch.
So, for the rare times I’m at a SFF convention, and the rarer times I feel like dressing up, I wear hall costumes. Just odd and glitzy enough to be different, but not unwieldy. I like masks and veils. Certain real-world religions and cultures have given facial concealers a bad rap, but there’s a fun and mysterious side to them, too.
Above are the newest hall costume components, all designed to work together or in parts: Vine Coat. Steampunk Eyeglass Mask. Veil Cap.
They should be fun to wear, someday
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* Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing costumes and costumers coming out of Hollywood, Las Vegas, Broadway – and worldwide, really. But nothing makes me want to recreate another person’s designs. The last movie that sparked my creative interest was Disney’s John Carter, and that only in passing.
Then there are movies like Jupiter Ascending, which blew a wad of cash on making the movie pretty, at the expense of making it coherent. (Hangs head in mourning at what could have been. Disney, are you taking notes for Star Wars?)
This movie only proves that just because you can sew thousands of Swarovski crystals onto fabric, you should maybe stop and think before you do. Michael Cinco can do so much better than this near-literal miscarriage of a dress. I cannot be the only person who looks at it and cringes, can I?
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Added 2-18-2015: (cue evil laughter) I decided that while I liked the gray/seafoam/turquoise/olive colorway, it’s overpowering for a hall costume. So the coat, the hat, a tunic, and a pair of pants have a date with salt and Rit dye this weekend. Still wavering over Evening Blue or a Slate Blue mix – both would yield interesting tones, and bring everything into a cohesive, more-subtle array.
But I need to find a cheap, giant 5 gallon menudo pot, because no way is Rit dye going into any washing machine for which I am financially responsible.
(I ended up using a better fiber-reactive dye than Rit. That entailed actual chemistry, but the results were worth it.)