ladyofthethread | Entries tagged with costume con

Haven’t posted lately since the past two weeks have been kind of crazy.

First, Anime Boston happened. Almost got on the wrong bus going there since my brother insisted on taking Bolt rather than the Chinatown bus which we usually do for Boston. We had tickets for 11AM and got there with less than 10 minutes to spare since we were stuck in midtown traffic; not wanting to miss the bus, we ran over and put the luggage on but it turns out it was the bus to Philly and the Boston bus hadn’t even arrived yet! So, we got the luggage off and then our bus finally showed up at 11 and started 10 minutes late.

I had fun at the con though. Actually made it to a couple of panels this time and was in cosplay chess as Ryuuren. The chess theme was Magic vs. Science so I was on the magic side although I doubt many knew why considering Ryuuren’s powers are only hinted at in the anime and the big revelation doesn’t come until the light novels that go beyond the anime. ^_^; ( novel spoilers for the curious ) Of course, I had terrible flute music as my attack since the con’s theme was music. XD But I ended up being the first one off the board this year so I didn’t actually get to capture anyone. I haven’t had time to watch it yet but the whole chess match is up on YouTube; I’m introduced around 21:45 and get killed off around 29:00.

Didn’t do any photoshoots (unless a couple of trips to the photo suite count) so no photo post for AB. I’ve only put up one pic of the new Ryuuren costume on ACP so far since I improved on the hair a lot after AB and want to wait for newer photos.

Got home from Boston, unpacked, and then packed this different set of costumes for Costume Con the next weekend:

In the few days that I was home, I also made a new pair of pants for the second Ryuuren costume so more of the design on the boots would show. (They were supposed to be shorter than the pants with the first costume but I didn’t have time to make new ones before Boston.) And I figured out how to better do the hair for that costume so the bangs are no longer so flat and the high ponytail doesn’t slip behind my head. Didn’t have time to add the rest of the red cords that hang from the sash though; I might just redo the whole sash and put a heavy interfacing inside so it can better support the weight.

Costume Con was fun. Caught up with some friends I hadn’t seen in ages, went to a whole bunch of panels, saw some awesome costumes, and took lots of pics. Even found some Monkey Island and Saiunkoku fans to chat with! :-D Don’t really have any pics of myself from the con but don’t really care since I mostly wore old costumes. It had been so long since I’d worn my formal Terra (last time was Anime North 2007), I couldn’t even remember for sure which side the scarves were supposed to tie on! ^_^;;

Saiunkoku pictures with the cherry blossoms finally happened and I’ve spent the last few days catching up on things although I’m still behind on online stuff. Went shopping Friday and got chocolate for my mother for Mother’s Day. And I just bought fabric and beads for a new costume which will hopefully be done for AnimeNext. ^_^;

Current Mood: content

Wow, there have been a few blizzards here over the years but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a slow cleanup after one before. -_- The subway station in my neighborhood is outdoors and service didn’t resume until this morning, three full days after the snow stopped on Monday morning! Also, our street didn’t get plowed (and not very well) until overnight Tuesday/early Wednesday morning. So, my father was stuck at home until Wednesday when he was finally able to drive into work. Ironically, the employees and even my father’s business partner (who lives on a hill in NJ and usually has trouble getting down when there’s snow) were able to make it to work on Tuesday but he was stuck here because our streets weren’t plowed and the train wasn’t running. My best friend, who I was trying to make plans to visit, was stuck in the same situation, too. -_-

In other news, I’ve started fixing up Ryuuren. I decided the closures I made with gold trim for the shirt and cape were too wide so I took them off and shortened them. I still need to replace the red cord that’s attached to the purple ornament, remake the headdress, and adjust the blue piece that wraps around the waist since it came out a bit too big and droops.

And since I’m curious who’s going…

[Poll #1662516]

I’m trying to figure out if the Kaleido Star Cinderella group can still happen for Costume Con. Unfortunately, this year has been pretty lousy in terms of real life and I felt unmotivated so planning didn’t start over the summer as I was hoping and there’s only 4 months to the con now with almost nothing done. I have matching unstyled wigs for me and my double to use and my Sarah costume if I can find someone who can fit into it and is willing to wear it for the presentation. And that’s about it. ._.;

I should be doing this with

neoangelwink and

athena_chan and have a couple of maybes; neoangelwink is going to be Sora and I’ll be Layla in the Cinderella ballgown but no one else has picked characters yet. Is there anyone going to Costume Con who would be willing to join in or model something if you’re close enough to my size? I realize this is going to be an expensive project so I’m willing to help pay for some of the materials for the group’s costumes but can’t cover everything.

Cinderella in rags (our presentation idea is a rags to ballgown transformation so we really need this outfit)

Fairygodmothers (the one on the left is taken)

The Prince (not absolutely necessary to the presentation but would be nice to have)

And a reminder for people who are thinking of attending Costume Con, the mail-in registration deadline is January 31 for an $80 rate: http://cc29nj.com/memberships.aspx
There doesn’t seem to be any online registration this time and the at door price is $90 with a $15 discount for college students with ID.

Current Mood: sleepy

It’s been quite a while since I’ve made a real post so what I’ve been up to lately…

Besides rushing to finish my phoenix prop for Costume Con, I was at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last Tuesday to help with the Sakura Matsuri press day. The weather was lovely but ridiculously warm for late April; I was asked to wear my Sarah costume which wasn’t ideal for being outside in 80 degree weather. ^_^; But it was nice to get a chance to see the cherry trees since I wouldn’t be in town for the actual festival and it was fun chatting with people between pics. My brother tagged along since he didn’t have class that day so there should be pics later on.

And, of course, I went to Costume Con…

( Thursday: driving to Costume Con and finishing the thread-eating monster )

( Friday: Costume tea party )

( Saturday: panels and getting upstaged by a bird )

( Sunday: smocking workshop and watching more contests )

Met a bunch of new people over the weekend and got to see some who I hadn’t seen for a long time like kaijugal, sarcasm-hime, and sailormo. Less rushing around so it was more relaxed than an anime con. Overall, I enjoyed it and will definitely return when I can. Next year’s Milwaukee location is too far for me since I won’t fly but it’ll be in NJ in 2011. Anyone want to join me? :-D It’s rather different from anime cons but great for costuming panels and seeing awesome costumes.

Costume Con 29
Theme: Give my Regards to Broadway (theme is only for fun so there’s no need to costume to it if you don’t want to)
Dates: April 29-May 2, 2011
Location: Hilton Hasbrouck Heights; Hasbrouck Heights, NJ

I was talking to Dora Buck, the con chair for 2011 and they’re really interested in getting more cosplayers to come. Pre-registration rate at Costume-Con was $65 and I was told it’s still good for the 2 weeks after. The price will be going up after that but they haven’t decided exactly how much yet; they said they expect the price to go up every 6 months. (And I believe memberships are transferable so they can be sold to someone else if you end up not being able to make it.) Right now, I think they’re only taking mail-in registration with checks and I have a copy of the form if anyone wants it. (Don’t think they have a website ready yet.)

Current Mood: okay

Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted. ^_^;; Lots of rambling ahead…

I’ve gotten out of my lazy rut so I’m finally sewing stuff again. But I’m not going to Katsucon and it’s highly unlikely that I’ll go to NYCC. So, I’m currently planning and working on stuff for Costume Con in May.

I’ve been talking to the masquerade directors there to get an idea of how things work there since it’s considered an international level competition and the rules vary somewhat from what’s typical at anime cons. Both have been quite helpful and suggested I enter at Journeyman level. (Only Costume Con and World Con awards are required to be counted for international competitions so it’s sometimes possible to compete at a lower level than you would at regional anime cons.)

I’ve started working on Ekaterina’s disguise outfit from Le Chevalier D’eon for the Historical Masquerade. I’ve been researching a bit about 18th Century clothes and finished my chemise as well as a first mockup of the corset. It mostly fits me but it seems too short since the tabs at the bottom are sticking out about an inch and a half above my waist. Have to see if I can lengthen it somehow. (The corset pattern doesn’t have lengthen and shorten markings.) Here’s the chemise; not very exciting to look at but I did all flat felled seams so it’s very neat on the inside. ^_^;

I haven’t decided how I’m doing the panniers yet. The one in the Simplicity pattern I’ve been using is like a big oval hoopskirt but it would be cumbersome for sitting and moving. Plus, I don’t really imagine Ekaterina having a huge set of hoops with that outfit, considering the place of that costume in the plot. I’ve also seen a surviving pannier, which looks like a truncated version of the pattern I have, and pairs of smaller bustle-like pieces which can be tied to each side of the waist. I might do one of those options rather than the whole hoopskirt.

And I think I’ll finally take a stab at building a prop phoenix so I can wear my 19th Century D for the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masquerade. I almost never enter a costume again after winning an award with it but the masquerade director was fine with the idea. (Although some people in the anime community seem to get upset about the idea of costumes being entered again if it has already won an award somewhere, the ICG guidelines have some leeway allowing costumes to compete again.) I was originally thinking I’d make something new if I did this contest but then I realized 19th Century D is still my favorite costume and it would be nice to finally give it a proper showing onstage. Also, I figure this would be the only way I’d ever make the phoenix. It’s already hard enough to walk around in that costume with all the beads and layers plus the heels I need to wear to be tall enough; trying to go around the halls at a con with a huge bird on my arm, too, would be too much.

D’s artbook kimono is getting pushed back since I don’t think I’d have time to make it and finish all the designs on top of the masquerade projects. Maybe, I’ll do D’s vampire outfit from the latest Japanese volume to go with the con theme since it won’t take as much detail work and should be quicker to make. I’ve already registered and booked a hotel room so at least that’s a couple less things to worry about.

Not that sure about what I’m doing for Anime Boston yet since I don’t have any groups planned and I’m probably not competing this year; it’s only 3 weeks after Costume Con so I doubt I’ll have time to finish anything else in between. I’d apply for cosplay chess again though since I haven’t done one for a long time and they’re usually fun.

Hmm… Since I’m planning stuff it might be a good time to ask... Would anyone be interested in seeing a panel/workshop on seam finishes? I always try to make the insides of my costumes neat and some have told me that I should consider teaching panels but I never seem to get around to actually planning anything. ^_^;; I’d cover things like French seams, flat felled seams, bound seams, and making your own bias tape. So far, the best way I can think of to do this would be to charge a few dollars as a materials fee and make booklets with instructions for each type of finish and glue in fabric samples showing the techniques step by step. I don’t own a laptop so Powerpoint and such is out ^_^; and there’s no way I’m hauling a sewing machine to a con. >_>;