What are your favorite places or events which encourage costuming?
I do a lot of larping (Live Action Roleplaying), in large part because I adore the chance to get dressed up and the creative challenge of coming up with an awesome costume (my current character is a blend of Italian Renaissance and Classical Greek styles, who favors purple and silver as her colors).
I occasionally attend Renaissance Faires, as well, which are great for Elizabethan costuming.
There's also the Labyrinth of Jareth, which I'm hoping to be able to attend this year.
Any other good places to show off what we've made?
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You've created a fantastic world! I don't do costumes but when I saw your new world, I immediately thought of Gail Carriger who has been getting lots of attention lately for her Steampunk costumes that she wears to author and Steampunk conventions. She probably wears them elsewhere too. Here's her website. Gail Garriger If you go to her blog and check out the "fashion" category in the left margin, you'll see quite a few of her costumes - some that are replicas from her books.
Oh, awesome!
Thanks!
My wedding! That was a fun day. I made my bridesmaids dresses (the McCalls replica of Arwen's dress from Return of the King when she runs back to Rivendell, but mine were "eggplant" and ivory) and the shirts for the groomsmen. My husband wore a chainmaille shirt, and our sound guy wore a cloak that I'd made him just a few months ago. I didn't make my dress, but there's a cool story behind that one which more than makes up for it.
I also like to costume for Renaissance festivals. So far I've done gypsy, pirate, and fairy. My fairy costume got me confused for a cast member, which was pretty funny.
Oh, lovely! Are there pictures you are willing to share?
And now I'm curious about the story behind your dress...?
I'm not married, but I've given some thought to if I want to make my own dress or not. I kind of like the idea of making my own - seems more romantic and meaningful that way.
There are pictures, and I would be more than happy to share. Do you mind if I start another thread to do so?
I read somewhere that it's bad luck to make your own dress. It wasn't going to stop me, though, and I had the pattern picked out and knew what fabric I wanted and everything when one day... My mother needed graham cracker crumbs. No, seriously! This is how the dress story starts!
My mother needed graham cracker crumbs for some recipe and we didn't have any. We asked my little sister if she wanted to tag along since she needed something at the store, too. She said "yeah" but needed to go across town to the bank first. No problem. We weren't doing much that day, anyway. Across town we go and she gets her stuff done at the bank. Salvation Army is right there, so we decide to pop in for a few minutes. Mom found some stuff, sister found some stuff, and I found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Which is weird since I always find something at every thrift store I hit. Upset, I suggested we go to the other thrift store, a few blocks away but still on that side of town. They were good with that, so off we went. Mom found something, sister found something, and, once again, I found NOTHING! Sister wanted to try on one of the formal dresses to see if it would work for prom, so she disappeared to do that while I continued my rummaging. When she came out, Mom insisted she model for the owner of the store. It turned into a fashion show. When she ran out of dresses on display that fit, the owner sent one of her hired hands up to the attic for another box of them. After the blizzard of sequins, fringe, beads, and lace, there was still a pile of ivory satin in the bottom of the box. The hired help asked what it was and the owner said "It's a wedding dress. It weighs 90 pounds, don't worry about it." I told them I was getting married, so they pulled it out and held it up. The neckline wasn't what I wanted and the sleeves were "hideous," but I took it and the hoops that came with it to try it on. Mom followed me to help.
It was perfect! Everything I thought I wanted suddenly faded from my mind. The neckline was just fine, and the sleeves had more detail and weren't as puffy as I thought. Pearl beads and embroidery and a 6 foot train that buttoned up into a bustle and a perfect fit. Mom had seen the wisdom in asking how much it was before she came to help, and when I queried her, she said $45. I had a $50 in my wallet from selling back text books the day before!
And we still managed to remember the graham crackers.
When I got it home and was modeling it for my dad, we noticed that there was a rip in the lace around the bottom on the front and part of the trim at the waistline wasn't tacked down and the two buttons in the back were missing. Those were all easy fixes, though, and I learned to never, ever, EVER go into a bridal store.
That's a pretty awesome story!
And by all means, feel free to start as many new threads as you want! I can't wait to see what your dress looks like!
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