2019 Recap + 2020 Plans

I still can't believe we're on the other side of 2020. Sounds fake, but okay.

Obviously this is way old by now. But 2019 was the last normal year of costuming and I actually did a lot, so continuing the process of catching up on old stuff I still wanted to go back and recap it.

2019 was a really busy year. I'm pretty sure it set a new record for costumes + events, or at least was a strong peak.

In February I went back to The Revolution in Huntington Beach, but in costume for the first time.

Using last year's French Revolution Zombaes costume as a base, I made new petticoats, neckerchiefs, jewelry, and a hat for the event.

I also made it back to the Great L.A. Air Raid in a different 1940s ensemble.

The pearl necklace, blouse, cardigan, coat, and oxfords were all from my closet. The coat was from my closet and modified with a fur collar from the stash. I turned a brass airplane stamping into a brooch, and bought a pair of vintage U.S. Navy uniform pants. We got there later than last year but stayed until the dance ended and the MPs started rounding people up, and went to the after-party on the Queen Mary which was a blast (and turned into a rare, impromptu photo op).

In March I went to WonderCon as per usual. The first day I did flight suit Carol Danvers and my friend did the SHIELD disguise variant.

We pulled the costumes together in about two weeks between seeing the movie and the event. It was the first time we've done costumes while the source material was still fresh, and it was fun getting to take advantage of all the Captain Marvel hype. Despite how casual the costumes are, we got a lot of great reactions and had a great time. We were also super fortunate to take part in the Marvel photoshoot.

I bought the flight suit and patches, and used a blonde wig, aviators, and boots I already had. I fixed the fit issue with my wig (which I've been using for a few years now for Cap) by cutting a slit in the lace behind the ears so the lace could sit further forward over my actual hairline. It was my first time doing a pulled-back hairstyle with a lace front, and also the first time fully gluing down the hairline, and I'm really pleased how well it worked.

The second day we were Jay and Ice from Hocus Pocus, which was kind of a dud.

The people who got it absolutely loved it which was great, but not many people got it, so after how popping the Carols were the day before it was kind of eh. On the plus side, we did run into a Dani at the end of day which was super fun.

The only thing new about the costume after making it the previous October was getting new pants (which ended up too big and now need yet another replacement), using an alternate plaid shirt, and finishing Winifred's spellbook as an extra prop. I wore the same jacket I used for a photoshoot the year before, which looks absolutely perfect, but it was way too uncomfortable for an event so that'll need an alternate eventually.

In June I went to Pirate Invasion again after skipping the year before. For convenience, French Revolution Zombaes were the base again. My friend went pirate-y with hers, and I did more or less a variation of the HB Revolution ensemble with an upgraded hat, the FRZ wig, and some flashier jewelry.

The event was unfortunately generally underwhelming and at some points actually disappointing, which also ended up meaning no photos, but the costumes were fun.

Most shocking of all, in July I made it back to San Diego Comic Con for the first time in something like five or six years. It was completely unexpected and fairly last minute, as far as what planning for SDCC usually requires. A friend was on a panel and invited us along, so we were able to get badges for just that day and share an AirBnB with her. It was an Avengers cosplay panel and she was wearing her Scarlet Witch, so I did flight suit Carol Danvers again and my friend did Captain America: Civil War Natasha Romanoff to go with the Marvel theme for the day.

We also got to do the Marvel photoshoot again.

The flight suit from WonderCon needs a few repairs so I actually wore a different suit (same design, newer manufacture date) with the same patches, and used the same boots and wig and sunglasses, and added a black undershirt and dog tags.

We spent the rest of the weekend just being tourist-y in San Diego, checking out the outdoor stuff at the convention center and exploring Old Town. (And I did my first ever 10k for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing that Saturday!)

I had also prepped Civil War Sharon Carter for SDCC as an alternate costume choice.

I continued dyeing the blue/brown vest, but it turned out kind of terrible so I ended up buying two more of the same Banana Republic vest in slight color variations. I managed to get the actual screen accurate gray/gray vest (!!!) but it's just a little too small, so that's being saved for "someday." The other new vest was the gray/brown variant, and a black fabric marker took care of the brown trim so it looks pretty dang good. The costume is technically complete now, but the shirt was never ideal (too crisp white) and got stained somewhere in transit to/from San Diego so it needs to be replaced.

In August I had Labyrinth Masquerade again. I still can't believe this has sort of become just a normal yearly event now. Friday night was the return of French Revolution Zombaes.

FRZ got an upgrade with weathered dresses, the wigs from HB Revolution, and new makeup. They still need to be weathered a lot more, but it was fun to get it started.

On Saturday we debuted 18th century Beetlejuice.

Things were hit and miss. I finished Lydia (minus the neckline ruffle) and I'm really happy with it. For Beetlejuice, the mockup process took longer than expected and I ran into some last minute pattern problems, so I had to change plans and do a quick chemise gown instead of the zone front I had designed. But it still worked.

I turned 30 (gasp!) which was and still is kind of horrifying. So I guess I get to join the Cosplay Over 30 community now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In October we went to L.A. Comic Con, but not in costume. A family emergency the day before took all the energy and excitement out of me, and I'm really glad I still decided to go to the con because it was a nice distraction, but I'm also glad I skipped a costume and went plainclothes instead. Alexei "Smirnoff" from Stranger Things had been the plan, and I more or less finished the costume (but no photos yet), so like Sharon it's just waiting for some upgrades and an opportunity to be debuted.

So the 2019 breakdown was:

• c. 1780s middle-class ensembles: new shift, new petticoats, new shoes, new hat
• 1940s ensemble: new pants, modified coat, new accessories
• Flight suit Carol Danvers: completed and upgraded (new flight suit, added undershirt and dog tags)
• Ice: new button-up shirt, new pants
• Sanderson spell book: completed
• Civil War Sharon Carter: completed
• French Revolution Zombaes: weathered dresses, new sashes, new makeup, new wigs
• 18th century Beetlejuice and Lydia: completed
• Alexei: completed

And for 2020...

2019 burnt me out in a lot of ways, and I'd vowed that 2020 would be the year of "chill" costuming: casual research on to-do costumes, little upgrades and tweaks to existing costumes, and picking just one major (though still smaller than usual) sewing project for the year. This plan lasted until about February, and then quickly fell further and further apart.

So the new plan was kind of no plan, but tentative stuff that has been dabbled with:

• continue design work on Gibson Gothic, Sword-and-Sandal Superheroes, and/or Lost-Hope Ball
• continue fabric/pattern/construction research on the Sanderson Sisters and Billy Butcherson
• Civil War Winter Soldier: plan construction for new jacket
• Civil War Sharon Carter: new shirt
• Alexei: new pants, maybe new wig
• Ice: new pants, new jacket for events 
• French Revolution Zombaes: continue weathering dresses, continue experimenting with makeup
• 18th century Lydia: add lace collar, maybe additional accessories, practice new makeup
• 18th century Beetlejuice: new zone front gown
• continue research on WWII reenactment portrayals: WAC, WAVES
• random small vintage projects: blouses, shorts, pants, skirts, etc.

Stay tuned!

2018 Recap + 2019 Plans

2018 was a weird year in a lot of ways. It felt like it lasted forever, but now looking back at the end of it, where did it go??? Lots of bad stuff, but also some great stuff, and I still managed to get a fair bit done.

February brought two new events.  We went to The Revolution in Huntington Beach in "civvies" (non-costume), but it was an awesome event and we're definitely going back in costume next year (more on that below).

We also finally made it to the Great L.A. Air Raid, which was incredible.

We arrived a little later and left a little earlier than I maybe would have liked, but it was a great toe in the water for the first time attending. As I try to get into the historical costume and reenacting scene a bit more, both of these events are definitely going to be annual staples.

In April we went back to WonderCon, this year as Beetlejuice and Lydia the first day and TWS Mall Cap and Nat the second.

I added pockets to Lydia, which was great in principle, but having pockets in a lose-fitting tube dress means a bunch of weight hanging off the shoulders and neck. With my chronic neck problems that ended up being a major issue. I also decided to skip contacts but was still too committed to accuracy to wear my glasses, so strained eyes didn't help with the overall discomfort. I ended the day with a migraine and it kind of ruined the experience. Lesson learned for next time: carry a bag or wear 18th century pockets under the dress, and wear contacts. I also realized that despite putting on what appears to be fairly heavy makeup, it just disappears in photos, so I'm considering trying some heavier more glam Lydia makeup in future. Otherwise, it was still pretty fun, and seeing people's reactions was nice, especially this being our first time wearing them at a con.

Cap was much better, as always. I repainted the soles of the shoes with spray paint to hold up a little better, and added the brushed metal texture to the shield.

One of our photographer friends was there so we were going to try to get some nice photos, but it didn't pan out so that's still on the "someday" list.

In May, I dyed my Captain America: Civil War Sharon vest.

I still want to try to get the truly screen-accurate vest in the black/grey, but the blue one definitely looks better having been dyed. It needs another coat, but it's progress.

We made a little progress on our Reserve TIE Pilots over the summer. We got our belt buckles sanded down and brushed, but didn't think to glue on the greeblies and seal it immediately, so we ended up with some rust and now have to do it all over again. I also finally got the templates for our jumpsuit modifications.

I tore an inconvenient place (the butt) on my TWS Mall Cap pants over the summer, which is definitely not progress but it was an event, so now I have to replace those.

August was huge just for Labyrinth Masquerade, and was my biggest project completion with French Revolution Zombaes.

The costumes were fantastic, but most happily, we met up with some Instagram costume friends who are now Real Life friends.

In September, I started some Hocus Pocus stuff. So far it's the spellbook and getting fabric swatches, both of which are almost done.

In October, we went to L.A. Comic Con for the first time and wore Ghost!Thomas and Lucille again. Though the costumes were wear-ready, we did make a few substantial upgrades. Ghost!Thomas got new shoes, which my friend painted and look amazing.

I redyed Lucille's robe with a customized Dye-Na-Flow blend. It's still not quite what I want, but a definite improvement over the original dye job.

I also changed the wig. The first wig I had ordered years ago didn't fit me well. The hairline at the temple came way too far forward and completely covered my ears, and there was a weirdly pronounced peak above each temple. At the time I didn't want to deal with it, so I ordered a different style which is what I wore with the costume last year. It worked okay at WonderCon while it was in a braid, but with the hair worn down at Labyrinth it kept wanting to slide off. More experimenting after made me realize it was actually too small, and eventually it got to a point where I couldn't stand wearing it anymore. When we decided to bust the costumes out again for L.A. Comic Con, I didn't have the money to drop on a new lace front, so I got the original back out and tried to make it work. And it actually worked well. I changed the hairline and cut back the lace so it actually fit my ears and looked more natural, and it was so much more comfortable. This was also my first time actually securing the lace with spirit gum. I didn't quite get it pulled over my hairline at the sides (which just says to me I need a still bigger wig), but it looked really nice along the forehead.

We met up again with our friends from Labyrinth, who were Nightgown!Edith and Suit!Thomas, and we got lots of great reactions.

Being in a Crimson Peak group definitely helped with visibility, and the con being right before Halloween and kind of unofficially spooky themed definitely didn't hurt either. It was a completely different experience than WonderCon last year, where we had only a handful of people react and half of those thought my friend was Sweeney Todd and ignored me. We also finally got some nice and varied photos of these costumes, courtesy of our friends.

Wearing all that fabric and a heavy wig all day was too much for my neck though, especially with a flare up having already started the week before, so the week after was fairly miserable and I'm pretty sure that contributed to the solid month of migraines and tension headaches I had in November. So unfortunately, Murder Party Lucille might be relegated to just photoshoots from now on. (More excuse to start thinking about her black velvet park/ghost dress though.)

October was pretty busy, and the day after LACC we did a Hocus Pocus photoshoot at Sunnyside Cemetery as Jay and Ice.

Mostly this was just putting together the costume from purchased pieces, but I also cut and restyled my blonde lace front wig, which coincidentally made it more aesthetic and practical for Cap and more accurate for Civil War Sharon.

In November I finally finished my King George crown, which even with my reputation for unfinished projects probably now holds the record for longest continuous construction time of a single item. But hey, I did finish it.

I just did a recap on this sucker and also what comes next.

So the 2018 breakdown was:

• 1940s ensembles: completed
• Lydia Deetz: pockets added, wig restyled
• TWS Mall Cap: shoe soles repainted, shield modified, wig restyled
• CW Berlin Sharon: vest dyed, wig restyled
• Reserve TIE Pilots: buckle construction started, jumpsuit templates acquired
• French Revolution Zombaes: completed
• Lucille Nightgown/Robe: new wig, robe redyed, new photos
• Jay and Ice: completed, new photos
• Sanderson Spellbook: almost completed
• King George crown: completed
• King George cape: pattern acquired

And December has mainly seen the start of some planning...

2018 was supposed to be the year of finishing the unfinished, and it kind of was, but mostly it wasn't. I did revive and revamp Hocus Pocus, but that's very much ongoing and likely won't be done in 2019 (still foolishly aiming for Labyrinth, though). We did a little work on our Reserve TIE Pilots, but not proactively, so those are still on the docket. King George's crown is done, but the other accessories are still an ongoing go. Civil War Sharon is that much closer to done, though Nat isn't, but they're also still really close in general, so hopefully that'll happen. In other ongoing work, we're hoping to finalize concept and design work on Gibson Gothic and Sword-and-Sandal Superheroes, and maybe Lost-Hope Ball too.

There are also some more pending upgrades. We want to upgrade our TWS Cap and Winter Soldier costumes, which we wore just once at an underwhelming SDCC a few years ago and then threw in the closet. I already have a new jacket for Cap, and have my nice shield as well, so this will probably mostly be redoing the Winter Soldier jacket. Our historical events, namely The Revolution and Great L.A. Air Raid, also need modified ensembles.

As far as totally new, we really want to do the TWS Cap Stealth suit and an amalgam MCU Black Widow suit. This is definitely not an outright 2019 goal. Given the scope, it'll be slower progress depending heavily on patterning and workouts (I am determined to be a Dorito). And after seeing Bohemian Rhapsody, we're desperate to do Freddie's party outfit with the crown and a Bowie to go with.

So the rough plan for 2019 is:

• Winifred Sanderson, Mary Sanderson, and Billy Butcherson (Hocus Pocus)
• Reserve TIE Pilots (Star Wars)
• King George III accessories (Hamilton: An American Musical)
• CW Berlin Sharon and Nat (Captain America: Civil War)
• Gibson Gothic and/or Sword-and-Sandal Superheroes and/or Lost-Hope Ball designs (historical/original)
• TWS Cap and Winter Soldier (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
• Cap Stealth Suit and Black Widow Tactical Suit (Captain America: The Winter Soldier and MCU)
• Freddie Mercury party outfit (Bohemian Rhapsody) and David Bowie
• c. 1783 American Revolution middle-to-upper class ensembles
• new 1940s ensembles

We'll see what happens. Happy New Year, everyone!

2017 Recap + 2018 Plans

I had a really ambitious project list for 2017, and I didn't get even half of it done. As usual, my eyes were bigger than my wallet and calendar. But what I did manage to get done, I'm actually really happy with.

Mall disguise Cap and Nat (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) got another outing at Long Beach Comic Expo in February.

Both were already finished costumes, but Cap had some notable upgrades: finished shoes (same I usually wear, but repainted to look more accurate), new wig, new shield, and getting to wear my real glasses with new semi-accurate frames instead of fake ones.

Thomas and Lucille Sharpe's murder nightgown party costumes (Crimson Peak) were finished in March for WonderCon.

I don't put much stock in my sewing/costuming skills, but Lucille's nightgown and robe and everything that went into them made me appreciate that I do actually have some skill.

Wayne and Garth (Wayne's World) also made a WonderCon appearance. They're old costumes and very simple despite being crowd-pleasers, but it was significant because (like with mall!Cap) I used a new wig and got to wear my real glasses. (No photos of the upgrades though, because whoops.)

I made a quick and dirty circle skirt to go with my Her Universe cardigan and did a vintage Disneybound Imperial officer for spring Dapper Day in April. Fabric stash and closet cosplay save the day again.

Jack Sparrow and generic pirate!Norrington were done-ish (wearable) for Pirate Invasion in July.

They're really only a start, but a solid start that worked well. I pretty much want to do nothing but sew 18th century shirts now.

We got Beetlejuice, Lydia, and ghost!Thomas done for Labyrinth Masquerade in August.

Lydia was a fantastically fun, easy, cheap project, which was a nice change of pace despite still being another project with a tight and specific deadline. Beetlejuice and Thomas were more exercises in creativity, and made me appreciate my skills again like Lucille had.  (The photo of Beetlejuice and Lydia is from Halloween; we didn't end up with any photos from Labyrinth.)

And I (finally!) started some spoopy Halloween skirts, and planned a space-themed skirt for extra credit in my astronomy class (which I didn't finish in time, but I'll definitely still get to some day).

Not bad all told. I always feel like I don't accomplish much in a given year, probably because the things I don't finish outnumber the things I do, so recaps are wonderfully helpful to remember just how much got done.

And looking ahead...

I've already proclaimed 2018 the year of the UFOs (unfinished objects, that is). I always get frustrated with myself for being really ambitious, starting big projects, and then running out of time and energy. The deadline passes, I get depressed and lose interest, the projects sit there, and I start new ones instead of finishing the old (new is more exciting because it doesn't have the stigma of failure already attached). 2018 is going to be the time to break that cycle, even if only temporarily, and clean out the materials stash.

New projects from 2017 that didn't get finished are at the top of the list. Vintage Disneybound Hades and Maleficent didn't pan out for spring or fall Dapper Day, but the design work is almost done and we have all of the materials. We're also comparatively close to done with our Reserve TIE pilots: we have most of the pieces, and the few we don't are at least sourced. We found a solution to the hold-up on our belts, and the jumpsuit mods should be easy.

Next come older projects that were never finished or need overhauls, starting with Hocus Pocus. Sarah and Mary Sanderson were wearable for Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland a few years ago, but Sarah was in a really sad, slapdash state and Mary needed some improvements. I've since lost interest in finishing Sarah for myself right now, so if I don't force myself to finish that on principal I'll make a Winnie instead, and Mary will get properly finished. Alternately, we're tossing around the idea of doing Winnie and Billy like we'd initially wanted. (And no, starting two new costumes is hardly finishing UFOs, but in this case I look at Hocus Pocus itself as the project more so than the specific costumes, so whatever finishes the project in an enjoyable way is ideal.)

Less complete but still definitely in need of finishing are our Haunted Mansion costumes. They were the plan for Halloween at Disneyland the first year we went, but they ended up being more complex and time-consuming than I thought, and Real Life cut in.  The tightrope walker needs a complete do-over, and the dynamite guy is about half done with some changes to make.

There are a few somewhat in-progress but very laid-back found-item costumes that could get finished, if only because it would be easy to so why not. Sharon and Nat's Berlin costumes (Captain America: Civil War) are both very close to done: we need a new jacket for Nat, and dyeing Sharon's vest is optional, but otherwise both are complete. The Tramp and the Kid (The Kid) are good contenders too: Kid is done except for suspenders, and we've started sourcing Tramp's pieces.

I'm also set on finishing as much of King George as possible. I really want to wear the whole costume for Costume College and Labyrinth Masquerade, but I also don't want to push myself to finish too much too fast (that's how UFOs spawn). So at the very least I want to finish the accessories - crown, collar, scepter, cape, shoes, wig. I've already decided I can wear those with a red union suit and make the unfinished costume a bit of a gag.

For costumes already on a list somewhere but not technically started yet, we have French Revolution Zombaes, Gibson Gothic, and Lost Hope ballgowns. They'd be good options for Labyrinth Masquerade, and the historical bases sans creep factor would be good for the historical costuming world we're dipping our toes in. Any of those would be good for the big project of the year.

A few finished costumes also need repairs or upgrades: Lucille's robe needs to be repainted and her nightgown needs a paint alternative to the fake blood (way too messy), Thomas's black vest needs to be remade, Beetlejuice might get a skirt alternative.

Brand new projects will (hopefully) be few and far between. But we'll see. We're planning to go to the Great LA Air Raid next month, so depending on what I can dig out of the closet or find ready-made, that might require a few new pieces.

So here's the tentative tally for 2018:

• Vintage Disneybound Hades and Maleficent (Hercules and Sleeping Beauty)
• Reserve TIE Pilots (Star Wars)
• Sarah and Mary Sanderson, or Winnie Sanderson and Billy Butcherson (Hocus Pocus)
• Tightrope Walker and Dynamite Guy (Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride)
• Sharon and Nat in Berlin (Captain America: Civil War)
• The Tramp and the Kid (The Kid)
• King George accessories (Hamilton: An American Musical)
• French Revolution Zombaes or Gibson Gothic (historical/original), or Lost Hope Ball (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell)
• 1940s something or other (historical/original)