Costume Season 2018: September Part 3: HUZZAH! To the days of Yore…

There are few things I love like the New York Renaissance Faire. (The PA Renaissance Faire, is one of them, but I don’t think I’ll make it down there this year…sadly…)

But, New York this year was one of the best outings I’ve ever had at the Faire, which was largely about the company.

Why yes, we are 70% Disney Princesses…

I started the Disney cascade, because I decided I wanted to dress up as Ariel in her “Kiss The Girl,” getup.

It’s a white underdress, a black corset and a blue maxi skirt.

There was a lot of fun having, dancing, shouting of “huzzah,” and making of puns.

Also Katie making me take pictures next to water.

“Smile! Stop looking like you’re annoyed at me!” – Katie

So that was September in costumes! This weekend in New York Comic Con.

I’m only going to the con one day, but I may be going out both tonight and Saturday, so I’ll be dressed! See y’all around

Costume Season 2018: September Part 2: PROST!

On September 22, Katie and I attended the Montclair Town Oktoberfest, to celebrate her birthday. You see, when your best friend asks if you want to go five minutes from your apartment to wear a costume and drink giant beers, your answer should be an absolute yes!

I had planned on wearing a “sexy” beer girl costume I’d worn for Halloween several years ago, but that wound up not working out. (Turns out, “cheap costumes I bought when I was 23” do not fall under the “things I can still wear” category. SHOCK!) So, I threw something together instead. I was actually really happy with it.

I wore the white eyelet dress I’ve worn to Ren Faire for the past few years, as well as the corset belt I got my first go round. I replaced the plain brown lace with a yellow ribbon though to get some color in.

I added my brown skirt from my Peggy Carter cosplay and the Ren Faire apron, and black flats.

Throw in a giant beer and POOF, you’ve got yourself the perfect Oktoberfest outfit. PROST!

Costume Season: September: Part 1: Let’s Twist Again

I know I’ve been MIA, and for that I am sorry. It’s been a weird and busy and uninspired month. I’m going to do my best to get back on track here, because I miss writing but also, you know, life happens.

However, this past weekend, I decided, one of the things that I haven’t done in quite a while is talk about costumes.

And we’re smack dab in the middle of costume season, I’ve already done 3 events! (All to be reported on this week!)

My first big costume event of the season was as always, Lead East, a 50’s themed car show that Katie’s been attending since she was little, I’ve been tagging along to since we were fifteen. I only made it to one day this year, but because it was Sunday I still managed to get two outfits in. (Sunday night is prom night.)

My “day” look was one of my favorite outfits I’ve ever put together. I used my yellow skirt from both Betty Cooper (original flavor) cosplay and Snow White Dapper Disney Bound. I wore my white short sleeved button down and my hair up in a half ponytail.

My prom dress was my Cinderella bound (minus the glass slippers, because OUCH.) Both were fun, good for dancing and largely well received. Hooray!

Cosplay Corner: Han Solo Casual Cosplay

I haven’t done a casual cosplay in a while. I don’t mean Disney Bounds, which sometimes are casual cosplays, I mean actually putting together something that looks like something the character actually wears.

Which is why I went for Han Solo today, since I’m seeing Solo: A Star Wars Story tonight! YAY!

Also because it’s pretty easy. Jeans, boots, white tee shirt and a black leather vest that borrowed from Mary’s closet. (You can’t be mad, because you clearly are not using it as you left it in New Jersey and you live in Colorado)

I’m ready to go. (Also I’m real psyched for this movie. Which worries me…I don’t want to be let down.)

Cosplay Corner: Dapper Day Disneybound Figment

OK, so this is truly the last you’ll hear about this Disney trip, and it’s not about the trip quite so much as one of my outfits on it.

Hooray!

Anyway, planning Dapper Bounds is easily my favorite part of Dapper Day weekends. (To the point that I’m considering going down for Fall again…if I can swing it…just because of the Animal Kingdom outing…swoon)

And while my Figment bound is an achievement in both ‘bounding and just in general Disney Park nerdery, as Figment be crazy obscure, y’all, I was mostly happy with how nice it looked and how comfortable it was.

The dress is a cotton poly blend, purchased from Amazon, which is also where the belt came from. The crinoline, which is bright orange and probably won’t have any other uses…came from Wish.

Seriously, Wish.com, it’s been incredible to me these past few costume seasons.

I wore my hair in my now kind of signature (whatever, let me have this delusion) Usagi style pigtail buns, as it’s gets my, too long for it’s own good (but I love it) hair off my neck, and gave a nice nod to Figment’s horns. I added the bows for cuteness. I also wore my saddle shoes. (For my effusive ode to saddle shoes, see my Cinderella ‘bound post)

Coming up in Cosplay Corner…A Han Solo casual cosplay, the return of Wonder Girl, Ren Faire prep, and a possible jaunt of the Enterprise. Who’s excited?

Cosplay Corner: Cinderella Dapper Day Disney Bound

Since my decision to go to Spring Dapper Day was relatively short notice. (Within 60 days, so short by Disney World standards!) I was a bit worried about my dapper attire, but not overly worried, since vintage and vintage style clothes are kind of my thing.

Truth be told, I’d probably never wear true vintage to Dapper Day, I’d be far too nervous about tears, stains and other damage. Plus, I tend to be more comfortable in reproduction, and sucking in and wearing a full girdle for a wasp waisted 50’s dress at the Magic Kingdom just seems kinda dumb.

Anyway, my Magic Kingdom outfit was a done deal, as my Easter dress this year was a lovely 50’s looking light blue lace sundress, that needed very little extra to become a Cinderella bound.

The key was in the shoes which were great, and a huge hit, but not quite as comfortable as they should be.

They’re sparkly jellies with wedges. I found them on Wish.com, which is also, incidentally where I got the dress. And the red dress I wore on Friday night to Disney Springs…and both of my crinolines…I really love that site. They actually didn’t beat up my feet too bad, but just didn’t have the support I needed for a whole day at the park. So, I switched to saddle shoes for the afternoon/evening.

If you’re into vintage clothes and events, I really can’t recommend a pair of saddle shoes enough. You can find them online at Amazon, or sometimes even at DSW, and they’re super comfortable, go with most vintage looks, and always get a great reaction. (My pair were pilfered from one of Mom’s productions of Bye Bye Birdie…shhhh….)

I also wore my Black Canary choker and tossed my hair in a bun (my preferred MK hairstyle anyway, especially with it’s length these days…) and voila!

Sadly, because of flights and drinks and eating schedules, I didn’t quite make it to Midnight, but I think I did my girl proud.

Revenge of Dapper Day: 4/28 – So Much Pretty

WARNING: This Trip Report Contains VERY Light Infinity War spoilers. No details but some sketchiness.

I’ve complained in the past about feeling largely cut off and unwelcome at Dapper Day events, not on a macro level but on a micro one. People were just not willing to engage with the weirdo stranger there by herself.

That was not the case this trip. Seriously, I talked with TONS of people, exchanged contact info and even enjoyed some serious ride time with the folks. The first was Rob, who I’d met at the Edison the night before. We teamed up for Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom.

I was a few minutes late, but we managed to hit The Barnstormer, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and take some pics by the purple wall before he had to head to work. I then picked up my touring plans, and ran around riding just about everything, and taking lots of pictures, before my feet gave out.

See, the night before, I’d gone for 4 inch heels. (HUGE MISTAKE) They looked great, but it got me started at a disadvantage for Saturday, and I was wearing these adorable jelly wedges, to play on the glass slippers. (We’ll get into that in the cosplay corner!) They were adorable, but KILLED my feet.

So, I decided to head to the Grand Floridian for lunch. There were no tables available so I headed right to Springs instead. I opted to treat myself to a Minnie Van, because I wanted to try the service.

My driver was wonderful, we chatted about the Studios expansion until we eventually hit the most fraught topic of my weekend.

“Have…” he exhaled, “have you seen Infinity War yet?” I exhaled and said that I had, and we went on to commiserate about our various levels of NOT OK, and speculation for the future of the franchise. We also both cried.

It may have been the weirdest, most wonderful moment of nerd bonding I’ve ever had with a stranger. (Except for that time a girl I was working with asked if I was a Doctor Who fan, but you all know how that one turned out.) I then hopped on the water taxi and popped to the Boathouse, where I ate half a lobster, downed a ton of water and a couple of Bellinis.

Feeling much better, if I do say so myself, I had two options, but not time for both, sadly, I could explore Springs a bit more, or head back to the hotel and hit the pool. I decided on exploration.

I headed to Amorette’s and picked up the Millenial Pink Champagne…which is a light Kir Royale. It’s delicious, and very pretty, just not like, revolutionary. I also got a pastry, that I wound up not eating because I was never hungry at a time that was convenient to eat it.

Then I shopped. I only bought one thing, and it wasn’t even for myself. Well, I also bought these baller Cinderella Havianas, because they’re very cute, and seriously, my poor feet couldn’t take it anymore.

Finally, I reached the boat dock to get back to Riverside and headed first to Fulton’s for some aleve and a bottle of wine, and then back to the room and watch a different forty minute stretch of My Cousin Vinny than I’d watched the evening before, while enjoying said wine. Delightful. 

My next big plan was to go on Jungle Cruise and head to California Grill to try to get up to Lounge for a fireworks seat.

I did get on the cruise, where I had an AWESOME skipper (Jordan, she was really great) and then hoofed to the Contemporary. Couldn’t get up to lounge, so I rode the monorail over to the Floridian, thinking I could at least get a drink at Mizner’s before the show.

It was packed.

So I got BACK on the monorail and headed to the park, got a Mickey bar and managed to find a really nice spot on the Hub.

I’m falling in love with Happily Ever After. It’s a beautiful show. I cried a whole bunch this time. Then I quickly zipped over to Tomorrowland and hopped on the People Mover. It’s fun at night.

Next came a ride on Dumbo, which, while fun, I would probably not do again. Finally I hopped on line for Big Thunder, and that closed my night. I was hoping to stay until close, but I was completely beat, so I headed back to the hotel, poured another glass of that wine, and watched some TV again before passing out.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about Epcot, family, friends and Figment!

Cosplay Corner: Garden State Comic Fest Day 1: Cheryl Blossom

I love Riverdale, having been an Archie fan already, I really shouldn’t have resisted the show as long as I did, but now that I have watched it, I’m completely obsessed. (Although it is currently going through the thing that teen dramas go through where it’s second or third season isn’t as good as what came before. I’m hoping it bounces back in season 3, as Dawson’s did…)

Anyway, I decided to go for some Riverdale cosplay and realized I had everything at the ready for Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale’s resident Gothic Heroine/Mean Girl/Ridiculous Hot Mess Of A Human.

The costume is relatively simple, it’s my pleather skirt and red cardigan and over the knee boots. Done. I found the red wig on Amazon (though after the summer I won’t use that anymore!)

This was the first run and it was pretty comfortable, so I’m going to invest in better accessories for it now (a black choker and the spider broach.) and I need a more red lipstick, as my usual one was too pink for Cheryl. What’s great about this costume is that it’s small and packs easily, which means I’ll definitely use it again!

And it was even better to do it with Aless and Kristi as Betty and Veronica!

Also the milkshakes were totally necessary!

“You look like you want to kill me…THAT’S PERFECT!” – Aless

Next week I’ll talk through my Ravenclaw Uniform! HOORAY!

Cosplay Corner: Disneybound March Challenge: Week 5

I did it! Kind of! I cut some corners, but for the most part, I did it! I participated in the challenge and it was mostly fun. It actually got stressful towards the end, but still.

March 28th

Theme: Disney Cats

Character: Marie

So I was between 2 for this one, and I decided on Marie, (because Juli wanted to do Aristocats) and I had the perfect outfit for it anyway. Thankfully, for a change, the weather actually cooperated. HUZZAH! The white dress is from last easter, and the pink shrug, from, I don’t know when, but it’s one of my favorite spring pieces. The statement necklace I wore to my cousin Tommy’s wedding and here we are!

March 29th

Theme: Disney Princes

Character: Prince Eric

To go with my Ariel bound from a few weeks ago (and tribute to my Prince Eric, who I swear does have a personality, I just haven’t gotten around to showing much of it yet.) So, I’m wearing jeans and a flowy blouse. This felt a little like cheating, but it did the trick. I was also wearing over the knee boots but you can’t see those in the picture!

March 30th

Theme: Vintage Inspiration

Character: Snow White

I didn’t acutally wear this again. But it’s still my favorite bound I’ve ever done. So I felt the need to post it as a throwback. Yellow circle skirt, blue tank top, red belt! So simple, so perfect!

March 31st

Theme: A Character You’ve Never Bounded

Character: Skipped

I skipped the last day. I was at Once On This Island and couldn’t come up with a brand new bound that was also theater appropriate. I was wearing a tropical looking maxi dress though, so I was at least in theme to my surroundings!

General Thoughts On the Challenge

While I’m glad I did this challenge, I don’t know that I’d do it again. It was a lot of work and organization and I got kind of tired of it by the end. But it did remind me of when I went back to college after taking time off and Katie used to call me every day and ask what I was wearing and if I was able to describe the outfit she knew I was doing OK. (Seriously, get yourself such a best friend) Mindfulness matters to me (ALITERATION!) so it helped get me back into a very intentional space.

Next On Cosplay Corner: 

I’m going to a CON! WOO HOO. This weekend I’m going to Garden State Comicfest: Atlantic City edition. I’ll be debuting a new cosplay! It’s all very exciting. AND a few forces have come together and I’ve decided to hit up Spring Dapper Day again this year. (WOOO!) I’m working on getting some bounds together for the even. (My Easter dress is gonna be a super cute Cinderella Bound for sho!) And even more exciting! One of those days I’ll be joined by my big bro and his girlfriend Megan. (Whether they bound or not is still be discussed, but they are going to dapper up!)

Cosplay Corner: March Disneybound Challenge Week 4

4 weeks! We’re almost done! Seriously, while I’m probably going to go back to my old trick of closet cosplaying once a week, it will be nice to go back to my old toss a little black dress on and run out the door in the morning ways. It’s just less time consuming.

Anyhoodle! Let’s talk this week in Disneybounding!

March 21st

Theme: Moana Character

Character: Ta Fiti

It snowed.

Again.

So, my planned outfit for the day, (it was Maui and it was pretty great!) which was much springier got jettisoned. I came up with this Ta Fiti look quickly instead. I’m wearing a green sweater over my pink dress, and uh, that’s it. It’s actually a cute look that I kind of intend to repeat.

March 22nd

Theme: Frozen

Character: Anna (Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Version)

Anna might be the character I’ve Disneybounded the most, because I love her and find her clothes adorable. Anyway, this one was sorta lazy, but this blue top was the right shade, and again, it had snowed and I was staying at my mom’s so, my choices were limited.

March 23rd

Theme: Rule Breaker

Character: Anya from Anastasia

I love the movie Anastasia, and so I decided to do my rule breaker as Anya, the lost amnesiac orphan girl who is actually a lost princess. Anyway, I’m wearing jeans, and a brown tee shirt and my big baggy trenchcoat/blazer. I think it works.

March 24th

Theme: Disney Dogs

Character: Jock from Lady And The Tramp

I didn’t post this one because I forgot, but I uh, managed to throw this together. The tee shirt is a Beatles tee (so, Northern English, not Scottish, but I thought it was cute.) with some black and grey in it. I’m also wearing red yoga pants, though you can’t see them here. I don’t have a picture though because my phone was being weird this morning.

March 25th

Theme: Alice in Wonderland

Character: The White Rabbit

I didn’t get off my couch much on Sunday, so I decided to just skip it and for this section of the blog, throwback to my Fall Dapper Day outfit as the White Rabbit. I’m wearing a large white circle skirt, a gold tank top, red belt and sweater, I have my hair up in buns to be ears, and I’m wearing a “pocket watch” necklace. TADA! (Also, that’s Juli as the Chesire Cat!)

March 26th

Theme: Cinderella Characters

Character: Cinderella

I was obviously going to do Cinderella for this one. I decided to lean into the 2014 gown, since I have that blue top with the flower cut outs all over it. I went with brown for the base because of Cinderella’s “servant” outfit having a brown base.

March 27th

Theme: 90’s Style

Character: Julie “The Cat” Gaffney from D2: The Mighty Ducks & D3: The Mighty Ducks 

OK, so I initially ordered a tee shirt that was meant to look like a Duck Jersey with Julie’s number (96) on the back. But it was out of stock and wasn’t going to make it here in time. But here’s the thing: D2 is my favorite movie of all time. I’ve watched it about 10,000 times. And Julie “The Cat” Gaffney is my favorite character in said movie. So this was kind of a no brainer.

Even though she only has like 5 lines. But really except for Charlie Conway none of the kids have like huge roles in that movie.

Anyway, I decided to lean into the “Team USA” aspect of the movie, because Julie was brought in as a ringer when The Ducks headed to the Junior Goodwill games. She then spent most of the tournament on the bench because Goldberg or whatever. BUT she is instrumental in the win of the final game, blocking a shot in the final shootout with Iceland, by hotshot Gunnar Stahl. (FUN FACT! The same actor who played Gunnar came back in D3 to play the goalie of the varsity team the Ducks challenge, Scooter Vanderbilt, who hits on Julie a couple of times there.) But you all know this because you’ve all seen the movie.

So, I’m wearing a blue tank top and skirt and a red cardigan, which, actually are kind of 90’s looking, but mostly just are USA colors. Julie is actually only a Duck for like 2 scenes. (In D3, when they go to prep school, they become The Warriors for the first 2/3s of the movie) Anyway, DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!