Thursday 28 February 2013

Cosplay Costumes: Star Sapphire Cosplay at the London Super Comic Convention 2013

Last weekend I went to London Super Comic Convention! It was a great event and I have spent about a month working on my costume for the event... So here it is, my costume has been worn, the event is over and its time for me to share all the photos! This post is a little about the process of making the costume and the costume itself (I'll post more on the event itself later).

On the first day I dressed as classic Star Sapphire. A somewhat obscure choice as dressing as a DC super villain is rarely the most recognisable thing to do (unless you're dressing as the Joker) but I liked the look of the costume and it seemed like a great choice for the first spin on my sewing machine.
This costume is from the 1960s and is a classic comic book costume so it seemed really appropriate for this blog.



I made the bulk of the costume from a 4 way stretch pink lycra and I cut up an old t-shirt to get the fabric for the collar and waist section. In hindsight getting more lycra for the white section would have worked better but never mind! I used existing clothing to make the pattern pieces for the suit and then sewed it all together. It is handy that lycra is quite forgiving when it comes to sewing, however the fabric is a nightmare to stitch... I bought some pink boots and covered a hat I had with the leftover lycra. Lastly I bought a white mask from a costume shop and painted it in a bright pink. I think the thing I was most pleased with was the fact that I managed to put in a zip, that at least made things far easier on the day!



When it came to actually wearing the costume I was terrified! Debuting a costume is nerve-wracking enough, but when it is something you've made yourself it adds an extra dimension of terror. In fact, the fact that so many people at comic-cons sew and make their own costumes it is a little bit intimidating.

Luckily everyone is super nice! Even the people that don't recognise you're character are friendly, asking about sewing techniques etc. A con is also a great place to pick up hints and tips and new inspiration.

So without further stalling - here is the costume in full!









I met up with fellow blogger and (blue) lantern Saranga so a lantern pic was a must!



I also managed to get in on a DC character group photo with not one, but two green lanterns!



I'd like to add that it is super liberating being able to walk around like that without fear of being judged... I think we women are self critical so often that it is nice to take a moment in a community where all shapes and sizes are accepted and people are able to share in fandom. If you've not tried it yet, I highly recommend it!

I'll have pictures of more cosplay from the event up soon (some of it was amazing)!


Tuesday 12 February 2013

Redesigning My Blog Logo

So I redesigned my blog logo, so that it better reflected my current style. I though I would post a few pictures showing the design process and how I created it. Let me know what you think?





Vintage Style: A Holly Willoughby Tea Dress and a Faux Bang


I'm am not very good at going out. I like to dance about so I tend to get frustrated when there is no room to dance in a place. I am also not very comfortable with the traditional going out attire... I like my skirts to touch my knees and I although I enjoy a good pair of heels, I prefer dancing shoes.

Consequentially for a night out with the ladies from work I simply had no idea what to wear. I always end up with too dressed up or too... erm, girly casual. I think this time I ended up too casual but oh well.

I went with a navy blue dress with a little floral print paired with blue tights and some reddish patent brogues. The dress is by Holly Willoughby for Very. I got this dress from eBay (as usual) so it was quite cheap but Holly's dresses are usually pretty nice, with girly designs and a a little retro inspiration. The cardigan is from Monsoon and was super cheap in the last sale!



To counteract the slightly dressed down clothing, I decided to try something more exciting with my hair. Now, my new hair cut has a fringe, but I thought I would have a go at creating a faux bang anyway. I did a sort of big faux Betty Bang at the front with two smaller rolls either side - of course accompanied with a couple of flowers.



What do you usually wear for a night out?


Friday 8 February 2013

Vintage Outfits: My Grandmother's Winter Fur Coat

This is the last but certainly not the least of my finds from my Grandmother's closet.



This coat is a beaver lamb fur from c.1956. She bought it especially for her honeymoon and wore it for a long weekend in London. It is in almost perfect condition, probably due to the fact she never wore it again, which is such a shame as it is a beautiful coat!

My Nanna and Granddad in 1956

It is lovely and warm with a satin lining. I decided to wear it for a jaunt in the snow at the weekend, it kept me lovely and warm! I can completely see why people in colder climates wear fur.

Of course while in the snow we had to take the obligatory 'I'm wearing a fur coat next to a lamp post Narnia style' shot but what the hey.


Fur coat - Vintage
Dress - Monsoon Sale
Bag - Ollie and Nic (via eBay)
Boots - Doc Marten's 

I'm not sure how my conscience feels about fur. If it had been made recently I might object, but then I wear leather so if it is from animals butchered for meat then is it okay? If its not, is fur okay if it's vintage? It's a tough call to be honest. What do you think?




Monday 4 February 2013

My Wedding First Dance


It has taken a little while to build up the courage to do this post as it meant putting my wedding dance video on YouTube. If you've ever looked on YouTube for wedding dance videos you'll know they are vast and wide in abundance so it's a little bit intimidating adding your very own to that terrifying list of videos.

When it cane to the dance I felt it was the part of the wedding that best represented Mr. Fancy and I as a couple (at least it definitely represents the different aspects of my blog!). We chose the song a long time ago as it was something we immediately knew was right for us - Spider-man Theme by Michael BublĂ©.



I have often struggled to reconcile the non-work aspects of my life, my love of geekery and my love of swing dance, retro and vintage fashion so a big band swing version of a very famous super heroes theme seemed spot on. My husband is a stupidly big fan I Spider-man too so he appreciated the song just as much as me.

Now with regards to the dance itself it is mainly a relaxed lindy hop. It was completely free-style meaning there was no choreography and it was completely led by Mr. Fancy. This is something I am immensely proud of him for. I have been dancing a fairly long time and he has picked up the odd lesson here or there but he has rarely danced in public so to do something this big was a huge deal for me and him.

Anyway, enough blabber... here it is:



I just love how the dress moves when he turns me :)
I should also say a thank you to Lizzie at Sussex Swing for teaching me how to lindy hop. If she can teach me, she can teach anyone.


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