Snow White and Belle: Mummy and baby cosplay at Newcastle Film and Comic Con

 

Hello all! Since Halloween this year was a quieter affair I wanted to share with you the fact that I did wear a costume with my little one but it was a bit later than I had originally planned (I have another ready for when we get some snow eventually but you'll have to wait for that!).

We went to Newcastle Film and Comic Con which was a quieter affair than its London counter part, and certainly a lot quieter than MCM. Having said that it was a nice excuse to get out and about with the little miss and get dressed up.

My costume was the same Snow White one I made for world book day back in 2015 and this is the third time I have worn it so it has really been worth the time and effort it took to make it (I did iron it I promise but it creases like a nightmare!). The costume Elizabeth is wearing was brought back from Disneyland Paris by some of our friends - I haven't dared make any baby clothes yet as she is growing so fast I want to make her something that will last longer than a couple of months. Forgive me if I'm biased but I think she makes the cutest little Belle!

 

 I didn't buy much while I was there, but one stall gave me a great deal on a few bits of nerdy jewellery. I got a Nuka Cola bottle cap necklace, some atom earrings (great for when I go back to work!) and this poison apple necklace.

One thing I will say is that Elizabeth certainly seems to know what to do when the camera is pointed at her - such a little poser!

 What costumes have you worn this year? Do you make costumes for your little ones if you have 'em?

An open letter to the men who insulted me at Comic Con... Is Snow White supposed to be hot?

Hello everyone I have something a bit different for you readers today, a change in tone from my usual posts, but something that I thought was important to say non-the-less.

Last weekend I went to London Comic Con dressed as Snow White.

Looking neat before Comic Con

Some thoughtful ‘gentlemen’ insulted me from a distance so I thought I would write a letter so that could fully articulate my response.

Here it is:

Dear Men who shouted at me at Comic Con,

Yes you boys that insulted me as I walked past in my Snow White costume. You also sniggered when I turned around to see who had been making fun of me. I hope you are proud.

I just have a few things I need to say to you. I was sad that I couldn’t respond at the time, but by the time I had processed exactly what you had said I had been swept away in the quickly moving crowd. I was also afraid that I may shout at you, or cry, and I didn’t really feel like giving you the satisfaction of showing you how much your words hurt me. But congratulations they did.

I spent hours making that costume, I sewed it from scratch, I researched new techniques to help me put it together and I did hair and makeup trials to make sure everything was just the way I wanted it. I was so proud of my hard work and I was feeling so good about what I had achieved. I didn’t realise that all that good feeling would be so easily spoiled by your throw-away comment: ‘Isn’t Snow White supposed to be hot?’

Is Snow White meant to be hot? Serious question...

Now I don’t know if I am shallow or silly but I was really taken aback by this random verbal assault. I straight away thought ‘Am I ugly?’ Despite the fact I had previously been told how beautiful I looked by a very sweet lady who served us food. My thoughts very quickly moved from a general ugliness to my biggest insecurity - it’s because I’m fat - and you can't have a hot bod if your fat right?

That had to be it, I was too plus size to be a hot Snow White because Snow White is petite with a tiny waist not a 5’7’’ size 14 woman. Right? I’m sure it was meant to be a silly comment, something for a giggle, not to be taken seriously. But it made me feel terrible about myself, it even made me wish I hadn’t eaten the delicious takoyaki for my lunch.

I am aware that I am projecting a certain amount of my own insecurities onto this situation, but isn't that exactly what a comment like this does? It reaches deep inside of you and gnaws at your perceived imperfections. That is why it can be so damaging.

Maybe as UK size 14 I do not fit the typical ideal of the ‘hot’ woman, or heck, even if you think I am completely fugly why should I have to fit in with your ideals of what is hot or not. I can wear what I want. I don’t define myself by what you think is hot. Why should I have to strive to meet your beauty standards? (see #effyourbeautystandards for more on that).

What really infuriates me is that I feel so bad about being upset over a hurtful thing you said? Why do I feel so responsible for my non-hotness. Why do I feel so guilty for feeling insulted? Its only a small thing, I'm not hot, so what, yet it still hurts.

Having said all this, it has also occurred to me that perhaps you don’t actually know what the traditional Disney Snow White looks like? If you google Snow White costume, the majority of costumes available tobuy have tiny skirts (like so many of the costumes available to women these days). Perhaps you don’t realise that Snow White actually has a fairly high neckline and a long skirt? My costume was designed for accuracy, it was meant to be a replica of the design from the film. It was not made to be sexy, but more elegant and regal. Surely you can appreciate the craftsmanship in that?  

Disney's Snow White

 Or perhaps you just think it is a woman’s job to look sexy for you?

I left comic con feeling rather down and in a fluctuating mental state. It was only once I was far away that I could appreciate the more disturbing implications of your thoughts on hotness.

Snow White is a folk tale from the 18^th century about a girl, not a woman, a girl who is OFICIALLY 14 years old. She it meant to be fair and beautiful yes, but she is also sweet, shy and naïve, and certainly too young to be hot in the way you are suggesting. So sorry if my Snow White costume wasn’t hot enough for you. But with the information above I think it is very clear who actually has the problem defining what should or should not be hot.

Finally, I just wanted to add that I find you revolting. Firstly for your limited view on the female form, secondly for your disrespect for the craft of cosplay and lastly for your inability to keep your mouth shut when a nasty thought pops into your mind. If something similar happens to you in future can I politely request that you take some advice from another 1930s Disney film?

Yours sincerely,

The Not Hot Snow White

A #MeMade Snow White cosplay costume for World Book Day

So kicking off Me Made May, which I am not officially part of but would like to dabble in, I have a cosplay costume to share with you.

I really love Disney, like love Disney, but lets face it Disney is a bit of a Marmite, the people who love it, love it and the people that hate it, hate it. I have found that Disney is popular in cosplay circles and I can completely understand why. The dresses! Who wouldn't want to try and make those beautiful and sometimes rather offbeat ballgowns.

When I was a little girl I was lucky enough to go to Disney world in Florida and I can very vividly remember the moment a lady ran up to my Mum saying 'Oh wow, you look just like Snow White! That pale skin, that dark hair!'. My Mum was flattered and a little embarrassed and as the years went on we both got older and I started to look more and more like she did on that day (although a little rounder...).

So when it came to choosing a costume for World Book Day back in March I decided that I wanted to dress as Snow White. Because she was one of the original fairy tales committed to writing by the Brothers Grimm, but also because I wanted to make a costume my Mum might one day be able to wear so she can be Snow White again.

This was the first Disney costume I have made completely and 100% from scratch but I did have a little help in the form of Simplicity pattern 2813 Snow White and Cinderella.

Firstly I would like to say that this is the greatest pattern I have worked with so far. I WISH I had known of its existence when I made my Princess Daisy dress (although that still somehow turned out pretty well).  It had really comprehensive instructions and was really straightforward to follow despite containing some really complex elements. Well done Simplicity!!

This costume took a lot of fabric and as I decided to make it in a better quality cotton it was not cheap to make, but I am feeling like it will be a great costume to wear again and again.

I started off making the bodice that was not only fully lined but also had interfacing around the collar, these were two new skills I learnt just for this costume but interfacing makes SUCH a difference I could not believe it (that's the white stuff poking out at the seams)!

I also learnt how to applique the design on the sleeves using wonder webbing and a new zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, which was fairly simple, however what was not simple was the white collar.

I SPENT 3 HOURS ON THE COLLAR!! It has two layers of stiff interfacing, an attempt at machine overlocking and strategic velcro attachment so that the collar would also stand up AND be detachable. It was very hard work, but I was so pleased with the finished effect.

Also how much do I love my swirly fancy fringe in this picture!!

And here is the final outfit, including the hair bow, that I also made myself :)

And here is a quick selfie I took with my wig on before heading off to work.

Annnnnnnd here is the final thing, complete with apple! I really wasn't pleased with the make up as I had to keep it fairly toned down for work, I am looking forward to wearing it again, and since I have had my hair done, I wont need to wear a wig - YES!

Sad news is that I didn't win the staff competition this year, but I don't think it would have been very fair to win two years in a row.

But I did get some very weird looks on the train!

The best part of the who day was when I walked past the nursery near my work and one of the staff came running out to ask me to say hello to the children. It was adorable!

What do you think of my costume? Do I make a good Snow White?

Review: A Rapunzel dress for World Book Day (even if it is the Disney version...)

I have always been a big fan of fair tales, whether that come in the form of a Disney Movie, or the original word of mouth tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Something about those fantasy worlds always thrilled and excited me. The adventures of unfortunate Princesses were always the ones that really got me particularly excited. I think fairytales have an important place in European literature as they are often a gateway for many children into the world of reading and (feminism issues aside) the value of these stories cannot be underestimated.

I think that's why I am drawn to these characters for World Book Day (March 5th in case you were wondering) and I don't think there is anything wrong with using the Disney versions of these characters for fancy dress as they are far more recognisable. This year my work is having a 'Girl Power' theme for World Book Day and I have been thoroughly exploring costume options.

The costume website All Fancy Dress very kindly offered to help me out and sent me a Disney's Tangled Rapunzel costume to check out. The costume is made by costume manufacturer Rubies and is officially licensed by Disney so I had high expectations. In the interest of fairness in this review all pictures are taken with the dress completely unaltered - this is literally how it came out of the packet.

The costume arrived in a packet that was similar to most other fancy dress costumes (it also arrived the next day after it was ordered so I can highly recommend their quick service) and it consisted of the dress only. All other accessories such as the wig, hair flowers and frying pan are my own.

As far as the overall look the dress has the right colour and style to match Rapunzels dress, I appreciated little details like the netting on the sleeves and the lace decoration on the waistline and neck. There is a mix of fabrics used, most of the dress is made form that light weight satin-type fabric that so many costumes are made from. It is cheap fabric, but to get a princess dress made in anything else would cost a lot of money so I don't mind, I think the shiny-ness works as an advantage on a gown like this anyway as it makes it appear more full.

Surprisingly I found this dress very comfortable to wear and I thought it fit quite well. I ordered the medium or 12-14 as I had read reviews saying that the bust was ample and the dress was quite a large fit. I found that the front of the bodice fit very well and there was a stretchy panel on the back to accommodate larger sizes. I found that this bunched up around the waist a little bit but it was a fairly minimal problem. In an ideal world I would like something much more sturdy in the bodice and waist, but without having a costume specially made you will probably never find that in a fancy dress costume. 

I would have liked to see the waist lace going all the way around the back too...

In side the dress and attached to the waist is a mini petticoat that is about 8 inches long. It has a lining inside with a netting overlay to give the dress a bit of fullness on the hips. I am not entirely sure what this added to the dress as Rapunzel isn't especially noted for curvaceous figure and her dress is one of the more slim line of the Disney Princesses (not counting Elsa of course!). I am also a woman with a very ample set of hips so I really didn't need any additional full ness so I am considering taking this out for future use of this dress but it really is a minimal issue and could be done very easily.

That grass was COLD!!!!!

 Overall I am pleased with the general look of the dress and for a fancy dress costume you can get away with wearing straight out of the bag £35.99 isn't too bad a price.

I did notice that the official picture of the costume the bodice looks a lot longer and I found the bodice to be quite short in real life. This is something that isn't a problem for me as I have quite a short torso but perhaps it is something to bear in mind if you are longer in the body.

 I used the blonde wig form my Princess Zelda costume and applied some hair flowers of my own. I know that this wig is no-where near long enough to be like Rapunzel's, but I think it is long enough to give mostly the desired effect... I hope at least!

At the time of publishing All Fancy Dress had sold out of Rapunzel costumes, but did have several other Disney Princess, like Snow White and Cinderella. They also have a dedicated World Book Day section with plenty of suggestions for both adults and children - and their quick delivery means that you still have time to get a costume before World Book Day on the 5th of March (you know you want to!!!)

Guest post: Making a child's Elsa from Frozen costume

Hello readers! Today I have the first part of a Frozen double bill.

Costuming is a hobby of all ages, but it is something that is more associated with younger children than adults. Since I don't have and little 'uns this is not something I've ever been able to cover on my blog which is a real shame as it is such a big part of costuming. 

However, when Liz, a friend of mine, decided to make a costume for her daughter based on Disney Princess Elsa, I simply had to ask her to write a quick post for me!

Here we go:

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My daughter Izzy is obsessed with Elsa, but i refused to pay £40 for a costume, especially after I read the terrible reviews about how it fell apart when people got it home.  So I told her to save up, started giving her pocket money to help her understand how much things cost and started secretly making it. 

I haven't made anything like this before - I made a corset for GCSE art. Well I say I made it, my nan took over (I don't think she thought I was doing it properly, in my head I was making art from textiles, in her head it had to be wearable including a lining etc...). I also made my daughter a bridesmaid dress for my wedding with the help of my mother in law. We used a pattern for that. So that is basically my knowledge of making clothes, I don't really like patterns or drawing things before i do them (hey never end up the way I draw them and I find it hard to draw accurately what is in my head). 

I have made other items though, one year I think all my friends got scrunchies for Christmas because I'd learnt how to make them and was on a roll! When I was younger I made lots of cross stitch cards (i did a larger picture but on and off it took about 10 years) and quilting and patchwork cushions. Recently my Daughter has had me making barbie clothes which I found quite fiddly. 

I mostly hand sew as I don't own a sewing machine and lack of experience with them means I'm not sure what I'm doing.

Obviously making a fancy dress outfit is a bit different to anything I have previously done - someone else has designed it for a start. I started out by looking at images of what i wanted to make and then making a basic dress shape by tracing around one of Izzy's tops on a large piece of paper. I went to a local fabric shop and found materials I thought might do the job. I cut around my pattern and pinned it to the fabric, when I was happy I drew the pattern on the dress (washable pen!) then cut out the bits of material leaving extra fabric for the seams. Then it was a case of sewing the bits together which took a while - would have been much quicker with a machine. I have never done sleeves before in my life so was pretty impressed with how they turned out. 

Elsa pattern cutting

After I had the basic dress put together i washed it to get rid of the pen. Then added a layer of sequinned material over the body and some strips of sequins down the front to keep the sequinned material in place. I used velcro to fasten it at the back and added layers of sparkly fine organza behind and a few beads to the front. The sparkly bit in the middle at the front is actually from one of my dolls outfits from when i was little. The neckline was made to look a bit neater by folding ribbon over it and sewing it down.Lastly i added some silver ribbon to the top as it was looking a little low cut and the edge of the other fabric looked a bit of a mess. When she tried it on it kept falling off her shoulders so I added the bit of blue and silver ribbon at the back. 

I know Elsa doesn't wear a cape but unlike her my daughter does feel the cold and as she tends to want to wear them out and about i made her a little cape to go with it. I think it looks quite wintery anyway and she rather likes it.

Unknown  to me my mother had bought her a tiara so she added that to the look too ( I know Elsa discards hers but as Izzy is 5 I'll let her get away with it).

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I hope you'll agree that Liz did and excellent job and you would never guess its he first full thing she's made by herself. Also, hand sewn. I am not really sure how she had the patients for that.

Anywho, it looks perfect to me!

I hope that's inspired a few of you that are debating making costumes for little ones. It may not be as hard as you think!

I'll be back with a Frozen inspired post of my own in a few days.