Cosplay Costumes: Trailer Trash - Comic Book Flicks - Harley Quinn Cosplay

With some of my costuming events (London Super Comic Con and Trailer Trash) coming up in the next couple of months I thought I would do a post about a super villain costume I wore way back in autumn 2009!

Trailer Trash: Comic book flicks was an event I had won tickets to at the previous event and with my love of comic books in mind I knew I had to raise the costume bar!

After much thought and a few suggestions from friends I settled on The Joker's number 1 groupy Harley Quinn. Partly this was down to the fact that I liked the character but also because my friend Sadie was planning on dressing as Poison Ivy and for those that don't know it, Harley and Ivy are the BFFs of Gotham City.

Now I'm not much of a sewer, and the things I do sew are by hand (please bear this in mind when I explain making my Ms. Marvel costume in the not too distant future) so the prospect of making a full body suit was terrifying!

Luckily for me several companies make Quinn costumes to rescue even the most hopeless of us. I managed to find one on eBay (where else?) that seemed appropriate for my size, 12-14, so I took a risk and ordered it.

When it arrived I tried it on and promptly ordered a pair of super sexy spanx to hold everything in place and went on a mission to find other items like a mask and white facepaint.

My makeup took about an hour to apply and I made sure to wear my hair in bunches for authenticity but once this was done the rest of the costume was easy.

Here are a couple of snaps of me as Harley and Sadie as Ivy:

The evening was great fun! On the way there I bumped into a friend who didn't even recognise me on and the music and acts throughout the evening were great. There wear quite a few Batman Rogues at the event and I manages to get a snap with a few of us together. This was also the event where my tradition of accidentally dressing as a stripper started with the performance of an awesome Harley Quinn burlesque act by Miss Honey Moon!

I was very pleased with the overall look, and the Trailer Trash team must have been too as I even won first place in the costume competition and received free tickets to the next event and a bottle of bubbly :D

You can find other costumes I wore for Trailer Trash Sci-fi and Vanpires vs. Zombies on Fancy Dresscapades and I'll be posting on next months Speakeasy (23rd of February at Brighton Komedia) and what I wore to the Moulin Rouge event later on.

My next big costume challenge is Ms. Marvel though and I'll let you know how that goes very soon. Its the most ambitious thing I've made in some time and I'm very excited!

Scrap-booking & an Accidental Vintage Wedding

So I’m getting married, a subject I have mentioned several times on Fancy Dresscapades but never really discussed in any detail. This was mainly due to the fact that details were not confirmed, planning was still to be done and I wasn’t really sure what type of theme I was going for.

As a child I was not one of those girls who had their dream wedding planned, when I realised I would need to plan a wedding the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a Church ceremony (good ol' Catholic guilt).

I suppose the first thing I have to say is that although it may not be essential to planning a wedding I would strongly advise anyone to keep a scrapbook filled with ideas. Its great fun and a really great way of seeing your ideas come together, it means the themes, colours and styles almost reveal themselves to you as you look through the pages. It certainly helped me a lot.

Some pages from my scrap book...

After my long journey involving wedding fairs, bridal magazines, and a 30 page scrap book (and a lot of deposits paid) I now finally have my wedding planned. As you may have guessed from this post, it has a definite vintage theme. This was not something I had deliberately intended, I just found that after looking through my scrap book examining all the clippings and notes about the things I had seen that they all felt very retro.

It All Started With A Dance

Natrually being a Lindy Hopper I did have a strong inkling of what I wanted my wedding dance to be like (details are tightly under wraps) and this mean that I knew I would want a wedding dress I could move in. So I decided to go with a tea-length and after a rather disasterous run of looking for dresses I have now found a wonderful designer who is making my dress (more details on all of that in a later post) and it will be decidedly 50s style.

Kaye Popp and Stanley Catron Demonstrating a Step of the Lindy Hop
Image Source

From there things spiralled, when asked about a colour scheme I thought of creams, pinks, purples, blues and greens or as they’re known in the wedding traid ‘The Vintage colours’ I wanted traditional English flowers on the tables and an old fashioned sweet buffet.

Candy buffer (image source) and Vintage Flowers (image source)

A Sort of Vintage Wedding

I think when I really accepted that I would be having a ‘Vintage theme’ wedding was when my mother and I began buying up vintage china for the tale settings (again post to follow). These little cups and saucers are really so pretty!

Some of our vintage china...

Although I’m not having an actual vintage dress etc. I don’t mind. I think the kind of style I am going for is something that a lot of people may consider ‘Vintage’ but I don’t really- its just me.

Save the Date

So my wedding is on September 15^th this year, what started feeling like so far away is ever rapidly approaching fast! I suppose it is fairly safe to say that it will be the fanciest-dresscapade I’ll ever had.  I’ll post on the various things I have found/made/bought etc. in the wedding section I have just started on here- some of its pretty inspiring and there are a few cautionary tales too.

Of course I’m not there yet, so feel free to comment if you have any words of warning or tips you think I or anyone else could use!

Hair and Beauty: Victory Rolls & A Cheats Guide To Curling Hair

Before I begin I’d like to say that this post is dedicated to Miss Doherty, my friend and hostess of The Vintage News, as without her advice, guidance and example I would not have learnt this skill.

This isn’t really a tutorial, but I received quite a few comments at the #ZOMGbloggersbash about my hair (a photo even ended up here) and since I was also planning something interesting for my trip to Blind Pig I thought I’d document the process.

Before I start here are a few things about me and my hair:

• I have naturally wavy hair, not hugely so, but enough that it holds curls quite well (this is the only reason I don’t really need too much hairspray).
• My hair was short for a long time after I had it cut for a speakeasy (yes I’m that committed) and now that its longer the layering can sometimes make it difficult to put rolls in, so I apologise if it’s not that neat.
• Lastly I’m still learning… please be nice to me.

Curling

To start with I washed my hair yesterday morning, after letting it dry enough so that it wasn’t uncomfortable I rolled it into eight ‘victoryrolls’ one at the top of my head, two either side of my face, two behind them, two lower at the back and one at the very back.

I find these are a good placement so that the curls frame my face in the way that I like. But it’s taken a lot of attempts to find good spacing. Depending on how tight I want the curls I simply adjust the number of rolls. For tighter curls I aim for around ten rolls and for really lose ones around four to six will do. 

I then wore the rolls for the rest of the day with a ‘stylish’ head scarf and slept in them overnight. By then the hair is dry so its not uncomfortable. When I’m just simple curling my hair I would take them out the next morning ready for the day ahead, but for today I was planning on an evening out so I left them in under a different type of headscarf so I could take them out later.

Taking Them Out

To remove the rolls I take them out one at a time starting at the back, I brush the curl to smooth it, then separate into two or three sections and reshape the curl with my fingers to create a softer look.

Once all the curls are removed you could then spray with hairspray if you desire.

Taking out the curls...           and resetting them after brushing.     

Styling

At this point you can leave the curls to their own devices, add and alice band (my lazy staple) or something that I find looks great, re-make new rolls at the front of your hair line and leave the back down.

In this case however I was attending a Speakeasy so I wanted to opt for something a little bit more 1920s inspired. So I pinned the bottom of the curls underneath so that my hair would look shorter and a bit more flapper...

I hope that's given you some ideas, and maybe a bit of courage to have a go yourself!

(after all if I can do it anyone can...)

Vintage Events: Brighton's Blind Pig Returns - Burlesque, Poles, Electro-Swing, Flappers and Frolicks!

After my interview with Carolyn Watt the lovely lady behind Blind Pig I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the latest event, tentatively titled ‘Blind Pig Returns’.

It promised to be an extravagant affair with music, dancing, burlesque, pole dancing and a live band all in the beautiful settings of the Proud Brighton Ballroom. This is just a quick overview of the event and some piccies, but if you want you can read a detailed review of the previous Blind Pig event you can do so here!

The event primarily caters musically for fans of electro-swing and with that in mind I chose to wear a vintage-style dress made by Pearl Lowe for Peacocks. Although it is more of a 50s shape I felt the lace styling would befit a modern speakeasy and well I just love the colour red, so why not! I also wore a pair of black brogues that are made for dancing! I also had a lot of fun with my hair this time too, after curling it I managed to pin it up in a sort of faux flapper look that I felt worked quite well. That is, if you can judge success by the fact it didn’t all fall down by the end of the night!

 This was also the first event that I had the opportunity to really test my new SLR and those performers really gave me a challenge! Here are a few of the acts:

Burlesque duo The Big Bad Wolf and Acacia Blue displayed a cheeky, comedy burlesque act…

Miss Bombshell entranced the audience with a athletic pole routine.

There was also an unusual double pole routine from Miss Steel and Ethan. I personally have never seen and act like this! I have always felt that pole work looks strenuous enough without having to worry about someone else accidentally kicking you in the face.

Then the wonderful Cherry Bella gave a burlesque and fire act to finish the night’s entertainment.

Then the party really got started...

The band This Is Laura played a short set before the DJ started spinning some more ‘clubby’ swing tunes.

This Is Laura       ...and I couldn't help wonder if the resident DJ was a fan of Star Trek TNG?

I also managed to get a few cheeky snaps of some of the best dressed of the night. A fantastic group of ladies who had all made the effort to dress the part and a  gentleman in what was EASILY the finest suit of the evening – I even managed to catch a still of Miss Doherty of the Vintage News team reporting on the night. I may have even fumbled my way through a very embarrassing interview with the news team too...

So that’s it for today! I’d apologise for all the pictures but I know that’s why you’re here :D

Bye for now!

Vintage Events: ZOMG! Its the #ZOMGbloggersbash or 'The Night of a Thousand Bloggers!'

 Well! What an event... and also my first venture into the real life side of blogging.

The ZOMG Blogger Bash was held as part of the launch of the ZOMG lipstick made by Rockalily in collaboration with Zozo of the London Lipgloss. I received my invite a few days earlier and was very lucky to get a space right at the last minute. But since I live in Brighton it's easy to travel to London at short notice - so off I went!

Like almost everyone talking on twitter I agonised over what to wear, not wanting to be too dressy or too casual. In the end I opted for a VoH pencil skirt and red blouse as this would be comfortable and a little bit retro-style (also, that pencil skirt is A-MA-ZING!)...

But I need not have worried as there were bloggers from many niches on the net, from vintage lifestyle superstars, rockabilly girls, stylish beauty bloggers and hip fashionistas the outfits, styles and blogs were as diverse as the ladies (and gentlemen) in attendance.

The event itself was held at the Distillers pub in Smithfield and it made a fitting venue with its old style charm.

Top Left: ReeRee, Rubyyy Jones and Pip Jolley 

And our hostesses ReeRee from Rockalily and ZoZo from London Lipgloss provided lots of entertainment...

This included a full display of the Rockalily lipstick collection. I only regret that I couldn’t buy a lipstuck while I was there - I'm now agonising over whether to buy Rockette Red or Roulette Red!

Loverly Lippie

I also spent a bit of time chatting Retro Chick about Historical Sauces. The Sauces aim to bring a bit of vintage glamour and history to events with their portable vintage reading room, styling advice and vintage dressing up (which of course gets huge approval from me!). It was a really nice display and I finally got to have a look inside Vintage Hairstyling book that I have had my eye on for a while (and it looks like it may be worth the price).

Historical Sauces: Missy Vinatge, Glamourologist and Retro Chick

From there I managed to speak a bit to Perdita form Perdita Pursuits about mixing indy chic with vintage and LandGirl1980  who posts lovely things about history, books and vintage style. Both were very lovely and although I was very nervous to start off with they made me feel a bit more confident.

I also spent a fair amount of time watching people decorating cupcakes courtesy of Temptations Creations before I built up the nerve to try one. Although my cupcake may not have been the prettiest it was certainly tasty with a glorious combination of strawberry icing and white chocolate drops (and a flower to match the one in my hair).

There was also a popup studio for having pinup pictures taken, maybe even while trying on the beautiful bonnets provided by Little Miss B or the lovely loungewear supplied by Betty Blue's Loungerie (I have to add that their red robe is really stunning!) Here I had a chat with EpiphannieA a friendly beauty blogger.

Little Miss B's hats, Betty Blue's items and the Rockalily lipstick canvas

Finally with a bit more confidence I got to speak to several other ladies including Elena, Betty Leopard amd L Figment (on a side note L had her hair done so its worth checking out her postings for that!) and the ladies from Illamasqua and Collectif about bloggers bingo, blogs, hair, cosplay, dresses and getting the courage to introduce yourself to new people.

To conclude the evening there were two burlesque performances, the first by Rubyyy Jones who performed in a way I’d never seen before! A sort of comedy, modern approach in a vest and jeans and miming a cyber striptease for a webcam to Goldfrapp's Ooh La La - It was rather funny and incrediably naughty! Claps and whoops all aroud.

Rubyyy Jones

The second performance was Miss Banbury Cross who embodied all the elements of a classic 50s bomshell and performed her champaigne strip to delight us. Being at the front had its pros and cons for this performance, although I felt I got some good snaps, she should perform with a warning sign to say if you are sitting in the front row you will get WET!

Miss Banbury Cross

There were also loads of prizes given away at the end of the night for the bloggers bingo, sadly none for me, but it was certainly a learning experience and helped me come out of my blogging shell. I’d certainly recommend this kind of event to any blogger.

I would just like to say thank you to ReeRee and Zozo for the invite and for putting on the event, it was amazing! 

I only wonder when my next event will be!

Vintage Events: An interview with Blind Pig Brighton's organiser Carolyn Watt

Hush hush! It’s a Dresscapade exclusive!

Today we have a rather special interview with Carolyn Watt, the lady behind Blind Pig, Brighton’s only burlesque-pole-dancing-speakeasy!

Carolyn is especially welcome here as she is not only a performer but a textiles student with a passion for making her own costumes. I met Carolyn for a chat at the yummy Redwood Coffee House on Trafalgar Street and we had a chat about how she came to be running Blind Pig, her performances and some of her favourite costumes:

FD: So how did you get into organising Blind Pig?

C: Well originally it was as a fundraiser for our final year degree show for textiles that we’re putting on in June. But it was at a time when all of the BA students were still on their placements and it was up to the ten masters students to get started. And in my head I though, this is the only night I know how to put on, mostly due to my experience performing and it’s the kind of night I like.

Unfortunately the other students felt like it wasn’t making quite as much money as we’d hoped so I decided that this event is the first one that’s not going to be a fundraiser, more of a side project for myself.

FD: That’s a quite impressive side project! I guess what I’d like to know is how you got into textiles?

C: I’ve always liked textiles, fashion and costume. I worked on fine art in Edinburgh and started to get more into textiles and applied for Brighton and continued working on it there.

FD: And what about performing and making costumes?

C: I started pole dancing in Edinburgh, doing a course with my friend, then continued when I moved to Brighton. The person that was teaching me here suggested that I should perform at a night that they run (FD: Sirens if you’re interested) so I started doing that and gradually got more and more involved in making my own costumes and making them more dramatic.

Later on I’d did a placement in New York and started working with silks as I didn’t have my pole! From that I became involved with some circus groups in London and got really into it and started helping out with costuming for them. So my work has started heading more towards costume design now. Particularly specialising in aerial costumes. Particularly adapting fabrics and designs for performances to reinforce your clothing and stop it wearing out, all my silk costumes have a little hole on my back where it rubs away. I’ve also been working on adding padding in costumes in certain places as performing can hurt…

Carolyn performing at the O2 in London

FD: It must be quite a work out!

C: Yeah. Laughs

FD: So of the costumes you’ve made for performances do you have any favurites?

C: One of my favourites that I made was for a Black Swan pole dance. So for that I made a basic white tutu with a really beautiful white corset, but underneath I had black tassels and a mini black tutu that was completely hidden. I got my friend to do amazing Black Swan makeup – Its definitely one of my favourites.

Black Swan Pole Performance

I also did a silk rope performance for Greenwich Circus festival where I worked with three other girls dressed as fairies, two good, two bad. This costume was my first real attempt at knitting support panels for body control and extra panelling to stop the costume wearing away. So I really loved those costumes too!

Fellow performer Kirsty wearing the 'evil fairy' costume as part of a show at the Greenwich circus festival

FD: I was also wondering if you had a person or era that inspires you?

C: In terms of Blind Pig I just love flappers! I went to a Charleston day while I was in New York and I think that’s where it all started in my head. Everyone was dressed up and it made me feel like I was in the Great Gatsby or something and I loved reading that when I was younger.

Personally though I just love the 50s, because of the silhouette, that Christian Dior, New Look, hour glass style.

Mad Men's Betty Draper in 'New Look' chic and The Artist's Peppy Miller as a 20s flapper

FD: They're very contrasting looks.

C: Yes I’m torn between the corseted hourglass and the straight up and down flapper look. So yeah, completely contrasting!

FD: The speakeasy nights and electro swing have really taken off, especially in Brighton- but I guess its something you can easily dress the part for.

C: Yeah even if you don’t’ want to go all out you can still get the accessories, the feathers, the pearls and join in. It’s a bit naughty and carefree too.

FD: So do you have any thoughts on what you want to be when you grow up?

C: I do a lot of different things, obviously I run this night but I love performing pole and performing on silk ropes too but I’d love to get into freelance costume design as well, I teach burlesque and pole too… and maybe even silks eventually.

FD: So a bit of a portfolio career then?

C: Yes, while I’ve been at Uni I’ve been trying to do as much free work as possible and hopefully someone will pay me for it eventually (Laughs). I’m also so glad I had the opportunity to work on Blind Pig, it helped a lot to work on it under the fundraising umbrella, it made me feel more secure to just go for it.

FD: Speaking of Blind Pig - You had a mixed line up last time, including a male pole dancer, what can you tell us about the line up this time?

C: Oh yes Ethan (FD: the pole dancer mentioned above) is back! I’m quite excited about the line up this time, I don’t just want to show burlesque but a bigger variety including pole dancing so we can show other ways it can be done. We also have a double pole performance. Which is going to be more acrobatic and a bit more unusual. We have Cherry Bella doing fire again. We have four pole acts and four burlesque acts, one of which is a comedy burlesque husband and wife double act. Then we are going to have a band too - with some upbeat gypsy swing when the acts finish so we can get everyone up dancing. Finally the DJ to take us into the night!

FD: The variety you have is a really entertaining combination!

C: Its good if you don’t really know burlesque, it means there are lots of different things so there’s something for everyone. That’s what makes it exciting. Oh that and the fire…

FD: And the entertainment fits quite well with the Speakeasy theme…

C: Burlesque is linked to the vintage thing so sometimes seeing pole is surprising. Pole has far more of a stigma attached to it, but it can still have that vintage appeal- depending on how its done. But done in the right way it can be quite confidence boosting. I’d recommend it to everyone.

Blind Pig Returns takes place on Friday the 3^rd of February at the Proud Brighton Ballroom at 10:30pm.

Tickets are available online or at To Be Worn Again in the North Laines.

You can also follow Blind Pig on Twitter for more updates @BlindPig1920

Cosplay Inspirations: Ms Marvel

In a months time on the 25^th-26^th of February I’ll be reporting for Den of Geek from London Super Comic Con!

Alongside queuing to get my comics signed by some of the UK and US’ leading writers and artists - including Stan Lee!!! I’ll also be taking pictures, watching panels and dressing as Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel as drawn by Sana Takeda

This was an interesting choice for me. Ms. Marvel is one of the few Marvel books I have read and I really love the art of Sana Takeda on the late runs of her more recent outing.

Plus I already had the blonde wig so that went some way to help make the decision for me. 

This is the closest I have come in a while to vastly modifying a costume, and will require sewing a lightning bolt on to a black t-shirt and making the red sash for my waist.

I’ll post photos of the progress nearer the time.