Just a quick mention today of the Beach of the Dead zombie walk in Brighton.
This is a yearly event that roughly coincides with Halloween where thousands of Brightonians don their rags and lots of fake blood and hobble and scream along the busy streets of Brighton to the beach.
There is typically a 'lovely' mix of traditional bloodied up zombies, to the more geeky take on pop culture figures as zombies, to zombie doctors, historical characters and even zombie gothic lolita!
Although I did not take part myself, I did watch some of the event and my particular favourite costume was a zombie Clark Kent/Superman, and although this raises serious questions about Kryptonian blood chemistry, I really apprecaiated the effort!
Is it a bird? Is it a Plane? Oh, good God! It's a Zombie invasion!!!!
The event itself attracts much attention, what with all the shuffling, screaming and moaning and is the biggest en masse fancy dress event I have seen that was not at London Comic Con. There were additional frolicks as a Brighton Steampunk group fronted the resistance by the pier with full costume and plaques saying slogans such as 'Don't panic and carry a gun'...
All in all I suspect many people enjoyed this event, but probably not the drivers trying to get to the beach along the zombie infested road!
…as some of you may have noticed, Halloween is approaching super fast, and for those of you about to dress up- I salute you!
With that in mind I thought I’d offer some suggestions for my favourite places to acquire pieces/props and ideas for costumes…
Here we go:
Your local costume shop
I suppose this seems like an obvious place to start, but overall I’m not too keen on the ol’ costume shop, generally because they’re so expensive, so I wanted to get it out of the way quickly. What I will say is that if you’re pushed for time a costume shop can give you all the things you need in one place- although you’ll pay a premium for it! The main reason the costume shop is on this list is for their off season sales- you can get full costumes for as little at £10, wigs and accessories for under £5 (if your lucky) so its worth checking for staples occasionally.
Just make sure you avoid shops run by childhood enemies of any close personal friends or guardians like in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 'Halloween'.
If you're wondering, Willow was dressed as a sexy ghost...
The fashion forward shop selling the uncostly stock is in almost every town in England (and there are pleanty of equivalents around for those of you not in Blighty) and the reason it is so useful is that you can buy all kinds of things there, from sparkly dresses, stripy tops and strapless bras to giant earrings and cheap shoes in all colours. Typically if its not something too outrageous, Primark will have it- there are rows of t-shirts, cardigans and all colours so this is a great place for getting the basics for your costume (also has been known to sell sequened pants, lace leotards, shoes decorated with fruit and silver leggings).
Charity Shop
Not always the best of stock available, but usually so cheap you can feel free to rip it, sew it, throw paint at it in order to make the item perfect.
For simple items like t-shirts they are pretty good, and its all for a good cause!
Cardboard Boxes
Just a simple one this, but you can cut them, paint them and wear them! Easy ways to make a transformer- like some friends at my birthday party, tv, street sign or various other things.
There are also free ones available at your local supermarket!
Soundwave transforms into two human females?!
You’re/A Family member’s/A friends wardrobe
The easiest to access stash of clothing for costumes is that of your own wardrobe- or any one elses that would be willing to let you borrow clothes!
I once borrowed a boyfriends shirt to dress as Karen from X/1999 which saved me buying one of my own (no pictures of that thank god!) I have said before always take into account the kind of pieces you have when choosing a costume for fancy dress and if you already have items the costume is that much simpler- and free! Hoarding Grandparents may also have several items that can be added to a vintage fancy dressing collection (if you’re lucky!).
Haberdashery
Dash to the haber-dash-ery! For a limitless supply of fabrics, sequens, ribbons, buttons for altering and customising things you already have. I think most places have one, somewhere, although it may be tucked in the back of an old indoor marked or a department store- try to avoid the latter if possible as they are often more expensive. I recently went to Dainty Supplies at an industrial estate in Sunderland to collect buttons for my bridal bouquet (yes I’m getting married-eep! So expect a few posts on that in the up and coming months, after all it’s the fanciest dress I’ll probably ever wear!) and the buttons were much cheaper than certain other department stores.
In the UK Boots the Chemist sells everything (almost) you need to complete your costume look and I’m fairly certain all countries have something similar for your pharmaceutical/cosmetic needs. The important thing about Boots is that is has all kinds of make up and hairdyes, for example my white hairdye for Black Cat came from a spray can I bought at Boots (that I was lucky to get!!) they also sell a great range of cheaper makeup that is animal friendly if you’re looking for a good one night only lipstick or eyeshadow. They also sell tights in all colours, cushioned insoles- for killer heels, blister plasters- for chafing costume parts, hair teasing tools and even painkillers for the morning after *wink wink.
Ah… Saved the best until last. My personal favourite for costume shopping is eBay. They stock ready made costumes at reduced prices, cosplay wigs imported from China (see Black Canary soon!) Zentai suits, cosmetics, clothing and all kinds of footwear. I almost feel like its safe to say that if eBay doesn’t sell it, it doesn’t exist! The only downside to eBay is that you have to consider postage time while compiling a costume, which means making decisions and buying early and very occasionally something you buy doesn’t turn out to be quite as expected. I have one disasterous story about a wedding dress that taught me to be more careful about eBay, but ultimately, you are always covered by paypal should something go wrong. The main bonus of eBay is the price- which is usually super cheap, you just need to be a little careful when buying- for any one interested a eBay how to will be following soon-ish.
Type in what you want, and it appears!
Ultimately that’s it! If you think I’ve missed anywhere important let me know!
Another Dresscapade should be approaching you shortly, and then reports on my costume efforts at the London MCM Expo!
Something a little bit different again today. I am trying to schedule more regular posts and come up with a few regular features- this is one of them :D
Movie Dresscapades, a.k.a. movies you should watch if only for fancy dress/cosplay inspiration or fantastic and visually stunning costuming.
This month its Halloween (in case you’ve not realised) so I decided to pick something themely.
Screen Dresscapades: Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is a movie that I have watched on a fairly regular basis since I was very young (probably a little too young if I’m honest- but that’s what you get when you have a Dad that likes that kind of thing and a Mum that occasionally worked night shift on a Friday). It has a very odd mix of comedy, horror, sexual innuendo and bizarre visuals that over the years Tim Burton has become known for.
The plot premise is simple- a couple, Adam and Barbra, move into their small town dream house, accidentally die before they ever get to really live in it and are doomed to spend the rest of their lives haunting the dwelling- so far so good...ish. What complicates the matter is when the ‘outrageous’ designer Delia, her husband Charles and their daughter Lydia move into the house and start to make some changes. The couple then hire Beetlejuice, a striped suit clad spectre, to help them haunt the family away.
Big hair + big clothes = 80s
Beetlejuice himself is played by Michael Keaton, in his best role (in my opinion), he is a wonderful mix of crude troublemaker and sarcastic guide to the couple and Keaton gives a good physical, as well as verbal performance and is on cue with the laughs throughout.
Don't forget to wear your smile
Spooky yet stylish
Although Keaton’s look is a bit gouhlish, it is very iconic- meaning it is easy to get the look with minimal effort. The key is to be able to find the stripy suit (there are some inexpensive options on eBay), once you have that some white facepaint, eyemakeup and hairgel is all you really need to complete the look.
Another great look in this film is that of Lydia (played by Winona Ryder) the 80s goth inspired look is great to emulate, with the pale face, black clothes, giant hat and of course, a camera! Lydia has the great bonus of the red wedding dress from
the final scenes of the movie too.
Gothic-Lolita Chic
The costume inspiration doesn’t end there either, there’s the huge hair and 80s dresses of Geena Davis, the plaid shirt stylings of Alec Baldwin, the hoard of dead football players among many others!
Of course you can always just go with the Sandworm… but I have no idea how you’d go about that- some kind of sock puppet I’d expect. Check out this one in particular!
In fact, this film has so much fodder for fancy dress that one of my favourite Brighton based fancy dress events Trailer Trash opened its doors at the Komedia with a cabaret club night based on this very film. (On a side note Trailer Trash is one of my favourite excuses to dress up, as anyone who has read any Fancy Dresscapades will be able to tell, and they have had many events each with a cult movie theme).
Costume Gem
My favourite possible costume in this movie is that of the dead-receptionist-beauty-queen. She wears a bright red dress, with orangy-red hair and has magnificent green skin! Quite the challenge for any fancy dresser!
I wonder if the green skin was what got her noticed in that beauty pagent?
Trailer Trash organiser and arial artiste Miss Kitty Peels pulled off this look with ease at the event in March 2009- check her out here! All I can say is that when it comes to being a girls best friend, body paint is right up there with diamonds…
Final Verdict
On a final note, although it’s a bit of a weird film, Beetlejuice is actually a very entertaining movie, and it’s filled with fancy dress fodder- definitely a good choice for any up-and-coming dresscapade.
So that’s it for now then.
Hopefully after a few more posts I’ll have quite a little catalogue for inspiration.
As I have said before, to me Halloween is the one time of the year when anyone of any age can dress up. As the month of October is fast approaching I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my opinions on choosing costumes.
Obviously these aren’t strict rules, and even if they were, rules are made to be broken -- especially at Halloween. So I’d like to hope that some people will take the advice I’ve outlined here on board; I think it will lead to a happier stress free Dresscapade :D
Enjoy!
1)Be aware of your prep time
For a costume to work you need some careful preparation. I’d say from start to finish it takes me around a month to design, acquire and modify a costume; thinking in advance of an event is essential for me. Mostly this is because I work full time, have other commitments and buy most of my items mail order (so there are delivery times to consider), but it is worth allowing enough time to create your costume so you are not stressed at the last minute and can enjoy the creative process.
2) Know your theme
Although this doesn’t apply so much at Halloween, as these days pretty much anything goes from a corset and a cat tail to a full medieval court princess, it is important for other events. Investigate the theme -- is it something you like? Is it common? Or is it something a bit weird? Either way, a theme can be friend or foe so think carefully about the limits it imposes.
Which brings me nicely onto…
3) There is no such thing as too much research!
Investigate the theme. The internet is an invaluable tool for this, with countless forums dedicated to costumes etc. You can simply google ‘your chosen theme costume ideas’ and you’ll be bombarded with information.
For me the best example for this was just before a friend’s birthday bash. Her theme was London Underground stations; in a rush I had no idea what to dress as and googled the theme to gather intel. I ended up dressing as a rather risky Russell Square and went as Russell Brand, complete with drawn on beard, backcombed hair and very skinny jeans -- I received some strange looks that day!
4) Pick something you like
It know it seems obvious, but the number of times people dress as Wonder Woman and have no idea about her is outstanding! I know of at least four people, and CBS’s The Big Bang Theory has a whole episode dedicated to the unwitting Wonder Woman fancy dress phenomenon. Don’t just grab a costume because its there -- if it’s something you love, it will look better for it.
Penny as Wonder Woman in TBBT
5) Use what you have
Another obvious one really, but if you have dyed pink hair then use it! If you have a great figure -- show it off! The closer you are to looking like a character, the less work you have to put into the costume and if you already own clothes you can wear then all the better. After all, it saves you time and money (and who doesn’t want that!).
6) Keep it realistic
If you work full time, have 3 kids or do a billion other extracurricular activities then make sure you are realistic about how much time it will take to make or assemble your costume. It would be rather stressful trying to make a full cardboard replica of Optimus Prime (yeah, it happens...) to wear when you only have 5 hours to make it in!
7) Group confidence
If you’re feeling a little nervous about your costume when venturing out in a large, or even small, group can allow everyone to hide in plain sight. It provides a bubble of protection so you can sink to the background if it all gets a little too much, or parade around at the front if you want to the centre of attention. Besides, a team fancy dress is always more fun.
Me as Harley Quinn plus others Batman Rogues
On a side note, wearing masks, wigs and heavy makeup are things that can help you feel more confident when venturing out in costume. Remember that they’re designed so that no one will recognise you!
8) Don’t go out in only lingerie
I’m by no means a prude… but I see many people -- yes mostly women -- who seem to use Halloween or fancy dress as an excuse to venture out in only lingerie. Just remember that it’s nearly November and it’s cold… If you’re going for something that should show flesh, then skin-tone tights, control pants and a lot of sticky tape will help keep you warm and everything in place.
Related to this point is that you should never wear a costume that is sold as ‘Sexy insert costume name here’. Especially if its Pac-Man. Eww.
Pretty sure she shouldn't have a ghost there...
9) Be creative!
Even if you buy an entire costume in a kit, do not be afraid to modify a costume, sew bits on, chop bits off or swap things for different versions that look better. It’s a costume and only you know how you want the interpretation of the character to look. The more of it you can make for yourself the better.
10) There is more to life than costume shops
While a costume shop may be the first port of call to Dresscapade novices, for me they’re somewhere I only go if I’m desperate. I find the most valuable resources are eBay -- although this requires a specific knowledge of items required -- and second-hand shops. Charity or thrift shops may take a bit of trawling, but most of my Bellatrix LeStrange costume was found during an afternoon looking for bargains along Brighton’s London Road.
For more dos and don’ts of costuming check out WTF Costumes
it will shock and amaze you.
Anywho, that's all for now, and good luck with Halloween!
So its been a little while since last I updated, with work *yawn*commitments, family commitments and various other, erm, commitments… lets just say August was a tough month.
But enough about that, it is now September which means one thing:
HALLOWEEN PREPERATION!
Halloween is the one time of year when the ghouls and goblins come out, but also the cats, witches, nurses and cowboys it is arguably the only time of year when everyone feels okay to go out and wear a costume. As such, to those of us who are enthusiasts for a bit of costuming it’s a big event.
Added to this is that the European Cosplay Championship finals are taking place at Octobers (28-30th) MCM Expo in London! Although I’m not entering (I am no where near that standard, and since I don't make the costumes myself I don't consider myself a Cosplayer) I will be attending the Expo and I am hoping to report on the event like I did for the qualifiers held in May this year (Article...).
The MCM Expo is probably the lead event in the country for Cosplayers and the last time I attended my costume was a somewhat safe choice as I wasn’t sure what to expect. This time I am planning something a bit more out there:
The Black Canary
Black Canary
Canary Yellow Hair
Black Canary is a popular character from DC Comics Birds of Prey (an excellent series BTW, especially those written by Gail Simone). Her costume comprises of a black body suit, cropped jacket, fishnets, boots and a blonde wig, and just so you know I’ve already bought the wig ;)
I think this costume is fairly simple, but should be quite effective especially for a crowd of geeks and comics fans. I’ll update on how the costume comes along later.
Now for Halloween specifically, I have chosen something a little more in keeping with the theme and am going to dress as Catwoman. I know Catwoman isn’t the most original outfit, but hey, I already had the catsuit!
Obviously there are many guises and variations on Selina Kyle, and I have chosen to go with a retro 60s Batman version in the style of Julie Newmar. This is mainly in honour of Anne Hathaway’s styling in the released photos for 'The Dark Knight Rises' as the long hair and eye mask seem to be closer to the 60s version than the goggles and pixie crop of the current comic incarnation.
Julie Newmar's catwoman-yes I'm on a diet now...
This costume compromises of the catsuit, whip, cat ears, eye mask, and of course incrediably 60s hair. I anticipate the hair to be quite a challenge, but I have 6 weeks to practice so hopefully on the day it will look great.
Now who has a Halloween party for me to wear it to?!
I’m plotting a few articles for the up-and-coming month of fancy dress, including my top tips to choosing and compiling a costume!
That’s it for now.
Happy Dresscapades!
(P.s. All images belong to their respective owners)
So the usual for my blog is some kind of update based on dressing fancy, well on this occasion I tried the opposite, being an extra on a film set!
The essence of fancy dress is taking something well known and characterising it in an outfit to get you noticed, the main objective of being an extra is to look normal, to have your presence noticed, but not enough to distract the audience from the main attraction (the star obviously!).
I have been a member of an extras recruitment agency for some time, but wasn't really offered work until I moved to Brighton, and this was my first time on the set (so to speak...).
During my day as an extra filming began on the closed pier at 5am on Tuesday the 26th of July 2011 and I was told to bring a selection of casual summer clothes.
Anyone who knows me will understand that I struggled to find something casual enough, but in the end the costume crew approved a teal dress and some cropped trousers for a few different scenes.
Approved Dressing
Swapping cardigans meant some extra scenes!
People were assigned to positions and given tasks such as 'walk this way', 'pretend to talk on the phone', 'hug someone' in an apparently random manner with the likely hood of being placed on camera based solely on proximity to the production crew.
Interestingly, my first scene involved me walking behind the stars and in the opposite direction of the camera while eating (free!) candyfloss.
Camera Crew in Kensington Gardens
However this was the most interesting part of my morning, after that I was cast as 'deep background' for the North Laines shoot meaning I had sit so far away I couldn't see the camera (nor the apparent miniature helicopter...) and could read my book. While this was pretty dull, it did mean I got to chat with a lot of other extras and giggle at members of the public who speculated (loudly) about why we were congregated in the middle of Kensington Gardens.
After a brief lunch of slightly dubious quality sandwiches and sausage rolls half of the days extras were released and the rest kept for a brief shoot for another scene, one where I got to walk out of a cafe right in front of the camera and walk down the road. This was probably my favourite scene of the day as I spent the time between shots with my friend Didi, who got to dodge between the camera and Miss Fanning before me, and drink coffee.
Dakota doing her run-through outside Iydea Cafe
My overall impressions of the film business are that I’m surprise they ever manage to film enough to put a scene together, that a lot of the days events are very carefully planned; but hardily ever seem to go off without a hitch, that continuity is everything and that Dakota Fanning seemed nice- stopping to happily sign autographs for tweeny Twilight fans.
Now I’ve only done this once, so I'm hardly an expert, but I think there are a few things to note for anyone thinking of being an extra in the future:
1: Do take a selection of clothes, nothing too flattering or pretty
2: Wear nothing black or white!
3: Swap cardigans/layers with friend to make yourself less noticeable (Worked a treat for Didi and I!)
4: If you have any interesting features, highlights in your hair, piercings, tattoos etc. play them down, you don’t want producers to notice you
5: Do NOT wear flowers in your hair!
6: Take a book (it can be dull)
7: A bottle of water (they’re not always good at keeping you hydrated
8: Painkillers! (I had such a headache afterwards)
and 9: Don't be afraid to go a little off road, do do as the producers tell you, but you need to be a bit pushy to get air time, stand at the front, raise your hand, be enthusiastic and you’ll get chosen
If you've done this kind of think before and have any tips etc. then feel free to comment.
Hopefully I'll have something a bit whackier to share next time!
So my latest Dresscapade was a little bit of a rush-job...
I recieved a pass to the London Film and Comic Con on behalf of Den of Geek http://www.denofgeek.com/ (my article on the MCMexpo can be found at here)
However, the notice was a little short and I was moving house! So the task was to assemble a costume in 5 days ready for the weekend!
The Con took place over the weekend 8th-10th of July and was running a strong Harry Potter theme with the release of the last installment of the movies imminent, so it seemed like a good choice for a costume quickie. My fiance was helpful in suggesting Bellatrix LeStrange as someone who i could attempt and the hair, style, makeup and the fact i had some appropriate clothing items already it made it seem like a good choice.
Bella's look is retro Goth-chic
For hair and makeup I went for a slightly toned down look, but only because I dont have that much hair and I didn't have time to find a wig.
I thought the streak in my hair was okay as in some of the promotional shots Bella has a light streak at the front of her hair, but this look is a little inconsistent.
Make up was simple, pale face with a light coat of white facepaint, dark lined eyes and a touch of dark shading under the cheekbones to attempt to match Helena Bonham Carters rather fantastic face.
For the rest of the outfit black was clearly the way to go! I had a sheer 80s blouse and long gloves that were the right sort of theme, I bought a long skirt from a charity shop and a black lacy shawl that I wrapped around my waist and a big belt that was as close to her waspie as I could muster at the last minute.
There are two things I regret about this outfit one is that I didn't have time to sew the sleves on the gloves and the other is that I didn't wear my victoriana boots (at the time I thought 3.5inch heels for an all day conference was not a wise idea)
Overall I was fairly pleased with the look, although with only a little bit of time to finish things off and a lot of time to grow my hair it could potentially be an excellent costume.
Oh well, if anyone wants to throw a Harry Potter costume party send me an invite and I'll prepare an amazing costume! (Honest!)
The event was distinctly Harry Potter themed with an interesting pannel featuring some of the Hogwards kids and a small set display with some items from the castle I couldn't resist having a picture taken with a cauldren :D
