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)!

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?

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?

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 Bublé.

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.

Cosplay Inspirations: London Super Comic Convention 2013 - Costume Preparation

Right. It's been a while since I posted anything on cosplay but I am finally ready to share the details of my latest big project.

I am preparing a costume for London Super Comic Convention - or LSCC.

I went last year and it was a lot of fun so I was very eager to go back. I wrote a round-up of what went on for Den of Geek last year and I'm sure this year will be no less fun. The full line up of artists has just been announced and the con runs over the 23rd and 24th of February  so there is loads of time if you decide you'd like to give a bit of cosplay a go!

It was a great event for fans of comics but it was also a great chance to meet other movers and shakers of the cosplay world. Oh yeah, then there's the autographs and sketches... oh... and the shopping of course! I went to lots of panels and met lots of people and bought lots of stuff. It was awesome and I'm really glad to be going back.

Now then, last year I dressed as Ms. Marvel. Back before she became Captain Marvel and it was great fun to prance around like an idiot wearing a mask, now this time I am stepping up the cosplay. I am dressing as Carol Ferris as a Star Sapphire:

No not that costume...

But the classic version from the 1960s:

That's better.

Progress is going quite well, although I'm having a lot of trouble with the fabric for the white panel. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Bye for now!

Hair and Beauty: New hair...

Just a quick post today - I have new hair!

I was getting tired of the old blonde streak and thought I'd go for something different. The constant roots maintenance was a pain and the damage it was doing to my hair was not great either so I decided to go back to a more brunette shade.

With regards to colour, I didn't have a lot of choice. I needed to go with something reddish to counteract the blonde. I am probably going to go back to the plummby tones of my past in a little while though but for now I have a red tinge.

My new do is partially inspired by 1960s comic icon Gwen Stacy - she had a fringe and sleek sides. But it is also partially inspired by Zooey Deschanel in the movie 500 Days of Summer (a film that deeply influenced some aspects of my life but that is a tale for another time). Now I could have a whole post about her as I think her style is awesome but ill hush on that matter for now.

I am, however, dreading the day when I attempt to curl it. I've not had a fringe in such a long time I'm not sure how to make it work. On the plus side it is much closer to the one-length type pf style you need for doing rolls so maybe it will be easier than I think. We'll see.

Oh yes, and if you like the plaid dress it was from last seasons Monsoon sale, I teamed it with a long sleeved t-shirt from Gap (that I've had over 10 years) to keep me warm and a pair of fleece lined Doc Marten's for walking in the snow.

The only problem Is that now I am going to have to update my blog logo, although it is probably about time to be honest.

Anyone out there changed your look lately?