Costuming Year in Review, 2012

I always like to do year-end roundups of all my sewing and costuming projects, but I never manage to actually get them done by year's end. But better late than never! Forthwith, the 17 projects I completed (or helped to complete) in 2012!

1. "Indy Anna" Jones

 

My brother has always been the junior Jones in our family (except for when our dad is Indy and Sean is Shia LeBoeuf)-- but this year he couldn't come to Comic-Con. So I filled in! This costume was a snap, because Dad and Sean both own multiple copies of all the Indy accessories, so they just lent me the smallest hat, belt, bag, etc. I had originally planned on making some Katharine Hepburn-esque pants, but ultimately decided on a skirt. So I made a half-circle skirt out of some tan wool, and bought a shirt and boots. I didn't get to do my hair in a fun 30s style because I had to change into this one in the parking garage after wearing Maleficent that morning. :P At Dragon*Con we finally got our whole Indy group together for the very first time, huzzah!

Tristan Thorne

Character: Tristan Thorne
From: Stardust
Made: 2008

Tristan is the hero of Stardust, a Neil Gaiman novella that was made into a movie in 2007, and which sadly flew a bit under the radar. It's an utterly fantastic movie, and not nearly enough people have seen it. If you liked The Princess Bride (and is there anyone out there who doesn't?), then you'll love Stardust. It's a fantasy movie for grownups (you can't say "adult" because that means something entirely different!) with humor and sarcasm and a smidge of ridiculousness, and also Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing sky pirate. How can you say no to that?

Anyway, in the course of the movie, Tristan gets a snazzy new outfit (courtesy of the above-mentioned De Niro) with a long, cream-colored coat. We hadn't even left the theater when my husband said, "I WANT THAT COAT." Since I'd been coveting the blue dress worn by Yvaine, the heroine, I was happy to oblige! This costume was debuted at Dragon*Con 2008. I hadn't yet finished my Yvaine costume, but my friend Kimmerie saved the day-- she'd won an auction for a screen-worn costume for the character of Una, which she very kindly allowed me to wear. I finished my Yvaine costume the following year.

Dragon*Con 2009
(pics by Maggie & Kathy)

WonderCon 2009
(pics by Corli)

Dragon*Con 2008
(pics by Maggie and Kathy)

Construction

Londo Mollari

Character: Ambassador Londo Mollari
From: Babylon 5
Made: 2008
Awards: Part of a skit that won Judges' Choice in the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade

This was definitely not a costume I had ever planned to make, I'll tell you that! My friend Cordelia suggested a skit for the San Diego Comic-Con 2008 Masquerade that involved a bunch of sci-fi characters with big hair. My husband, who's a big Babylon 5 fan, said, "I want to be Londo!", the Centauri ambassador with an impressive sideways mohawk. Video and pictures from the skit are available here.

Anyway, I agreed to make the costume if he handled the wig. (He decided to make the wig bigger than it actually was on the show, to up the silliness factor of the skit.) Londo got a huge cheer from the audience when he first appeared! Still plenty of B5 fans out there. He's also worn the costume without the wig and people still recognized him, which I consider an unqualified success!

San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade 2008

Dragon*Con 2008
(thanks to Maggie and Kathy for the pics!)

Construction

Captain Barbossa

Character: Captain Hector Barbossa
From: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Made: 2006
Awards: Part of a skit that won Best Presentation (2006 San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade)

"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until judgment day and the trumpets sound?" Among the many highlights of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was Geoffrey Rush's gleeful, scenery-chewing portrayal of Jack Sparrow's nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa. I shrieked like a little girl when he showed up at the end of Dead Man's Chest, and if you ask me, he was the best damn thing about At World's End.

I made this costume for our 2006 Comic-Con Masquerade skit, PDQ Pirates, a retelling of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 3 minutes. (Lots more pictures, plus video, are available on that page!)

When I was putting together our Masquerade skit, I asked my husband if he wanted to participate, and if so, who he wanted to be. At first, I was a little surprised that he picked Barbossa instead of Jack, but now I'm really glad he did! Researching and constructing the costume was challenging, but very satisfying and a lot of fun. Plus, Jack Sparrows are ubiquitous at cons these days, but there are hardly any Barbossas around, so he gets to be a little more unique. And he has a great time riffing with the Jacks he meets!

In October 2006 I was visiting Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida, and I discovered that they had the Barbossa costume on display at the end of the backlot tour ride! I took a ridiculous number of pictures of course, coming back several days in a row to study the costume further. I'm sure the staff thought I was absolutely crazy! I put all the pictures that my friend Kimmerie and I took into a Flickr set here. They're all high-res, but they're basically just straight from the camera, no adjustments or anything, and a lot of them aren't that good. Drat costumes that are entirely enclosed in glass!

San Diego Comic-Con 2006 Masquerade

Construction

Aragorn as Strider

Character: Aragorn
Costume: Strider
From: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Made: 2002, with many additions and improvements over the years

"He's one of them rangers..."

Ah yes, Aragorn, the manliest of manly men. After I decided to make Arwen's chase dress for myself, Rogue declared that he wanted to be Aragorn. Though I really liked Aragorn's Council of Elrond velvet outfit, he far preferred the grittier Strider costume. My involvement's been limited to the shirt and the Fellowship cloak; he came up with the rest himself. Oh, and I bought him his vambraces. But I didn't make them. That level of leatherworking is still a bit beyond me!

SoCal Renaissance Pleasure Faire, May 2010

King Richard's Faire, September 2003

Construction

Han Thunder Solo

Character: Han Solo
Costume: Sparkly soul singer
From: Star Wars by way of Dreamgirls
Made: 2007
Awards: Part of a skit that won a Lucasfilm company award (2007 San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade)

I made this costume for our 2007 Comic-Con Masquerade skit, "Rebel Dreams," a Star Wars/Dreamgirls mashup. (Lots more pictures, plus video, are available on that page!)

I had so much fun designing and making a James Thunder Early-style Han costume! I kept coming up with ideas that involved more and more sparkly and shiny things, a few of which Rogue wisely talked me out of. I'm very pleased with the final product, although I still want to add all the front pockets to the vest, and my husband really wants a gun belt. (A SPARKLY gunbelt, I say!)

San Diego Comic-Con 2007
(thanks to grimreaper4u, Kel and Corli, red_tzar, and Eurobeat King for the pics!)

Dragon*Con 2007

(thanks to Michelle and Kay Dee for the pics!)

Construction