SDCC Masquerade Evening

From previous posts, you already know that our group did a tribute to David Bowie at the SDCC Masquerade. We had a total of 18 (!!) people in our group -- 16 Bowies and 2 Ninjas, who helped get our backdrop set in place. We were the last act of the night (#39) and we got a rousing reaction from the crowd.

Unfortunately, we didn't win any of the awards this year (we can't win every single year). It wasn't quite comic book related nor was it really "media" related (such as the Game of Thrones presentation or any of the Star Wars skits), so we didn't quite fit into the general theme of the convention.

However, we got a lot of compliments from members of the Motion Picture Costumer's Association, John Landis (the director), and many from the crowd, including our MC host, Kaja Folio, said that it really touched them and made them cry for David Bowie, who passed in 2016.

And as a cosplayer and performer, that's the best prize we can ask for.

Here are a few photos from the various Bowie. (courtesy of: The OCR)

Photo by Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Southern California News Group

Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG

In this one, you can see the whole of the skit.

This video is a bit better in terms of getting a good look at our costumes.

For a complete list of elements for this outfit:

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 
• Final Props

Building a Suit for SDCC: Lazarus

Now that SDCC is over, I can finally reveal the cosplay that I had been working on two months leading up to SDCC.

Our group was doing a tribute to David Bowie at the SDCC masquerade, and I was going to be his final incarnation, Lazarus, from the Black Star album.

It's not your typical cosplay outfit, but one that I enjoyed making. I'm a big fan of David Bowie and making this outfit was somewhat cathartic.

Insofar as costumes, it's not the most difficult one I've ever made, but it was time consuming...as three-piece suits generally have quite a bit of tailoring. An added benefit is that I'll be able to wear this outfit outside of any convention.

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 

In addition to his suit, there were a few other things that I needed to create --- his hair as well as the blindfold.

The hair was a bit of a challenge since Bowie's hair is shaved along the sides. I thought some of that could at least be mitigated using the blindfold. I purchased a lace-front wig from Arda Wigs and did a bit of styling -- mostly to have the hair standup along the crown.

The blindfold was a bit trickier only because I needed to be able to SEE well enough on stage to walk around and perform without falling over. I found some light weight gauze at the fabric store that I cut into a long strip.

After wrapping my head while wearing the wig, I marked out where the "eyes" should go that would look about "right" but still allow me to see well enough on stage.

The last thing I needed was the Black Star "bible" that Lazarus carries around.

It looked to be about the size of a trade paperback. So, I took one of the books on my "To Read" stack and drew out a paper template, and traced it on some leather that was in my Leather Stash. My intent was to make a book "cover" that I could use for any book the size of a trade paperback.

I used some matte board to stiffen the sides, and used BARGE glue to attach it to the leather.

After making the book cover. I drew a perfect 5-pointed star, transferred it to suede leather, and attached it to the front of the book.

I'll have a few more posts on our group, video, and other photos.

Building a Suit for SDCC: Button Down Shirt

The last piece that I made for this cosplay was the button down shirt. Now, you may ask yourself, "WHY did you make a button down shirt? Couldn't you have just bought one?"

Well, yes I could, but I wanted to be able to say that I made a full three-piece suit for myself. It's just my sense of crazy.

I made a simple mockup out of muslin, which fit fairly well. I had to do a few alterations, primarily to the sleeves and armscye, which are my primary problem areas.

One of the things that I changed was to have a French cuff instead of a simple sleeve band. This particular cosplay "appears" to have unfolded French cuffs.

The final shirt, sans buttons.

For a complete list of elements for this outfit:

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 
• Final Props

Building a Suit for SDCC: Jacket

SDCC has come and gone, and I really need to catch up on these costuming posts. I'll have a full write-up on SDCC soon.

Insofar as THIS cosplay, I'm really enjoying making outfits I've made before. You don't need to re-tailor, re-work, or fit the piece to you because you've already done that work. You can just cut the fabric, sew, and you're done!

I tend to save all of my mockups, because you never know when you need to remake an outfit or create another. Plus, it's helpful to understand how costumes are put together. Here's my bedraggled mockup from the previous costume.

I tried it on, and it still fits perfectly, so I proceeded to cut out all of the fabric pieces and begin immediate assembly.

I had very little issue with making this coat again, except for getting the sleeves eased into the coat.

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It's also very hard to take a photo of the black fabric of the costume.

Here's the nearly finished coat.

You'll see the final coat in the upcoming posts.

For a complete list of elements for this outfit:

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 
• Final Props

Building a Suit for SDCC: Slacks

In previous posts on this topic, I've already mentioned that I had already made this particular pattern for a different cosplay outfit, but the base can be used for this cosplay as well. After all, pants are pants are pants, right?

I took out my previous two mockups --- I had made the slim and average fit of this pair of pants. I consulted my notes written on the pattern, which told me the slim fit was a bit more tailored to fit me than the average fit. (My current self is pleased with my past self on all the copious notes that she took.)

I tried on the slim fit mockups again to be sure, and they still fit me well. It was then a matter of cutting out the fabric and creating them per the instructions.

However, this time around, I also wanted to line my pants to give it a better flow and to provide reinforcement. Also, if you've never worn linen before, I will tell you that linen ITCHES until it softens enough through a multitude of washing. I didn't have time to wash the linen a few dozen times (not to mention the wasted water), so I opted to line these pants.

I watched a few YouTube Video on lining pants to better understand how to do it. It was relatively easy and will help the longevity of said pants.(And act as a barrier for that aforementioned itchiness)

While I was making these pants, I was very much reminded that my grandfather wore black linen pants much like what I'm making currently. It was a surprisingly nostalgic moment.

I'm happy with how it turned out  and I'm pleased with the fit.

For a complete list of elements for this outfit:

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 
• Final Props

Building Suit for SDCC: Waistcoat

In planning this costume out, I thought that the smallest piece of the suit --- the waistcoat --- would be the most straightforward to sew first. After all, I've made myself several different waistcoats and they all follow the same patterning. It was just a matter of tailoring it to my measurements.

For this character, I needed to make a waistcoat with lapels. I decided to use a pattern I've used before, except I had made the versions without lapels.

Previously, I had already copied the main pattern pieces out to brown butcher paper and needed to copy the patterns for the lapels and collar.

I decided to make a mockup so I could better understand the collar and lapel structure. I played around with different lapel sizes to find a size preference.

In the course of following the pattern instructions, I realized that the pockets in the front of the pattern were FAKE! I was severely disappointed by this fact and decided to turn the faux-pockets into real welt pockets.

Once the fashion shell of the front half of the jacket was completed, I cut out a suitable pocket lining and drew the welt lines on it. Basted down the welt flap to the fashion shell.

Added a suitable pocket lining and redrew the lines. 

Sewed along the drawn lines and then CUT in between.

Pushed everything through hole I cut and then sewed the edges of the welt along the side. I was left with a 3.5" deep pocket. (On the inside, I sewed the edges and bottoms of my pocket fabric)

If you want to learn how to make a welt pocket, check out this tutorial. Mine is slightly different, but the concepts are the same.

Here's the final waistcoat. I still have to add buttons for it, but I want the buttons on the jacket and waistcoat to match so I'm going to wait until the jacket is also completed so I can just do a production run of buttons.

For a complete list of elements for this outfit:

• Slacks
• Waistcoat
• Jacket
• Shirt 
• Final Props

Building a Suit for SDCC

It's nearly time for San Diego ComiCon, and I've been working diligently on my latest cosplay outfit for the Masquerade. Much like previous years, it's a SOOPER SEEKREET project, but I can give you details without giving away the surprise.

This costume is going to be a change for me, because unlike previous cosplay outfits, I will be able to wear this outfit on a regular basis, even for work. Additionally, I don't have to do a lot of extra custom work because I've already made parts of this outfit for other costumes, which means no unnecessary mockups and I just need to follow the pattern instructions and my own notes.

FIRST, the costume: The "costume" be a three-piece suit, which won't be quite matching in style, but I'll be using similar and matching fabric. Photos of the character seem to indicate this is the case.

SECOND, the patterns: As mentioned previously, I've already made much of this suit for other purposes, so I don't have to actually do much in terms of mockups, custom alterations, etc.  I will have to sew 1.5 items that I haven't created before, so there will be some work to do.

For the waistcoat, I've previously made the non-collared version of the pattern, but for this new one, I'll be adding the lapels. The only pattern I haven't yet made is a button-down shirt. I'm using this McCalls pattern for it.

LAST: the fabric! For this particular outfit, I'm going with a linen blend, because photos of said outfit appear to be linen. However, I chose a linen blend because I hate ironing linen --- it wrinkles if you look at it wrong.  Also, I'm choosing two different types of black linen because photos of said character show a slightly different texture/light reflection between the coat and pants.

For the jacket, I've chosen a black hopsack linen (55% linen / 45% rayon). Hopsack is a type of weave that looks like basket weave, and is not as "formal" as a plain weave. It's used for more "informal" blazers and jackets especially light summer blazers.

The next fabric is for the pants and waistcoat, which is a 53% linen / 47 % rayon, which I'll be using for the waistcoat and matching pants.

The last bit of fabric that I'm going to be using is for the shirt:

I've already washed it twice in hot water and it's turning into a very soft fabric and will make a lovely shirt.

MORE TO COME....