[Jas] Cosplay Costume Party: Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle

Sophie was the second dress I’ve ever sewn before in my life! Princess Peach being the first. So, I wasn’t completely confident in my dress sewing abilities…not to mention the only pattern I could find only came in kid’s sizes!!! Let me tell you….my height is not that of a small child. So, I had to get the biggest size and make everything longer! I also ended up forgetting the zipper >_> so I had to go back to buy that. Oops!

Anyways. Onwards!

Materials list:

*Thicker blue fabric (about 5 yards)

*White fabric (1.5 yards to be safe)

*3 brown buttons

*Zipper

*Thread (white and blue)

*Styrofoam ball

*Red/Orange/Yellow tissue paper

*Glue

*Craft foam

*Silver wig

The dress itself was relatively easy to sew. I made it in about a day, though I went back a few days later to re-hem it, after realizing that it fell to about her ankles and not all the way to the ground.  I just followed the pattern, though certain areas had to be fixed to fit better…I ended up giving myself too much slack and had to make things tighter XD oops! The dress was super comfy when it was finished though, I loved how it hung!

I used a petticoat I already had, and shoes that I already had since they were basically the same shoes she had in the movie! (LUCKY!)

As for the wig, it required almost no styling, aside from the fact I had to cut the bangs, which was rather easy and only took a few minutes. (I did that at the convention actually XD)

Calcifer was made in a day as well. I got the Styrofoam ball, glue, and tissue paper from my cousin’s house. I glue the paper on in little strips to make the flame like appearance. Then cut out eyes and a mouth with craft foam after it dried and attached them.

(I have to say I picked a fantastic face for him! XD heehee)

In hindsight, if I do this again, I may tighten it around the shoulders and wrists and make the sleeves tighter and the waist/chest a little bit snugger as well. (Is snugger a word? I seriously didn’t think it was a word, but spell check is telling me it is….okay?)

Goal: When I turn 60, I’m going to re-cosplay this. For serious.

Photo by Karina Antigua

[Sarah] Cosplay Groups: Family You Choose

 [JT's note: CUE THE TRUMPETS!  I finally... finally... get to introduce you formally to Sarah, our newest author and Jas's other half.  As a matter of fact, Jas wouldn't be on this site if it was not for Sarah (I met Jas because of her).  She will be doing a multitude of different things; anime, manga, etc...  and of course, cosplay...]

                First, I’d like to introduce myself. Hello, nice to meet you all; I am sure you have heard lots about me! I am Jas’ cosplay partner Sarah and the eternal ghost presence of this blog. JT has been begging me to write a segment for ages, but I haven’t had the time, inspiration, or will power until now.
                I decided my first contribution will be some boring and philosophical (or not, probably it’s just going to be some word vomit [JT’s note: Deeeefinitely more likely…]) about cosplayers and the behind the scenes loves and terrors that occur within, what have rightly been categorized as, cosplay “families.” I have often heard people refer to their cosplay friends as family. I myself consider my cosplay friends as a second family (love you Jas BABY <3). But it is the overflow of tacky banners and hipster-esque captioned pictures with the message that got me thinking about my own cosplay family and the dynamics of others I have encountered.
                Unlike any other sport or hobby cosplay is virtually an unorganized phenomenon when it comes to fashioning groups and partnerships. There are no group leaders, teachers, councilors, or coaches to push cosplayers together and have them socially interact. No one is there to intervene when we have problems, or guide our activities, and there is no one there to pat us on the back when we do a good job. In numerous ways this can be considered a plus. Many people, myself included, as a result become more self-motivated, responsible, gain better interpersonal skills, and learn how to collaborate as well as lead in a group setting. Due to this freedom from authority cosplayers are also given the privilege to construct their own ideal team; their own perfect family.

[JT's note: Cue multicolored smoke?]

                The truth of the matter is, rarely is a cosplay group ever a perfect family and in fact many are far from it. Because there is typically no true authority in a cosplay family many lack a mediator to quell rising tensions that inevitably arise. Forming a circle of friendship in cosplay is like making new friends in Kindergarten. Usually it begins by awkwardly shuffling up to someone who you admire or has a similar cosplay and gushing over their perfection secretly hoping they take some sort of ironic pity love for you (I mean what? That’s not how you make friends? [JT's note: No... Just her...]). Although; rather than asking your new friend if they will let you sit next to them at lunch like in Kindergarten, you are asking them to endure your presence for a 2-4 day long stress filled weekend in a room that is most likely meant for two but is currently holding six. GREAT TIMES RIGHT?
               

The people who will tolerate (and love) you're crazy ideas

This is why there is often “con drama;” or in clinical terms the emotional catharsis of whiny babies on the first day of con. As fun as conventions are they are also extremely stressful especially when you are packed into a room the size of a sardine can with an inappropriate amount of people who have an inappropriate amount of fragile luggage. It’s crucial to find friends who are compatible since cosplay can be an unpredictable hell of a hobby all the way from the hotel room to the con floor. You want friends who will not only consider each other as “people they’d like to be with over family” but people who treat other AS family. What do I mean by this? I mean friends who can work well around each other, respect each other’s decisions, care for each other, and compromise for each other. For example: Say Jas is putting on her pants and I ask her to help me put tape on my boobs I’d like her to say; “There is nothing in this world I’d rather be doing than putting my hands on your chest.” Not, “Can’t you do it yourself I’m busy! You are so needy, you whiny baby!” And, hey, it’s true I am a whiny baby. In fact my nick name among my cosplay family is “Problem Child.” But rather than be malicious and get frustrated with my more than apparent air-headedness my friends carry super-glue, Velcro, scissors, and whatever else I may need and I do the same for them when they wear a complicated cosplay.  

Will you paint on my abs? I'd love to.
Our family!

               Now that this has been written out it all seems to be very obvious but, no one likes to awkwardly walk by a cosplayer crying into their latex gloves exiled from their hotel room. In order to live harmoniously we have to pick our teams well and know that a good friend will not always make a good group or roommate. What I have learned is just like growing up through trial and error eventually you find the perfect friends and the perfect roommates; for me they were ones who eat well, sleep well, take care of me, are responsible, and love me (*uglycrying* My babies). Although, what is perfect for me may not be perfect for you the important thing in finding a cosplay group or even a set of roommates is finding people who respect you and your life style whether that means working around it, complementing it, or matching it!

[JT's final note:  And there you have it.  Hopefully I can convince Sarah to write things a little more often (not like I have room to talk right now).  I hope you enjoyed her first batch of word vomit...  does this make her literately bulimic? ...  Anyway!  Look forward to more from Sarah, and more from NP in general.  We aren't dead yet; hell, we have a fifth heartbeat now!  >.>  <.<  >.>  Maybe we should get that checked...]

[Jas] Con View – Katuscon

Katsucon 19, this past weekend in National Harbor, MD! Let’s start by saying that this isn’t my first time at Katsucon. I went last year for Katsucon 18, although I took a Megabus last year (which wasn’t the best of trips, but that was a monster of it’s own).  Last year was Yu-gi-oh year for our little cosplay group, and it was a blast! I had a lot of really fond memoriesfrom Katsucon last year and I was super excited for the convention this year!  This year, I drove to a friend’s house for a group carpool to the con center itself, which is none other than the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center. It’s LOVELY there, really!!

Photo c/o James Wu

Yellow Jeep road trip time!

Pre-con. I actually only debuted 2 new cosplays for this convention: Riza Hawkeye and Kiki. The other two I had already done and just fixed certain parts of them for the con: Princess Peach and Alibaba (Magi). It ended up being a kinda squished line-up. I had 3 costume changes on Saturday!! @_@ I’ve never done something like that before! Normally I only do one cosplay a day, so I had to try and plan things out pre-con even though there wasn’treally a lot of sewing to be done.

Katsucon! We got to the convention relatively early on Friday morning and since our room wasn’t ready, they gave us a king bed room with a cot instead. Now, this is where the convention drama began. If you’ve been following the tags on Tumblr or Twitter, then you probably know all about the situation that happened the con weekend.

*photographer friend posted photos, started screaming, forgot about this post, oops*

[JT's note: Jas sort of glides through some details that might make things a little confusing.  To get the full reasoning behind her mentioning certain events, such as the gazebo, check out Twitter and Tumblr.]

AWESOME hall cosplay!!

So, anyways. Long story short, the Gaylord was double-booked with two rather large conventions. B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) and Katsucon. There was a redic amount of miscommunication between the two cons about space in the hotel, and there was also a lot of hate that got thrown around on each side. Katsucon isn’t innocent by any means, though I don’t think BBYO is totally innocent either, and the Gaylord itself has to share in the blame as well. I didn’t have any bad experiences and everything I have heard is second hand, through posts on Tumblr, Twitter, Blogs, and Facebook. While I was taking pictures on Saturday, we met a large group of BBYO kids and they were really nice! They wanted to take pictures with us and we told them about what we were doing and they all complimented our costumes. They were really sweet! I don’t think barriers were really needed, and since I never really take pictures in the gazebo, I wasn’t going to complain too awful much about losing that space. The gazebo is ALWAYS crowded anyways, it’s nearly impossible to get photos there without a crazy wait. Although, in the end BBYO ended up splitting that floor with us and allowing us to use the gazebo to take photos, which was very considerate of them to allow the shared space. I heard bad things happened to others, but nothing personally happened to me, so I won’t comment about those things.

look at my gay porn yum! :3

The artist alley and dealer room were both awesome! I didn’t buy as much as I do at other cons, and I actually didn’t get ANY blind boxes this time around! :OTHAT IS SHOCKING I TELL YOU! (They actually didn’t have that nice of a blind box selection sadly…nor was there that much food/snacks…DEPRESSING!) OTP was there though, and that was where I spent the majority of my money XD NO REGRETS!! There were a lot of amazing artists in AA and I knew a few people who had tables, so I spent a while in there as well!

I didn't attend any panels this time and instead I spent my time hanging with my friends, roomies, meeting new people, and having photo shoots! I never even really had to drag DSLR around, because I never had any time! So instead…I let Sarah borrow my camera for all of Sunday!!

Although ,I tried to take some pictures out the window while driving of the sunset…needless to say that didn’t work out too well. >_>;;

Cosplay lineup:

Friday: Alibaba, Kiki a little at night

Saturday: Alibaba, Princess Peach, and Riza Hawkeye

Sunday: Kiki (Kiki's Delivery service)

Me, as Alibaba Photo c/o Karina the amazing god-like photographer

Look a pineapple! (inside joke)

Post-con/Conclusion (Katsucon term paper) It was tiring (all them costume changes) But I got to hang out with friends I haven’t seen in AGES and got to meet some awesome new friends as well! I got to work with some AMAZING photographers who put up with all of our crazy nonsense requests and who started cranking out photos before I even unpacked my bags! SO THANK YOU EVERYONE! The drive home was tiring and I HATE TOLL ROADS, DAMN YOU I-76!!! Also, jeep wranglers don't mix well with wind, and I don't like being sandwiched between semi-trucks. (Do you hear all their lovely mating calls? Look at those ones mating right out in the open! THERE ARE PIGS IN THERE PIG BUTTS RIGHT BY THE WINDOW!) And also, spur of the moment storm clouds (What is that? A pineapple.) Aka. You never want to ride in a car with Sarah and I. (We meowed along to about 4 K-pop songs.)

Katsucon2014? Will probably be seeing you then, but, until then…Tekkoshocon is next comingup April 5-7^th in the lovely city of Pittsburgh, PA!! 

[Jas] Con-View: NYCC

JHRAJFKLJAFLKAFNKJAFN YES

I haven’t really gotten over the convention high yet…even after the 5.5 hour drive home. NYCC, New York Comic Con, I don’t even know where to start about this one. I’ve never been to this convention before, but I have been to NYC multiple times before. I love the city, like to death. NYC is beautiful and nfkjasgklasjgklajgs I love it. The fabric district is just omg all those fabrics so perfect and just….wait…I’m getting off topic already >_> Let’s talk about the con experience!!

The Dealers floor, or what I could get of it while walking

Our hotel was about 3 blocks from the con center, we stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square South and OMG sweetest hotel staff ever!! The one guy at front desk squealed just about every time we came in and out! They also had a hotel costume contest, which I’m pretty sure it posted on facebook, for voting? I’ll have to check it out, but I’m in there twice I think XD The room was small, though that’s to be expected in NYC where space is a premimun. (The Bowser shell was the killer in terms of making moving around awkward…BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!)

Soooo, now onto the convention center itself. Javis is HUGE, and I mean REALLY HUGE and also mildly confusing…especially since it was my first time there. There were two artist alleys, both on OPPOSITE sides of the con center and a HUGE dealer room that pretty much took up the WHOLE THIRD FLOOR. Yep. 3 floors of convention. Or maybe more…maybe I missed a floor. I don’t even know. That’s how huge this place felt.

Photo by Sophie

I spent both days dressed as Peach, from Mario. (I was the only one there, as Peach, with a hand sewn Peach costume….I saw a lot of Halloween store slutty versions walking about though) Also. I had a Bowser…..and then I had a Vergil. (Crack shipping has been started around the internet. We regret nothing)

The cosplay to civilian ratio was not like I was expecting. There were A LOT more people in normal clothes than costumes. And the people in costumes were either AMAZING TO THE POINT OF GOOD LORD WHAT or store bought from Spirit Halloween. There were some of us in the middle though, with our hand made costumes that weren’t SUPER INTENSE but didn’t suck either. Also…there was more Homestuckkers than I expected. I don’t know, I felt like that’s more of an anime con thing than a comic con thing, but shows what I know…since I’ve never been to NYCC before

A bad ass fantastic cosplayer

Sara (right) and I in normal clothes :O

Most time was spent getting children thrown at us for photos, or posing for photos, or derping around. The time we didn’t spend trying to blink in photos was spent in the Artist Alley or in Dealers room. There were game promos, costume contests, other contests, give away things, and statues, and just awesome-ness all around. There was also a small anime section wedged in the far back of the dealer room. Sunday, the day we reserve as "bum around the convention in normal people clothing" was the only time we REALLY got to explore. It's hard to make it around the convention in costume...especially when you get stopped for pictures, have children shoved at you, and have to pose with random men/women all the time. Friday and Saturday = stuck in a small area unless we ran away and ignored all the shouts of "BOWSER!"/"PRINCESS PEACH/TOADSTOOL!"/"VERGIL!"/"OMGUBAFJKANF!!" [JT's note: ... ?  "Oh my god, uranium bombs, and freaking jet kaleidoscopes and nerf fights"?] But it's all worth it. Regardless of how much we complain sometimes, we love it. We love the people who get excited, they are the best. You guys all rock. 

Shopping time. Yeah, that thing I told myself I WASN’T going to do at this con. Yeah. Fail on my part. But…I did get a god haul. And when I say good haul I mean yaoi. (I regret nothing) OTP had a booth and yeah. Yeah. Yeahhhhhhh. (I blame Sara, she told me about them….SHE MADE ME BUY THEM! But I still love her. Lots) So….coming away with 5 doujin, 1 Kotetsu figure (on sale), 2 Madoka blind boxes, a NYC sbux mug (impulsive buy), and a….well…a wireless external hard drive. What? Yeah I know….but….well…I won it. Yep. I won it by answering questions outside the con center for WD and well…yeah. Good thing though, cause my other hard drive BROKE AND I CRIED REALLY HARD ABOUT IT. So now I have a new one…that was free….and from Comic Con! XD

The stuff I bought, and my badge :3

UUNNNNFFFFFF!! 

Slenderman was everywhere.....

So obviously I give this con 1 million stars. It was just awesome and spending time with my amazing, awesome, lovely, and wonderful con buddies that live too far away from me just made my weekend. I don’t even want to think about that test I haven’t studied for on Tuesday yet. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters because the con is over. (Well, that escalated quickly...)

Post-con depression is setting in now. ;3; I’m so lonely. Time to cuddle my Tiger figure and weep deeply. 

That's a lie...it's all over Tumblr