As a lady it's very difficult to buy a Halloween costume that is fun and also not skankalicious. Take a look at some
men vs. women comparison costume articles and you'll see what I mean. After giving into the situation a few years in a row (many years ago) I grew tired of the expense vs. lack of skin covering ratio and decided to start putting together my own costumes.
In the past I have been Saria, Uhura, and Raggedy Ann, all made or put together myself. This year I'm hoping to go as a Dalek, so we'll see what I end up with! It's easier than you'd think to put together a creative outfit by yourself. It takes a willingness to thrift, (sometimes) a teeny bit of sewing knowledge, and the ability to accept that your costume may not be a perfect re-creation of the person/thing you're going as. And, the nice thing about these costumes is that they can double as cosplay for conventions! One of the many benefits of being a geek: recycling!
The green wig was my crowning glory as Saria. Spock was appropriately unimpressed.
I have a few dream Halloween costumes that I hope to make a reality someday. I've seen many of them around the internet, so it gives me great hope regarding my own success. Let's take a look at them!
TARDIS dress:
There are so many options for this particular dream.
The
adorable:
The
scandalous:
The
amazing:
I would definitely go the "adorable" route for a few reasons: comfortable and I think I could probably make it. Aside from finding a pattern online (which is difficult) or buying one from a craft store, my best bet would be purchasing an existing blue dress and then adding embellishments such as the Police Public Call Box sign, the Pull to Open sign, and the windows. Throw in a tiny light-up hat and I'm finished! There's a
great tutorial over on youtube that builds off of a corset and skirt design. It's a little risque for me, but they have brilliant ideas.
FemmeTen:
I've never seen female Doctors in the show, although Eleven has mentioned one lady Time Lord before, but that hasn't stopped dedicated fans from storming the fandom with Femme Doctors. Being a bespectacled lady who doesn't wear contacts, I have great sadness when it comes to costume accuracy; not very many characters that I like have glasses. Fortunately, the Tenth Doctor wears glasses every so often!
The great part about cosplaying as Nine, Ten, or Eleven is that they have relatively normal outfits, things that some men would wear on a day to day basis. I could probably buy a complete FemmeTen outfit at Macy's! Brown/blue or pinstriped dress suit, snag a tie from the men's section and throw on my pre-existing red Converse. I am DONE. Like this lovely lady:
The long tan jacket is very important. Never forget that piece! The internet is also full of various fun Doctor Who memorabilia, so once I include my Sonic Screwdriver and track down some psychic paper the task at hand is done. I will then be able to walk around proud and intelligent with all the swagger of a two-hearted being.
Minecraft Person:
This is one of the simplest options I could pick, so I don't understand why I haven't done it yet. Laziness? That must be it.
Jeans, check. Tennis shoes, check. Green t-shirt, easy enough to obtain. The pickaxe can be
purchased online, and I imagine if I were particularly strapped for cash I could buy a large piece of foam core and cut out the shape myself. The trickiest part here is the head piece. But guess what? That can be
purchased online too!
If my Dalek dress doesn't turn out at least I've now convinced myself of an easier option.
Zelda:
Without a doubt this is the most difficult costume on my dream list. Pulling off a Zelda costume requires an immense amount of time, skill, and detail. Not to mention a very specific wig and accessories! I've come to another conclusion: this costume requires a lot of
money. Unless I start to develop a lot of finesse and experience with my sewing machine, my best bet for this is to
buy one from the internet.
Of course, I like to believe that if I had a spare $300 lying around then I'd buy patterns and take a few classes on costume/clothes making. Then someday you may all see me looking like this:
You can rest assured that it'll be the happiest day of my life.
Link:
I'm pleased to report that I'm actually working on a Link costume right now! I've wanted to cosplay as Link while at PAX for quite a few years but that's kind of tough to do without the outfit in tow. My first attempt at a tunic was far too small, and the second one fits but just barely. Truth be told, the sleeves are too small and I'm running out of fabric to try and fix it. I don't expect this one to be Con quality, but maybe Halloween next year.
Link is a much easier costume than Zelda because he has fewer embellishments. One of the key components is a sword, and I was gifted one for Christmas last year so really I'm already halfway to a Link outfit. There are a lot of very
great costume tutorials out there, and they're where I'm starting.
I shall start with that, and someday achieve this:
The extra detail. Not the masculinity. Don't be ridiculous.
Similar to the Zelda costumes, many places on the great internets
will sell me a Link costume, but I think this one needs to come from my sweat, blood and tears, not my wallet.
What is everyone going to be for Halloween, and will you be buying your costume or making it? Have you ever made your costumes in the past? What is YOUR dream costume? Also, if you have any great sewing internet resources then please do share!
Happy costuming!
-MJ
