ReImagine Shopping: Leather Masks
This is a new kind of post for the blog which I’m going to be calling ReImagine Shopping. It’s going to consist of what I think are great opportunities for costume shopping that I think people will enjoy! And what better way to start things off than sharing one of my favorite kinds of costume/crafts goodness, leather work! Some of the best costume materials I’ve seen lately have been done up in leather, from corsets to steampunk bags and belts (there will be some of that later!) and of course, masks. I’m sure there are thousands of great sites up around the internet selling quality goods, but I’m going to only post two of them that I’m familiar with.
My first one was shared with me by Chris Z. from Facebook (thank you Chris!) and it hails from that wonderful hive of creative gold, Etsy.com. While there are many leather workers out there, this one’s masks are top rate. It’s called Epic Leather and their stuff looks GORGEOUS. I adore the work they do because of the layers of the leather and the concepts they manage to weave: their Baphomet headgear threw me for a loop! I’m a big fan of their designs and plan to invest in one myself for one of my live-action roleplay characters in the future.
The second link I’ve got is for an artisan that is near and dear to my heart. Zack M is known as The Pointy Eared Artisan and his leatherwork has been a staple in my collection since I met him on the convention circuit a few years ago. Not only does he do masks but book covers, pouches and other costuming must-haves. It’s his work with masks that had me floored – his leafy, Green-Man style mask is one of the most intricately worked things I’ve ever seen. If you don’t see something on his Etsy page that catches your eye, give his website a look. He’s got a slideshow and you can order any of the designs off there!
In my trip to the New York Renaissance Fair next week I’ll be gathering some more links that might tickle some people’s wallets into costume goodness. Stay tuned for more shopping changes!
L.A. Times Discusses Crossplay!
A great article tossed to me by my good friend Andrea on Facbeook dove into cosplay in a whole new light. Crossplay is a section of cosplay where the character being portrayed will be gender-changed for the cosplayers needs (male character to female, female to male). While the article focuses on the phenomenon specifically happening in anime conventions, there’s also a wonderful mention of the Gender Bent Justice League from Comic Con!
For those not familiar with them, there’s another article about them: a group of cosplayers who decided to get together and cosplay gender-switched versions of their main characters. With names like Superma’am and Martian Maneater, they took the convention by storm.
Crossplay as a part of costuming is fascinating to me because of the versatility if offers to cosplayers in what characters they can portray. You don’t have to be worried about whether or not you can play Batman if you’re a girl, or not. Want to be Darth Vader instead of Slave Leia? Do it. It also allows girls who don’t fit the particular body type of a lot of characters to branch out into cosplaying something they’re more comfortable with. No bra stuffing for bouncy anime characters, you can play the bishonen of your choice! And the acceptance of crossplay as a part of the cosplay world warms the heart.
Myself? I’m right on this one for my first character. I’ve got a plan for a femme Harry Dresden costume in the works and have for some time. Reading this article just emboldens me to get out there and make it get done.
You can catch these articles here: Crossplay: An Introduction and San Diego Comic-Con Cosplay Spotlight: Gender Bent Justice League
Run For Your Lives! A Zombie Marathon
We interrupt this coverage of the Steampunk Anachronism III to link to a wonderful event I can’t wait to go take a look at – Baltimore’s 5K marathon race known as Run For Your Lives. What’s so amazing about this event? Its a marathon… where you are chased by zombies.
That’s right. Go out and get chased by zombies. I’m a huge fan of zombie stuff in general – zombie flash mobs, zombie parades, zombie bar crawls. The fascination with zombies these days by the general public has brought these shambling, rotting corpses to the real world in all manner of fan-driven events. This one fascinates me because it brings that Zombieland rule to life: CARDIO!
I’m going to try and go out to view this event as a spectator and get photos, then join in the post apocalyptic party. My hope is to train to do this for next year (Cardio, cardio and more cardio) but for right now? I’d be zombie chum, I know that much. Still, a chance to get a look at all those folks zed-heading it up for the sake of chasing these runners will be amazing.
For those who ARE able? Go ahead and give it a shot. What can you lose? Y’know, except some brains.
Disney Princess Costumes Redux
Disney, like it or not, is a staple of most children’s lives in their growing-up years. Especially little girls. The Disney Princesses (and their non-princess powerful girl counterparts like Mulan) are an eternal presence from toys to costuming every Halloween. So its no wonder that in growing up, people still have a lot of interest in their particular look and costuming towards them as well. Recently, I was shared a post on Facebook and that lead to some really great links about the costumes of the Disney princesses and ways that they’re being looked at and celebrated by fans.
Ever wondered whether or not Disney princess costumes were accurate? Or whether or not someone could actually look like those princesses in real life? Well, Visual News has two amazing articles about this. The first is Disney Princess in Accurate Costumes. It features artist Claire Hummel’s renditions of the Disney Princesses in what would be reinterpretations of their signature looks if they had an eye towards slightly more historical representation. What I find interesting about this post is that it takes apart looks that have been celebrated as part of the Disney tradition for years and looks at them with a critical eye towards historical fashion accuracy while keeping the look and flavor that is so well known.
The second article was linked to the first and absolutely blew my mind. It’s called Real Life Disney Princesses and it features photographer Ryan Astamendi’s work bringing those signature Disney looks to life. By picking exactly the right model and putting in hours of time to get the costume correct, this photographer has captured those same signature Disney looks in flesh and blood. (My particular favorite in this collection is the Jessica Rabbit – not every photo has to be a princess, that shot is amazing!) For more on his photography and the upcoming book about these Real Life Disney creations, visit his blog to keep up on his work.
Follow Me On Your RSS!
My Flickr PhotoStream
|
