If you’ve been watching my Twitter or Instagram, you’ll have noticed weeks upon weeks of updates pertaining to my Halloween costume.  Well, here it is, folks!

This year I’m going as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark in her “Streets of Cairo” outfit of red harem pants and white peasant blouse (and Patrick as Indy of course).  And guess what…I did it all myself! And I can’t deny that I’m pretty darn proud.

It was a long and grueling process.  But long story short… After pouring over the film multiple times, as well as screencaping it myself, I sketched out the embroidery design, scanned it, then printed out strips to then trace onto the blouse using a water soluble pencil, followed by days upon days of hand-embroidering.  I aimed to be as accurate as possible, down to details that I think many miss in the film, including some zig-zag stitching under the arms and down the side, as well as four dots on the back of the blouse (although some concessions were made. I believe the smaller design between the larger design on the sleeves is actually eyelet work).  And while it may seem like a lot of work for just one event, I have plans to wear it again down the road for Comic-Con and Halloween at Disneyland.

I want to thank our friend and stellar photographer Anthony for shooting these. He’s so amazing!

My Costume
Blouse: New Look Pattern 6892, slightly altered, hand-embroidered by myself.
Pants: New Look Pattern 6132, slightly altered.
Sash: 1/4 of a yard of fabric, trimmed up, sewn in rousing with snaps in back.
Shoes: Thrifted
Monkey: Thrifted
Monkey’s vest: Made myself.

Patrick’s Costume
Hat: Disneyland
Shirt and Pants: Thrifted
Bag and Holster: Belong to my dad
Gun: Flea market
Whip: Swapmeet

I’ve mentioned a handful of times that I’m a big fan of western wear as well as a few western themed shows and movies.  One of my favorite shows of all time is The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., a shortly lived series in the early 1990s which starred B-Movie actor Bruce Campbell.  In my opinion, it’s his best work and the show is top notch. While at first it may appear to be an A-typical western of a son seeking revenge for his slain father, it is in fact an fantastic fusion of the wild west, science fiction, steampunk and popular culture.  The show was my introduction to Mr. Campbell and I fell head over heels for the man with the chin. And on February 23rd, my dreams of meeting him will come true.

That weekend is the Portland Wizard World Comic Con. While of course it can’t compare to San Diego, it’ll be my first ever comic con of any sort, since I was about eight, and I am totally stoked. Patrick and I purchased the Bruce Campbell VIP Experience tickets which include an autograph session as well as photo op, and I’m deciding that one (of three) of my costumes will be Dixie Cousins from Brisco, specifically her debut scene when she sings “I’m Gonna File My Claim”…

I just purchased a burlesque/showgirl costume pattern off of Etsy and am off to the fabric store to buy the goods. Thank goodness I have about a month to get this in order!

As for my other costumes…I think I will wear the Emma Peel-esque jumpsuit I purchased awhile back and go as Mrs. Peel from the 1960s cult hit The Avengers and rewear the labor intensive Marion Ravenwood costume from last Halloween.

Part of the reason for the lack of blog posts lately is the fact that most of my time lately has been taken up by the making of my Dixie Cousins costume which needs to be completed by February 24th when my dream of meeting Bruce Campbell will come true! Additionally, it’s a costume I’ve always wanted to make…I mean, come on, just look at it!

Dixie’s debut costume is a beautiful red and gold concoction that features triangles of gold glass bugle beads along the bust, edge of skirt as well as arm drapes.  I checked out the aisles of trim at the country’s largest fabric store (thankfully located right here in Portland, Oregon!), Fabric Depot, in search of what I needed, only to come up empty.  There wasn’t anything remotely close to what I needed. So, here I am, hand beading my own triangles…

When all is said and done, I approximate that just over 8,000 beads will be on the costume.  Call me dedicated, obsessed or just plain crazy. It’s okay. It’s certainly a labor of love, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to show it off when it’s all done!

Last night, after weeks upon weeks of sewing and beading, I finally completed by Dixie Cousins costume for this weekend’s ComicCon here in Portland and today I had photographer and friend Anthony come by to shoot it.  I can’t even express how wonderful Anthony is to work with. He took so many amazing photos, it was so difficult to narrow it down to these! So this is still a pretty picture heavy entry!

While Dixie wears a large selection of beautiful costumes in the series, this I felt was the most iconic, due to the fact it is the outfit you first see her in when she is introduced in the pilot.  I may venture to make her purple traveling outfit and I really would like to make her other show outfits as well, one of which is a bright teal and gold number which she and her sister wear while doing a sister act.

In terms of sewing specs… I bought Simplicity 2535 off Etsy from eetenpie and used really only the bodice portion of the pattern.  I completely winged the skirt since none of the skirts from the pattern worked. I also totally winged the bustle, using screenshots from the show as reference.  Over 8,000 beads were strung together to make up the fringe, and the whole piece took roughly 110 hours to complete. I like to keep track by watching television shows and movies on DVD and then adding up the running times… Yep, crazy girl, right here.  Additionally, this is my first ever lined piece!  In the show, Dixie has an ostrich feather boa that appears to be a ten ply boa based upon how thick it is, however, those run over $100. And I just wasn’t prepared to part with that kind of cash, so this is simply a turkey feather boa I purchased off Ebay.  I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I’ve been dying to make this since I can remember and I just hope it is well received at the Con.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Con and I’ll be wearing my Marion Ravenwood costume. And then Saturday is the big day when I’ll be wearing this and meeting Bruce Campbell! I’ve decided not to dress up on Sunday, seeing as I may bail early due to the fact that it is also the Daytona 500 as well as the Oscars!  Seriously, who plans these things!? Don’t they know there are people out there who love comics/cult classics, NASCAR and movies? Seriously, the only thing that could make it worse is if there was a huge antique show too. God forbid!

So, as you all know by now, I spent last weekend at the Portland Convention Center for Portland Comic Con. And it was crazy.  So crazy, both Patrick and I really failed at taking pictures.  There was so much to see and do and talk about.

Friday found myself dressed as Marion Ravenwood and my friend Jen dressed as Batgirl, and Patrick opted to be lame and not dress up at all… Whatever that’s about.

The halls of the Convention Center will full of collectable booths from posters to figurines to t-shirts and of course comic books, then there was the artists section where up-and-coming comic book artists could sell their work and interact with patrons.  And then there was the autograph area where people could meet their favorite stars and get autographs.

We all had fun on Friday, and multiple children rushed up to Jen to get their photos taken with her, it basically made her day.  A few weeks ago I bought a wig for my Marion costume, which is actually the Wonder Woman wig, off of Amazon, and it worked out pretty okay (I also put a crap-ton of eyeshadow in my brows to attempt to make them a similar color), I got a few comments and photos taken.  In reality, Jen and I were just a couple of a handful of people who dressed up.  We also got to play a real-life Fix It Felix game!  Which was pretty darn awesome if you ask me!

Saturday was about five times more crazy than Friday, with more people, more costumes and more celebrities.  Jen did not join us on Saturday which was the day for my Dixie Cousins costume to make its debut and Patrick even dressed up as Brisco.

For more on our costumes and Bruce Campbell…

Early in the day we met actor James Hong, who played a small, but important role in The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and signed the DVD booklet I brought with me.  He was very kind and loved our costumes.  After, we made our way to the Bruce Campbell photo op area and it was a whirlwind to say the list.  Hundreds of people lined up and as sad as it is, I almost felt like a grocery store item on a conveyer belt and meeting Bruce was the scanner.  There are so many people who want to meet him and have their photo taken, that it was a very in and out moment and left me very dazed afterward. While I didn’t pass out as I thought I might, I certainly was star struck.

After the Photo Op, which I must say we were second in line for, we rushed over to get in line for the autograph table, to which we knew Mr. Campbell would be attending after his time taking photos, which we were third in line for!  The autograph session was just as crazy and only slightly less brief. Campbell was only second in popularity to comic book legend Stan Lee who also attended the Con, so you can imagine the line.  Campbell found it amusing that I got James Hong’s autograph, and called me “darlin’” which made me very happy.

Later on we attended Campbell’s Q&A session, which proved to be very hilarious.  (You can actually watch it here!)  He discussed the upcoming Evil Dead remake, cracked a few Pacific Northwest jokes, and then went on to answer a wide variety of questions from the audience.  The only question I could think of in my awe struck state (as I sat second row) was quickly asked by someone else in the audience, which was “What was your favorite part of filming Brisco?”  To which Campbell responded with “Just playin’ a cowboy. Playing a cowboy is an awesome thing.  It really is, but you gotta kinda figure out how to do it.  I had to learn how to ride for like thirty days.” and went on to discuss working with horses and the rocket car-train chase scene.

While very few, even in a room of full of Campbell fans, knew who I was, I had a blast, and look forward to possibly attending next year, that is if Bruce shows up again…or someone else I genuinely want to meet.

Earlier, I blogged about going to OMSI to see the traveling exhibition on mummies, and what I wore, as some mentioned in the comments, was reminiscent of Evy Carnahan from the 1999 film The Mummy, and subsequent sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001).  The truth of the matter is, she is one of my fashion icons (I don’t often mention it, because outside of my close group of friends, The Mummy films are a bit of a joke).  Then my friend Anna, of Anna in Technicolor, invited me to her 1920s themed housewarming party. Since my 1920s wardrobe is practically non-existent beyond what I wore to OMSI and Gatsby, I felt a need to make something.  So, to expand upon my Evy inspired wardrobe, I chose to re-create the outfit from when we first meet Evy in The Mummy (which takes place in 1923) when she finds herself in a rather terrible predicament in the library inside Cairo’s Museum of Antiquities…

My version is not exact, but it wasn’t important for me to be exact, since she was a bit more of inspiration for everyday wear rather than a serious “cosplay”/con recreation.

Outfit
Blouse: Made by me, Simplicity 4356, slightly altered.
Skirt: Made by me, McCall 7153
Scarf: Made by me, pattern created by me as well
Earrings & Purse: Antique Alley, Portland, Oregon
Brooch: Coburg Antique Fair, Coburg, Oregon
Belt: Buckle from Brownsville Antique Fair, Brownsville, Oregon, belt replaced using ribbon from Fabric Depot
Bracelet & Stockings: Don’t remember
Shoes: Miz Mooz, Johnny Sole, Portland, Oregon

Read on for party pictures!

Anna’s housewarming was an absolute delight, with fab food, fun outfits, and the Gatsby soundtrack.

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

I recently read through a forum thread from which I was getting a lot of views from.  It discussed that some “vintage blogs” aren’t really “vintage” anymore.  While I was mentioned positively, and I understand the readers’ frustrations, I would also like to say that a person’s blog is their own.  It is for their own personal corner of the interwebs to do with what they please.  And I’d like to say that my blog is not strictly a “vintage fashion” blog.  It was never meant to be, as I stated on my “About” page.  Additionally, a blog is simply a journal that is published on-line.  While vintage is my “core”, I do like a wide range of things, and share them every so often.  They tend not to get a lot of comments or attention, but I’m fine with that. The entries also are few and far between, so I don’t get too much flack about the NASCAR entries or general “life” type posts.  But recently something new has entered into my life that I have already shared to a certain extent, but has now become something bigger.

What is this thing you ask? Cosplay.  First off, I really never considered myself a cosplayer until very, very recently.  Growing up, wearing costumes was just a normal thing.  I attended many midnight showings of films in costume, lived for Halloween and was active in theatre.  I’ve had longings of going to San Diego Comic Con, but other things always got in the way, but then, in February, Portland Wizard World happened and when I saw Bruce Campbell was on the bill, I immediately thought “Oh my gosh! Finally I get to meet Bruce Campbell and I have a serious excuse to make one of my all time favorite costumes, because dressing up is a thing people do at these events!”  I was just so excited to have an opportunity to wear a costume outside of Halloween, to focus on being accurate and make something amazing.  I blogged about making my Dixie Cousins costume to surprisingly wonderful comments! And then I attended the con and I had a blast.  But even dressed up in a costume, I still didn’t see myself as a cosplayer and I even felt out of place despite being surrounded by other people in costume.  And I think that is because I wasn’t wearing something in line with what a lot of other people were wearing, nor did I know who or what most of the other costumed attendees were!  I don’t play video games, nor am I into Anime or fantasy, but I do like sci-fi and comics to a certain degree, as well as “cult” films and television shows, which are also accepted into the community.  Furthermore the sci-fi, comic and cult films/tv shows I like tends to be very obscure or not very popular.  This combination of feelings led to the further disassociation as a cosplayer.

So, why am I talking about this now? Well, I recently began watching SyFy’s show Heroes of Cosplay.  I watched people spend sleepless nights and throw tantrums over the smallest details.  I listened to them talk about why they were doing it and gush about their favorite characters.  And it was like looking into a mirror.  A really, really scary mirror.  I saw myself and how I acted when making my Marion Ravenwood and Dixie costumes.  Then, I found out the dates and guest list for next year’s Portland Wizard World, and the guest list includes three of my all-time favorite celebrities.  Bruce Campbell (again!), Adam West and Billy Dee Williams. And immediately my mind began to churn with costume ideas tailored to each celebrity.  I was sketching out costumes, running to fabric stores and have hissy fits in the middle of said fabric stores over their lack of fabric.  Once again I saw myself in the cosplayers in the show. And I said, “Oh my god. I am a cosplayer.”

What this comes down to is that cosplay is a part of my life.  Days will be spent researching, sewing and attending events.  I want to share the process and events on my blog.  But I am by no means abandoning vintage for cosplay.  This entry is just more of a “Hey, I do this. Heads up! Don’t freak out when I blog about cosplay!”.  I’ll never abandon vintage, but I just want to share more of me with you.

The real “goal” of going to Disneyland this go around was to attend one of Mickey’s Halloween Parties, something I’ve never done before.  These parties, which take place during select nights during the Halloween season, are the only time when those over the age of nine are permitted to wear costumes, and since I love costumes, Halloween and Disneyland, the event was right up my alley. So gear up for a pretty gosh darn picture heavy post!

I’ve been keeping my costume on the down low, as I do from time to time, but maybe a few of your figured it out after I posted some of my hair tests on Instagram, but here it is…

Patrick and I went as Pecos Bill and Slue Foot Sue from Disney’s Pecos Bill cartoon (not familiar with the cartoon? Watch it here!) from the 1948 film Melody Time.  And for big Disneyland fans, you may remember that The Golden Horseshoe was originally called Slue Foot Sue’s Golden Horseshoe, and even had a sign out front featuring Sue (see older images on Daveland’s site).

Today, the only remains of Sue and Pecos Bill are located just inside the Golden Horseshoe, in the frosted windows. Well, for Sue anyhow. Pecos Bill though is featured in one of the Frontierland shops atop two store displays.

Sadly, the cartoon has slid somewhat into obscurity, and only a handful of people knew who we were, mostly Cast Members. But I’m all about the obscure, and if you know who I am, then it’s as if we should automatically be friends.

In terms of sewing specs, the only thing where I used a purchased pattern was the blouse, and now I have misplaced the pattern, and can’t even tell you which one it is! I made the patterns for the vest, scarf, bows, as well as the catfish purse. The skirt is a circle skirt I made (using circle math!), while the gloves, boots, and hat were purchased.

We visited Big Thunder Ranch, where one of my favorite Disneyland gems, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies were playing…

There were also amazing pumpkin carvers, transforming pumpkins into various Disney characters…

We also visited with some of the various farm animals, including Poncho the donkey. I basically melted, he was so cute.

Big Thunder Ranch is also where Guests can meet some of their favorite Disney characters dressed in their Halloween best…including my favorites, Chip and Dale!

Guests of Mickey’s Halloween Party are allowed into the park at four o’clock, leaving time to mingle with other park guests, but as soon as it hits seven, non-party goers are requested to leave, and the party really begins! Trick-or-Treating is done throughout the park, where children and children at heart receive fruits, vegetables, and candy from Cast Members.  We parked early on in front of Sleepy Beauty’s Castle for what I was looking forward to the most: the Halloween Screams fireworks show.  We also gained prime seating for the Costume Party Cavalcade.

After the fireworks we made our way into Frontierland again and then into New Orleans Square to enjoy beignets and listen to the Cadaver Dans (a spooky take on the Dapper Dans)…

After our tasty sugar covered treats, we went to meet Jack and Sally, which was absolutely delightful!

We had so much fun enjoying all of the nifty Halloween exclusives, and I would love to go again!

Stay tuned for two more Disneyland entries! A more general one, followed by our 120 film post once the film is developed!

…well, almost. It’s certainly cosplay construction time!  I’m not sure how you spent your weekend, but I spent my sewing, and not much else, because the Portland Wizard World Comic Con is coming up again! This time, it’s in January, and since I’m making more than one costume, I decided to start early.  I’m so excited that Bruce Campbell will be returning too! And I’ll be making another Dixie Cousins costume. Her entire wardrobe from The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. is amazing and I want to have it all! Originally I wanted to do her purple traveling ensemble for the con, but when I realized that Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams was also attending, and I added a Star Wars costume to my list, I realized the multiple piece outfit was going to be too much to tackle, especially with the holidays coming up. So I’m doing another showgirl costume…

This costume is from the episode “Brisco in Jalisco ” and features an emerald taffeta bodice with what I assume are flocked black polka dots.  It was a trial to find the fabric.  I couldn’t find what I wanted at any of the fabric stores in Portland, or on-line.  And my options were turning into buying green taffeta and either felting the polka dots or cutting velveteen into small circles and applying them. Neither of which sounded too appealing not to mention both would be incredibly time consuming.  So, what did I do? I found two dresses on Ebay made of similar fabric to what I needed, and cut ‘em up. I’m bound to get flack for this, I know. But my sanity was at stake! Besides, they were contemporary, Made-in-China pieces of crap.  And since I am restricted with that limited amount of fabric, I will not be making the boa, sadly.

My mum visited over the weekend and has been a tremendous help to me on this so far. She’s navigated me through many an ordeal during this costume so far, and done a bit on it for me after frustration landed me nearly in tears when working on the muslin mock-ups of it earlier.

This costume, unlike the first one, has no beading, which Patrick is quite thankful for, as we are still finding beads from the last one. However, it does feature some underbust fringe/netting business. I don’t knit or crochet or macrame, so I was concerned about how I would tackle this.  I delegated the work of this actually to Patrick, who could spare the time leading up to the final construction, as I battled out modifying a pattern, and creating muslin mock-ups.  He quickly learned old-timey fishnet making which produced the closest thing!

The costume is nearing completion, and I’ll be glad to have it out of the way with the holidays ahead.  I’ll be tackling  my Star Wars costume next and am holding out hope of finding the pieces needed for my third costume.  I’d really rather not have to make it.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Back in November I blogged about working on my second Dixie Cousins costume for Portland’s Wizard World Comic Con.  And this last week I put the finishing touches on it…

Selecting a costume from an obscure source is a double edged sword where the benefit is also the downside when it comes down to recreating a costume.  Television shows rarely get their dues when it comes to publicity photos, and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. had very few, most of which are only available in the DVD booklet, and in terms of the character of Dixie, there are only ones of her in the red and gold showgirl costume (which made making that costume a lot easier) and her purple traveling ensemble. Additionally, the show is so obscure that there is very little information or images on the internet. So I often end up screencaping needed scenes myself, however quality is always an issue for all sorts of technical reasons between the original filming of the show to compressed DVD screenshots. The result is not very clear images to work from.  But this fuzziness also gives me some liberty when making the costume. I have to assume certain things and say “Well, it kind of looks like this. But I’m not sure, but this works out, so I’ll go with that.”  This costume got some good air time in the episode “Brisco in Jalisco” (if you feel like watching the clip that includes this costume, someone actually uploaded it to YouTube!) and I knew where I was going for the most part, but I know future costumes of Dixie’s will be far more brutal in attempting to work out the details.

I had a lot of issues with this costume, especially with the area where the bodice meets the skirt, and I must admit, I am not entirely happy with it, in fact I am far more incredibly happy with the first Dixie costume that I did, so the second one is not always better! A lot of it comes down to time, and impatience.  I thought I had a decent mock up that worked, but when it was translated to the actual fabric, with a zipper, it did not, and alterations had to be made that I felt made the piece unshapely, but any attempts to further alter it resulted in me being unable to get the piece on, and other alterations would have run risk of damaging the fabric, which I couldn’t have because I only had limited quantities of the fabric. So I settled and left the piece alone.

In terms of sewing specs, I had a hard time finding a pattern that looked remotely close to what I needed (and I have yet to learn pattern drafting), especially since I needed to have a pattern where there was a seam under the bust for the underbust netting to be sewn into.  I settled upon a 50s swimsuit pattern, Depew 1001, which I altered.  The underbust netting, fringe business was done by Patrick, who learned old-timey fish net making and altered the traditional design slightly to accommodate a diamond pattern rather than a square one.  A tassel was then painstakingly tied to the end knots of the netting.  No pattern was used for the skirt and bustle.  The necklace is simply ribbon with snaps, and I sewed on a brooch that a friend found on Ebay for me, and the earrings too were purchased on Ebay.  I completely winged the hair piece, simply based off of fuzzy screenshots, and Patrick did my hair for the shoot!  Didn’t he do a fab job!? Unlike previous costumes, I chose not to keep track of the amount of time it took to create, especially since myself, my mother and Patrick all had hands in this piece, and there were mock-ups done of various pieces. But I can only assume it’s over 100 hours of work.

Well, I’m off to attend the first day of the con! Originally I intended to wear a Miss Kitka costume today to meet Batman star Adam West, but that did not come to fruition, maybe another con. So instead I’m wearing a vintage Batman tee to meet the caped crusader himself!  This costume will be worn Saturday to meet Brisco star Bruce Campbell! Stay tuned for my Star Wars cosplay and details on the con either Sunday or Monday! Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

I mentioned in my latest entries about cosplay that I would be doing a Star Wars costume to meet Lando Calrissian actor Billy Dee Williams at this month’s Wizard World Comic Con.  This post will just focus on my cosplay, so look for another post soon on the event itself! So here we go…

Yes. I am in fact cosplaying Lando, or at least a female pin-up version of Lando (or Landa as some of my friends like to call it).  And here is why: I believe cosplay is about showing your love of a character or fandom in a costume format. I don’t believe that race or gender have anything to do with these things. It’s that simple. “Cosplay Ambassador” Yaya Han agrees, and expresses this sentiment on her Moulin Rouge Snow White costume page.  And Lando is my favorite character in the Star Wars franchise, quickly followed by Han Solo, and then Boba Fett.

I went for a female interpretation because I also like to cater to my figure, and I thought I could have fun with it. I was also inspired by the recent Playboy Bunny-isation of characters, such as the Avenger Bunnies Initiative.  While normally I strive to be as accurate as possible, when doing a variation of a costume, it’s okay to take liberties, hence a capelet instead of a full cape, halter top, etc.  I love various interpretations of costumes, especially when costumes get the steampunk treatment. I recently saw a steampunk slave Leia and I’m already dreaming about my own take on that!

I had a lot of fun drawing out various options for a female Lando and settled on this pin-up version. But I also did a lot of research on the actual costume worn by Billy Dee Williams, and discovered that the lining of his cape was not just a generic gold brocade, but in fact featured an Asian dragon design and was able to score some on Ebay.  Now, let’s talk sewing specs. The capelet is made from Butterick 6411, which I bought from Miss Betty’s Attic on Etsy, and slightly altered to accommodate the collar.  For the top, I used No. 4 from La Prairie Lady on Etsy, and once again, slightly altered so I could do the black edging around the neckline.  I had a few issues with the blouse, as I altered the pattern to make it a tad bit bigger in the bust, which then turned into a lot bigger. Oops!  Since my Dixie costume was going to be so labor intensive, and I wanted to minimize the work I had to do for this costume, so I chose to buy a black pencil skirt instead of make one. The skirt is by Switchblade Stiletto, which I purchased from Naked City here in Portland.  While the skirt came with a good belt, the buckle was of course not what I needed.  For the buckle, Patrick is the genius behind it and he worked with Polymoph (also known as Friendly Plastic) to create it.  Polymoph is a plastic, that comes in small beads, a bit smaller than a BB, and has a very low melting temperature. Many cosplayers use it to make various costume elements.  This was our first time using it…and while it didn’t turn out perfect, it wasn’t too shabby!  My boots were thrifted, and the E-11 (the blaster normally used by the Stormtroopers, though Lando commandeers a few in Empire Strikes Back, and uses them to shoot their way out of Cloud City) was purchased on Ebay.

My costume I felt was well received. I even had a few people asking for their picture taken with me!  Thankfully, I didn’t get any negative comments, but maybe a few disapproving stares, but I couldn’t be sure. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this, and look forward to taking this treatment to a Han Solo costume in the future!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post with more photos, including some of a few celebrities!

Alright, it’s my last Wizard World post, and then it’s back to the vintage, I promise. So if you’re not into Batman, Bruce Campbell or Star Wars, or never much cared for costumes, you’ll find this post pretty boring. But let’s face some facts here, I’m a girl with a lot of different passions.

The weekend was quite interesting to say the least. There was a lot to see and do. If I had infinite money and time and magic heels that didn’t hurt after being on my feet for hours on end, I think I would have tried to make it to nearly every celebrity table there was.  Portland’s Convention Center was packed with celebrities from Elvira to William Shatner to four members from Walking Dead and even the legendary Stan Lee was there.  Other booths were packed with all sorts of goodies from action figures to swords and of course comics, because what is a comic con without comics?

My attending cons is solely based upon celebrities. And this year, as mentioned, three of my favorite all-time actors were in attendance, and since the con was three days, I was able to dedicate a single day to each celebrity in terms of attire.  Friday was dedicated to the first love of my life, Adam West, and I wore a vintage Batman tee.

Read on for more fantastic geekery, celebrities and stellar costumes!

Upon arriving for my autograph, West was pleasant, asked me how I was doing, and said he liked my shirt! Which made me quite happy.

The remainder of the day was spend looking through the booths of collectables and visiting the artists’ tables of up and comic artists and authors offering their creations.  I met Devon Devereaux, whose old horror movie inspired artwork caught my eye, and I ended up buying both volumes of Tales of Hot Rod Horror he had available.

Saturday was dedicated to Bruce Campbell as I donned my Dixie Cousins cosplay, and it was insane to see the amount of love that man gets at these conventions. I often have to explain who Campbell is to anyone I meet on a regular basis.

When I meet celebrities I have a constant battle in my head. I’m in awe, and want to let loose everything I love about them, but I also want to have a reserved attitude that also shows respect, and not talk their ear off, especially since I know there are a hundred fans lined up behind me.  This occurred when I arrived at Campbell’s autograph table.  I had him sign the photo of him and I from last year, and as he signed it, he said “Now, this is from somewhere else…” I just said it was from the previous year, and in my awe struck, reserved state, I failed to explain my whole mentality of every time I meet him I’m going to make and wear another Dixie ensemble. Oh well, next year! He handed me my photo back and said, “Here ya go, baby.” I’m pleased I didn’t pass out.

Wanting to arrive early for Campbell’s panel, we attend the panel directly before it, which was Michael Rooker, star of The Walking Dead, who proved to be quite entertaining and funny.  As the room cleared out, we promptly moved forward toward the front.  Last year, Campbell’s panel was a typical Q & A session, but this year, one of his co-conspirators, Ted Raimi, was also in attendance, and the two got up said they had decided to create a studio, and said “we’re going to make a movie! Here and now!” And the pair selected people from the audience to participate as a director, producer, writer and actors.

For each role, the pair selected a few people from the audience, then they had to prove themselves on stage and then from that the final choice was made.  I rose my hand for each role, but it wasn’t until the director spot came up did Raimi point to me, asking what my directorial qualifications were, I proclaimed that I had directed a one act in high school, to which Raimi responded “That sounds pathetic! But get up here anyway!” For the record, Campbell and Raimi are known to put on rude airs when with audiences, think Stephen Colbert.

I ran on stage along side the other director candidates and we each had to give our vision for the film. I said the film had to have something for everyone, action, romance, etc., that way everyone will love it. This excuse got beat out by the man who said that he would make the film as quick and as dirty as possible, which went in vein with the fact that Campbell and Raimi only gave their producer $25 in which to make the film.  The resulting audience based scene was quite hilarious, and I was thankful for the fun and interactive experience.

Like last year, few people knew who I was, and it wasn’t until we were headed home Sunday did someone ask me “Weren’t you the Dixie Cousins yesterday?” I was so thrilled! But I’m okay with doing fairly obscure cosplays.  When you do a very well done and very recognizable costume, you are often stopped many times as people ask for your photo, and this leaves you with little ability to move about the convention. I watched as a trio dressed as characters from The Muppets stood for over a half hour posing for picture after picture.

We spent remainder of Saturday evening in the audience for the costume contest, which we did not attend last year, due to some unhappy feet. Like last year though, SyFy’s Heroes of Cosplay returned to film the contest, which resulted in a 20 minute lesson in learning how to cheer properly, I kid you not.  And like last year, the immensely popular Yaya Han returned to judge, along side fellow cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty and the Green Power Ranger himself, Jason David Frank.

There over 200 contestants, including several Batman costumes, including two different 50s inspired groups…

Then there was a perfect duo of 60s Batman and Batgirl

But the judges and audience were in agreement that the Best in Show should go to a guy who made a killer Sauron costume, complete with stilts to make it the towering height of the character.

Sunday was my Lando day.  And I was so happy that my costume received such a positive reaction, and was asked by a few people to have their picture taken with me, including a fabulous girl dressed in a creative Chewbacca costume.  We posed recreating the moment when Chewie strangles Lando…

I learned that the fellow Star Wars fan was also a fellow Portlander named Melanie who makes amazing leggings and skirts inspired by comics and sci-fi! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop!

I also had the chance to meet Lando actor Billy Dee Williams, and I learned that the actor is also a talented painter.

Later in the day we attended Billy Dee Williams’ Q & A, which was followed by Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew’s Q & A. One thing I love about these conventions is the ability to interact with actors. It’s not so much a prestige thing with me like “Oh, yes, I’ve met so and so”, but instead a historical perspective.  It’s incredible to be able to interact with those who have shaped popular culture, whose roles have led to millions of fans and enjoyment throughout the world.

Alright, that wraps it up for my geekery, I think. I’m looking forward to a relaxing February after the extremes of the holidays, costume construction and a month that was filled with events on both the vintage and geek fronts. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Friday Outfit
Leopard Print Jacket: Thrifted
Vintage Batman T-Shirt: Estate Sale
Skirt: Stiletto Switchblade, Naked City, Portland, Oregon
Belt: Gift
Shoes: The Clothes Horse, Eugene, Oregon
Purse: Guh, don’t remember!
“Pow!” Headband: Made by me
Batman Logo Button: I couldn’t tell ya, I’ve had it as long as I remember!
Bangles: Various

Saturday Outfit
Read more on my Dixie Cousins cosplay here and here

Sunday Outfit
Read more on my Lando Calrissian cosplay here

Ah, yes, another Disneyland post! Last year Patrick and I had such a blast at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that we had to do it again! The Halloween parties are Disneyland are a lot of fun, and are one of the few times when those over the age of nine are allowed to wear costumes at the park! With unpacking and getting settled taking a top priority, I knew that this year’s costume had to be simple, and less time consuming than costumes of the past. After kicking around a few ideas, I settled on Clarice from the 1952 Chip ‘n Dale short “Two Chips and a Miss”, where Chip and Dale have a date with the same gal, lounge singer Clarice, on the same night, and hilarity ensues, and Patrick went as Chip. In terms of costume specs, this is one of the least home-made costumes I’ve done. The blue portion of the dress I purchased. It was originally a maxi-length, and I altered it to allow for the tulip hem. For the brown portion, I simply wore a brown sweater under the dress. The hat I made from remaining skirt fabric, cardboard, and gathered ribbon for the edge. I also gathered ribbon for the lea too – you’d never believe there was 40 feat of ribbon there! But, seriously, there is! I also made my ears. I wore brown tights, and found these perfect nude flats and then simply Sharpie’ed the toe lines. For a purse, I wanted something that went with the theme of Chip and Dale, and made an acorn purse, pinning on a pin that feature Clarice and Chip. Patrick’s costume was so simple! He wore a jacket, shirt and pair of pants he already owned and donned my reversible Chip and Dale ears. All we had to purchase was a white bow tie! I also made Patrick the note that Clarice leaves for Chip that is seen near the beginning of the cartoon. After taking some snaps in Toontown, we walked around the park for awhile before taking our seats for the Halloween themed parade, which was followed by the Halloween Screams fireworks show, which is hands-down my favorite fireworks show that Disneyland does. I even spotted a (mostly) black cat near the Fantasyland Skyway Station! For more on this forgotten relic, check out my post here! Once the fireworks were over, we did a bit of trick-or-treating in the park (at Disneyland you are never too old to trick-or-treat!), and then met Chip and Dale, who were dressed as pirates! Those mischievous chipmunks attempted to steal my purse, thinking it a giant yummy acorn, and Dale got offended that only Chip was on my purse. He then proceeded to turn Patrick’s ears around so the Dale side faced front. Like last year (where we were Slue Foot Sue and Pecos Bill) I expected few people to know who we were, as Clarice does not have too strong of a presence in Disneyland and “Two Chips and a Miss” is the only cartoon to feature her. However more people knew who we were this year, with six people knowing, and telling us, verses last year where two people knew who we were. But I love doing characters I adore, and ones that are obscure, so I am totally fine with people not knowing who I am! And it’s also fun introducing people to new cartoons and characters. Disneyland’s Halloween parties are a fun, family oriented option to the terrifying experiences that are showcased at Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. Children and adults alike get to dress up, trick-or-treat in the park, meet specially costumed characters, and enjoy fireworks and parades that are specifically for the party alone. These happen during select nights, beginning in the end of September and continuing through Halloween night. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party does require a separate entry ticket. Sadly, all of the remaining parties for the Disneyland Resort are sold out for this year, but if you love Halloween and Disney plan on making it next year! As for true Halloween, Patrick and I will be attending a friend’s wedding, back in Portland. In fact we leave today for a week long visit! The timing coincides with the October Expo and Patrick’s commitment to returning to the Portland office every four to six weeks, so we are really killing three birds with one stone! I also get to visit with friends. I am doubtful I will be blogging from the Rose City, but I’m sure I’ll have lots to say when we return along with more apartment pictures! I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween! I better go pack!

Last night Patrick and I attended our third Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland. (You can take a peek at the last two years here and here.) Unlike every Halloween since college, where I made a costume, this year I had to come to terms that I didn’t have the time. That, combined with the fact I simply couldn’t decide on what to be! So, I pulled out a costume from a few years ago, and one that has made the cosplay circuit a few items as well, my Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark. While a repeat, I was excited to shoot the costume in Adventureland.

When we entered I was sad to see that the Indiana Jones attraction was down, however it ended up being a blessing in disguise! I asked one of the attraction’s Cast Members if we could shoot photos in the queue while the attraction was closed, and she said yes!

A fun fact is that the truck in the queue is the same one used during the exciting chase sequence in Raiders!

Now, last time I wore this for Halloween, Patrick went as Indy, however, not much of that costume remains. Parts were borrowed from my dad (not easy to get our hands on now), while others were ill-fitting, thrifted garments that Patrick didn’t keep after that year. Thankfully, I’m lucky, and Patrick is actually quite supportive of doing couples costumes, or at least having our costumes come from the same source material. So this year, Patrick came up with the brilliant idea of being Jock, Indy’s pilot from the beginning of Raiders, complete with pet snake, Reggie, and fully got into the part too, bless his heart. If you need a refresher on Jock, take a peek here.

We had a delightful evening getting treats and meeting characters, as the Halloween parties are swell times to meet characters who don’t visit often, such as Maleficent and Hades, as well as a time to see what unique costume ideas fellow Guests come up with! The evening rounded out with the Halloween Screams fireworks show, before we hobbled back to our car after a long night.

My Costume
Blouse: New Look Pattern 6892, slightly altered, hand-embroidered by myself.
Pants: New Look Pattern 6132, slightly altered.
Sash: 1/4 of a yard of fabric, trimmed up, sewn in ruching with snaps in back.
Shoes & Monkey: Thrifted
Monkey’s vest: Made by me
Wig (actually a “Wonder Woman” wig): Amazon

Patrick’s Costume
Shirt: Sears, hand painted by me.
Undershirt & Pants: Target
Yankees Baseball Cap & Snake: Amazon