Costume-Con 35

Costume Con (CC) is a truly unique event that I highly recommend for people that are dedicated to the craft of costume making. There is so much to learn and it has a great relaxed atmosphere thanks to it have a mature crowd. The main pillars of Costume Con are the panels, the competitions, and socializing. So I'll break down my blog about the weekend in these categories.

Swanna

Hana

Spring Sawsbuck

My costumes for the weekend.
Click to go to their page with construction notes and galleries.

Panels

The issue I often run into at anime or comiccon panels is that they tend to repeat the same panels over and over, so I do not end up going to many of them. After missing many panels 3 years ago because I was holed up in my room finishing costumes, I had the explicit goal of attending more this time. Here's what I checked out:

• Eras of Historical Dress - the names of different periods of dress and nailing down the right terminology, which is important when you are researching historical costumes.
• Intro to Historical Masquerade - This helped calm my nerves about entering a historical masquerade. It sounds so intimidating to start (you need a portfolio of your work and process, the judge the costume off your body, you do a tech rehearsal, and you preform in a masquerade) but there is some wiggle room so long as you are not entering the recreation category. I can't wait to enter now. Maybe in Montréal in 2020!
• Stenciling with Freezer Paper - Mai Sheri had some great tips and I'm looking forward to using this on upcoming projects. Check out her Youtube video here.
• Tambour Embroidery - I find this fascinating. Time consuming but fascinating. I can see myself using this for small projects but I don't think I can take the leap to invest in equipment unless I get a formal class.

​I tried to attend carnival related costuming panels but both got cancelled due to the panelists either​​ not showing up or being late. That was quite the disappointment. 

I also ran a few panels: Wig dyeing and Intro to Headpieces with Kudrel. I had a great group turn out for the dyeing panel and I got to meet some Arda Canada people who were very nice! We also had a great turnout at the headpieces panel and we did a lot of show and tell with the pieces we had on hand. 

Competitions

Costume Con has 4 costume contests! So there is a little something for everyone. What's neat is that the winners are announce within a few hours and a there is a dvd of the show available for sale the next day.

On Friday I judged the Single Pattern contest along with Lizzy and Elemental Photography, where people have to get creative with commercial patterns. We had around 40 entries and a lot of great craftsmanship. It's always fascinating to see what people come up with.

On Saturday I participated in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masquerade. This is where you'll find a whole range of costumes from original designs to straight-up recreation from anime, games, and tv shows. I spent most of my afternoon getting ready in Hana. I forgot how long it took to get the makeup done for this costume.

I was ready just in time to get a few quick photos and some video before settling into get to the greenroom. It was a bit chaotic, there was close to 80 entries, but we managed to start on time and I was the fourth person on stage so I didn't have to wait long. I had enough time to leave after my entry, take my time removing my makeup and return before Dex Morgan hit the stage. People were still getting craftsmanship judging even after the show ended.

The awards were handed out at 1 a.m. and I was too tired to go so I was in bed in my room as my friends reported back to me with texts. I got an honorable mention for my dye work and the "Otherwordly Award" for my presentation.

On Sunday there is the Future Fashion Folio and the Historical Masquerade. I did not roll out of bed early enough to see the Future Fashion Folio, where people submit original designs to the convention so that others can recreate them. I did however, make it out to the Historical masquerade which was quite a sight to see. It's was not as theatrical as the Sci-Fi Masquerade (this year at least) but it was a great show for costuming buffs. "Check out that corset" "I love that renaissance silhouette." Also, three cheers for Calamity who MC'd both shows.

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Socializing

Costume Con likes to create a community environment through special events such as the Friday Night Social. Dinner tables are setup in front of the stage that is showing the entries of the Single Pattern contest. There's free food and drinks. It's a good opportunity to meet new people and catch up with old friends. 

CC also has a Con Suite where complementary drinks and food is available for con goers. I got to meet a lot of neat people there, share a few stories, and grabbed a few snacks to keep me going through the weekend.

The Rest

I had a great time collecting ribbons from people over the weekend. I also got a hall costume award - it's been while since I received one of those. Maybe I'll order some ribbon for next time.

I managed to squeeze in a brief shoot with Paul Hiller on Sunday so stay tuned for new Spring Sawsbuck photos.

​Special thanks goes out to my awesome roomies and roadtrip buddies Calamity, Dex Morgan and Kudrel for the great hangouts in and out of the hotel hot-tub.

I had a great weekend, it was exhausting at time but well worth it. I learned a lot and I look forward to attending Costume-Con 38 in Montreal and maybe even CC37 in Danvers. Sadly, I don't think I'll make it out to CC36 in San Diego.

​~MM

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