D23

This weekend was D23 and while I was totally excited, it ended up being mostly a disappointment. 

Honestly, for a company as big as Disney, they really disappointed with the fact that they have no idea how to run a convention.  There wasn't nearly enough space in any of the panels, the lines were terribly done, and there really wasn't enough to do.  The best part was honestly meeting other cosplayers while I was there. 

On Friday we saw the Legends Ceremony, which was really good.  The voices of several of the Princesses were honored, including Paige O'Hara (Belle), Jodie Benson (Ariel), Linda Larkin (speaking voice of Jasmine), Lea Solonga (singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan) and Anika Noni Rose (voice of Tiana).  They each sang live, which was an amazing thing to see. 

We also met Margaret Kerry on Friday.  She was the model for Tinker Bell.

On Saturday I wasn't able to get into any panels, though I did see a presentation about Tangled, and got to meet the head animator on the film.

On Sunday I spent most of the day in line for the Star Tours panel.  I was the only person at the expo dressed as a Star Wars character, which surprised me since the ride just reopened.  The panel was really interesting, and I learned a lot about the ride.

This is the only shot I got of my costume... hopefully I can find some online since a lot of people took pictures. 

After the expo we went to Disneyland.  I changed into regular clothes but left my hair in.  So I had the take a picture in Star Tours.

You can totally see the hair nets haha!  I ended up being the Rebel Spy, which was exciting!

Then I went to Disneyland again yesterday.  I really wanted to see the Star Wars characters that were out last week, but they're gone :(  I did get a picture with a Stormtrooper but I really wanted Artoo!

I was trying to look serious since it was a Stormtrooper.

I also saw Rapunzel.  It wasn't my favorite, but this one was good too, very in character and talked to me for a while.

Thanks for looking~

AM2 and AX

This weekend was 2 conventions, AX and AM2.  I was able to attend both, which was fun.

Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures.  I had an Artist Alley table at AM2 and it was so crowded at AX that it made is difficult to take many.  Here's a few that I did take.

Kanon Wakeshima was one of the guests for AM2.  We weren't able to take pictures with her inside the convention, but as luck would have it, she was outside as we were leaving!  So I was able to get a picture with her, which was exciting!  I also attended her concert (no photography allowed though) and it was really good!  She's just as good live as on CD, and is really amazing at the Cello.
Outfit:
Top: DreamV
Skirt, Socks, Bag: Angelic Pretty
Boots: Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty replica)
Hairclip, Necklace: Handmade

I don't have any pictures from Saturday, because I ended up having to walk to the bank, and it was further than expected, and I got really hot, sweaty and looked a mess.  So I went from cosplaying Orihime to random schoolgirl. 

On Sunday, things were really slow, so we headed up to AX early. 

I was wearing one of my Yukatas because I wanted to be comfortable. 
As you may notice, I have a lightsaber.  It's pink!
For the longest time, I've wanted a pink lightsaber.  It's an unorthodox color, so it's not common to find.  There was a seller in the dealers hall, and I asked if they could make it pink... and they could!  I was so excited!  I finally have my pink lightsaber!  Even better, it's strong enough that I can actually duel with it.  I did stage combat in college, so it will be fun to get into it again possibly!

Today we just went to wander around and hang out.  I wanted to wear Rapunzel, but since it's so crowded, I didn't want to deal with the long wig.  So I got and styled the short brown wig from the end of the movie.  It seemed like a lot of people were confused, I guess they didn't watch the movie!

Myself with a Flynn who was selling in the Artist Alley.  Her costume was great!  Her art was really cute too, I got a Rapunzel cell strap!

Both cons were lots of fun, both to see and hang out with lots of friends and just to have the con experience!  I can't wait until the next one!

Renaissance Faire

Sorry for no post last week.  I was super busy with school and ended up getting sick -_-  However, I got all of my schoolwork done and I was able to go to the Renaissance Faire yesterday.

The Faire was located in Irwindale, CA.  I recommend going if you have a chance and are local.  It was my second time going and I had such a fun time!

I don't have any garb, and wasn't sure what to wear.  Several friends suggested Rapunzel, but I didn't want it to get dirty, and I wasn't sure how well I'd last wearing the wig for that long.  So after some thought, I decided to make a costume that I've been thinking of making for a while: Briar Rose.  I figured it fit in alright with the theme, and I could make it out of fabrics that could easily be washed.  So I got to work and made it in one day.  For a one day costume, I think it turned out pretty well.

Me in my costume.  I got a lot of good feedback, a lot of people said "Oh look, it's Sleeping Beauty!"  I was so excited that people recognized it!

Myself with one of the Knights.  They have a jousting area where 4 knights compete.  This was the Scottish Knight.

Myself and my friend with some pirates.  People have really awesome costumes!

This guy made his armour out of Coke cans haha!  I thought it was really creative and clever!

With some Vikings/Barbarians.  Just another example of how awesome some costumes are. 

My friend got most of the pictures because she has a really awesome camera, but this should give you an idea of what it's like.

In other news, I'm thinking of doing reviews of things.  But what kind of things would you like to see reviews of?  I was thinking eyelashes and wigs to start off since I wear them a lot?  Let me know what you think!

Magical Girls and Disneyland

On Friday, there was an event called "Magical Girls- Art Inspired by Shoujou Manga".  I wanted to dress up but none of my outfits were very magical girl, and I didn't have money to make a whole new costume (though I did seriously consider doing PGSM Sailor Moon).  In the end, I decided to finish Rapunzel for the event, since technically she is a magical girl. 

I didn't completely finish (I didn't get the lace on the skirt, and there is still no embroidery) but I was pretty happy with it and I loved wearing it.  A lot of people recognized it and liked it, and I ended up winning an Honorable Mention in the cosplay contest.  It was judged by Tavuchi, the owner of Spank!.  She was so sweet!

As of now, this is the only picture I've found that I actually like.  It's from LA Weekly.

Here's a mirror shot to show the whole costume, but it's not the best picture lol!  It was in H&M... before the event, we went shopping!  I got a lot of strange looks walking around the mall dressed as Rapunzel!

I can't wait to wear it again, one of my friends offered to do a photoshoot with me, which I'm super excited about! 

Today I went to Disneyland as usual.

With Bre'r Bear, a character from Song of the South.  This movie is not available anymore because it's racist, so it's not a super well known character.  You can see some of my outfit here, it wasn't too exciting though.
Skirt- H&M
Boots- Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty replica)
Leggings- Forever 21
Tops- I don't know, I've had them for 6 years haha
Bag- Sanrio

With Rapunzel and Flynn.  When we came in, Rapunzel said "Oh Flynn, this is my friend, she comes to visit me every week!  Sometimes you're not here, but she's like my new best friend!"  It was so cute.  She asked who Ashley is, and I told her she was my best friend and roommate.  She said that Mother Gothel was kind of like a roommate, but she hoped Ashley wasn't like her!  I love when characters interact rather than just brushing us off since we're not little kids.

Stuff

Lately I have been working hard on my Rapunzel costume.  Things are not going as planned... the bodice I made ended up not looking at all how I wanted it to, so I'm going to remake it.  I've been working hard on the wig.  I first styled it wit loads of extra hair, so that it would be accurately thick, but it weighed so much that I couldn't wear it for long.  So I've made it much thinner, but I like it better this way.  I feel like it's a bit more accurate to how it would look in reality.

Here's the front.  It's a tad askew so the part is actually further to the left when centered properly. The sides are also pinned down a bit more when worn, to cover my real hair.

In action.  I've actually added some ribbons to the braid as well as some more flowers.  But you can see the length and thickness pretty well here. 

I'd love to do it with an actual really long wig at some point, but I fear it would just get too tangled (ironic considering the name of the film haha!).  Doing this wig was difficult enough; it's actually made from 2 wigs that I combined together to get more hair and thickness.  Both were 5 feet long, so it was quite difficult with that much length!

Besides working on cosplay, I've also been working on a new style.  Since leaving lolita I feel very lost style wise.

I love Hime Gyaru, but the trouble is that I can never get the hair and makeup right, and I don't fit most of the clothes.  I might try making some dresses in the future, but I can't fit the brand clothes.  I also love Agejo style but I fear that if I wore it I would look like a hooker.  Other people can pull it off super well but I don't have the confidence.

I've been looking at a more preppy look.  I love school-girl style and uniforms.  I've loved to wear plaid pleated skirts for years, but I want to start pairing them with blazers and sweaters for more of a casual schoolgirl look.  It's difficult though, because you walk a fine line between fashionable and costumey with this look. 

It's also pretty sad because I realized that my entire closet is pink or black.  I need to add more colors, but I'm not sure how.  I feel like a total fashion loser haha! 

Cosplay

One hobby that I used to be very involved in is cosplay.  I used to make multiple costumes for each convention I attended and entered masquerades.  However, I haven't been very involved in the hobby for the last few years. 

The most recent costume I made was an original design of Princess Euphemia from Code Geass

I am actually quote proud of this costume... I spent several hours hand beading it and it is very well made.  I only wore it once though, since I didn't like how the skirt fell and I need to re-do the wig.

This was actually my second Euphemia costume, my first being this one:

However, that costume was really badly made.  I literally made it in 2 days before AX 2009 because I felt like cosplaying again after over a year of being away from the hobby.  I enjoyed wearing it, but I never liked it as much since it wasn't well made.

Probably the most complicated costume that I've ever made was Super Sailor Saturn.  I made this when I had been sewing for about a year, and I was really happy with it.  There are some things I would do differently now, but I still consider it one of my best costumes.

I actually used to cosplay Winry from Fullmetal Alchemist and Orihime from Bleach a lot.  I did about 4 costumes for each one.  Unfortunately I don't have many good pictures of those costumes.

I miss cosplaying a lot, but I often get distracted from making costumes that I want to.  I have a list of costumes that I want to do:

Rapunzel will probably be my next costume since I actually had planned to make it for Halloween, but I couldn't find the proper fabric and wig.  Now I have most of it planned out and just need to search out the fabric and get started on it.

I have wanted to do PGSM Sailor Moon since I watched the show 5 years ago.  The biggest issue I've run across is finding white neoprene.   I also would like to do it as a group with friends to have the whole inner senshi since it would be more fun.

Euphemia Angel Dress

I love this dress, however, I haven't made it because I haven't found a pattern that I felt would work well and because I never decided on how I would do the gold patterning on the dress.  Everything that I thought of seemed too tacky.  So I'll probably never make this dress.

I have wanted to do Giselle's curtain dress from Enchanted since before the film came out.  Unfortunately I have never been able to find a suitable fabric and I won't do it unless I can find one that is close enough for me.  I look for it every time I'm in a fabric shop and online ever so often, but I have yet to find one. 

There are others that I'd like to do (Susan's dress from the end of Prince Caspian, too many Disney costumes to name them all, a Princess Tutu costume) but these are the ones that I think about making the most.  I also want to make a TRON inspired costume based off of the Sirens, since there's no way I'm wearing a pleather bodysuit! 

Just some random thoughts on a hobby of mine.  This probably came to mind since I'm working on a costume for an upcoming event.

Harry Potter Day

I've been a Harry Potter fan for about 12 years now, and dressing up as Hermione for about 11 (yep, before the movies).  So I was super excited to hear about Harry Potter day at Disneyland (http://potteratthepark.blogspot.com/).., two of my favorite things combined!  It's basically a day where people dress up in Harry Potter outfits and compete in a Harry Potter based scavenger hunt in order to try to win for both their team and their house.

Of course I dressed up as Hermione, who's been my favorite character since I first read the books.  Fortunately it was not too hot or the uniform would have been horridly hot (I didn't even wear the robes because it's already so many layers).

Myself and Julie, who was a random Gryffindor, and Ari photobombing as Draco. 

The contest involved 2 parts; one part was using clues they gave us to find different locations in the park and getting a clue, and the other was finding randomly placed characters for trivia questions.  Our team did really well, we only missed one question and found all the locations.  Our team was part of Ravenclaw house, and we won the House Cup!  Our team was one of several that tied for second place also.

Myself and some fellow team members answering a trivia question from Draco Malfoy.

It was a really fun day and got me hyped for the movie release.  I'll definitely be busting out my costume again for that! 

Update

It's been a while!  I have been super busy lately with work and events and such.

Back in October we visited Goofy's Kitchen for the birthdays of several friends!  It was quite fun although I couldn't eat as much as I would have liked.  My stomach got small!  Oh well!  I have several pictures from the day, with the characters at the restaurant as well as Rapunzel since we went to the new photo area for her and Flynn.  It's really cute, they made a replica of her tower room.

It was also my first visit to elecTRONica.  This is a new event to celebrate the release of the new film TRON Legacy.  It features dancing, a laser show, a dance pre-show, a special sneak preview of the film, a replica of Fynn's Arcade and a video game contest.  It is so much fun, we've been going back every weekend!  I love it because it's a great chance to dance and be nerdy!  A bunch of friends and I got Identity Disks to carry around when we visit!

Myself with the sign for the event and my Identity Disk.  Outfit is mostly offbrand, although the skirt is Tralala and the sweater is from Disneyland.

My friend and I even coordinated some TRON themed outfits for one night, but my pictures of them got lost!  I'll have to get them from her.

Another big recent event was Halloween.  My friends and I visited Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween Treat.  After not having time to finish the fairy costumes I had been planning on making for myself and Ashley, I ended up wearing my Jedi costume from about 3 years ago.  Unfortunately this ended up being really really hot since it is several layers.  It was fun to wear though, I love Star Wars.  I would have worn my Princess Leia costume except my hair no longer matches the extensions that I have for her hair.

I made the whole costume except for the leggings and the boots.  Unfortunately my hair is no longer long enough to do cool Jedi hair, so it was just a bun.

A cool picture from inside Space Mountain.

This past weekend was Halloween itself and there were many events going on!  On Saturday I wore a lolita coordinate that I meant to be a princess look. 

JSK: Atelier Pierrot
Tights: Forever 21
Shoes, Tiara: Offbrand
Wig: Styled by me

We went to downtown Orange for lunch and then a bit of antique shopping.  Then we headed up to LA for the Japan LA event at a Pub and then over to Ruin Hollywood for their Grimm Fairytale Ball.  It was pretty fun, but it got pretty crowded and hot in the club.  I entered the costume contest for kicks but didn't win.  Oh well, not much of a surprise, since I wasn't even really wearing a costume, more like a dressed up lolita coordinate. 

On Sunday we went to do Karaoke.  I wore my Hermione costume since it's simple and comfy.  Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of it, but I'll get some this weekend at Harry Potter weekend at Disneyland!  I'm so excited, Harry Potter has been a huge fandom of mine since I was 11 years old and I can't believe the last movie is coming out!  It was hard enough with the last book!

Hopefully I'll be able to update more often.  There are many events this month!

Update

Wow, I really haven't updated for a while!  I've been pretty busy applying to school, but I finally got everything done for my application!

Baby recently announced a new Cinderella Print.  I actually like it very much, but so far, the OP is the only dress that has a picture, and it would not fit me (as well as being overly fancy).  I'm looking forward to seeing the other colors and styles. 

I'm currently working on getting together Halloween costumes for myself and Ashley.  She's dressing up as Tinker Bell and I'm dressing as Rosetta (one of the fairies from the new Tinker Bell series).  We've been talking about making a new costume for a few years, and we're finally doing it.  I was originally going to be Rapunzel, but the pictures are kind of inconsistant, so I decided to wait on that costume and do one of the fairies to match with Ashley.  I've already made our wings, and got started on some of the patterning tonight. 

Speaking of Halloween, we also got tickets to the Disneyland Halloween event.  This year it is actually in Disneyland park, which is really exciting!  I originally wanted to do a Princess costume, but I couldn't decide on which one to do!  So a Disney Fairy it is!