Wizard World Revamp . . .

Well, I've finally reached the point where I need to be realistic about time and money for this summer, and shift my costuming plans.

Every year for Wizard World in August, I try to go all-out and do some fantastic outfit for myself and my sister. Some previous looks:

Inara and Zoe from Firefly, Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter and Silk Spectre from Watchmen,

Calypso and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (with a very cool Jack Sparrow!),

Anakin Skywalker and the Emperor Palpatine from Revenge of the Sith, Phoenix from X3,

Asajj Ventriss and Shaak Ti, from the Clone Wars

Don't feel bad if you're not familiar with all these characters or the films or shows they come from; I know most people are not the huge geeks that we are;) Still, you can see I like to try to pull out all the stops for the one event a year where I get to wear something non-historical.

This year is tough. I had originally planned to do two costumes from Alice in Wonderland, then, I had to scale it back to one, and now . . . well, I think I'll be able to do the White Queen for Halloween, but probably not for the summer. Instead, I have to pick something easier and cheaper.

Here are my two ideas:

Kaylee from Firefly, or Black Widow from Iron Man 2. Either one would require some outlay of cash, but not a huge amount. This is my last comic con here in Chicago, so I want to go out without a bang without driving myself insane.

What do you think, dear readers? Ideas? Opinions? What costume do you think I should make for Wizard World/Chicago Comic Con this year?

Update:

Vote on the left sidebar for your choice! I'll make a decision at the end of the month!

The White Queen starts across the board . . .

Yes, folks, it's time. Time to start working on the White Queen.

Some of you might remember my posts a while back, detailing my initial costume analysis for the White and Red Queen's costumes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. As this is my last Wizard World in Chicago, I want to go out with a bang, and this will technically be the first Colleen repro I've attempted (those Titanic dresses nine years ago don't count!) It took a few months (and my tax return money) before I was able to start getting materials, but I finally have enough to get started.

The wig arrived first, and it looks pretty damn near perfect. It is not white: children, don't make the mistake of ordering a pure white showgirl wig for this one! The White Queen's hair is platinum blonde; anything lighter will look very strange, especially with the pale, pale skin. Then, seven yards of white silk charmeuse, silk chiffon, and a bolt of white tulle. I already had silver metallic lace and a lot of different iridescent white flowers and such (thanks, Giselle!), so I think I can make a go of it. And now, I can barely wait to get started! 

Stay tuned in the weeks to come as I get down to brass tacks with the White Queen. First up: foiling the silver snowflakes on the skirt overlay. Joy;)

Alice in Underland. . .

 Some beautiful new pictures of Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland. I personally cannot wait for this adaptation. Being a huge fan of Burton, the incomparable costumer Colleen Atwood, and the entire cast, this is going to be amazing.

 Love this soft, flowy dress Wasikowska is wearing;)

Stephen Fry is doing the voice of the Cheshire Cat. Stephen frigging Fry. So happy.

Apparently Depp's Mad Hatter is sounding like a crazy but noble character from his description. I guess you can't have Johnny Depp without attempting to make the Hatter a good guy.

Just breathtakingly beautiful. Can't wait for this to open in March.

The White Queen: Initial Costume Analysis

I don't need to tell you, I'm excited to take this one on. After getting a look at some hi-res images from the San Diego Comic-Con (thanks Maggie!), I have a much better idea of what she's constructed out of. You'll have to click on each to go to the Flickr image and enlarge it to read my analysis. I'm clapping my hands together with glee; after all, I've already got some of this stuff left over from Giselle!

I'm going to take a look at the Christmas-y offerings in silver foiled snowflake chiffon at Joann's this year, but I'll probably just end up doing it myself. can't wait to get these beasts started;)

Queen of Hearts-Preliminary Costume Analysis

You'll have to open the images below to see my commentary on the costume. Please send me any questions of suggestions in the comments section!

New Projects for Next Year . . .

Yup; I'm just that stupid. It's not as though I don't already have plans for some ridiculously ornate Halloween/Birthday dresses for the end of this year, but I'm already starting to plan next year's stuff.

Seeing as it's my last year for Chicago Comic-Con, I want to go out with a bang. Silk Spectre and Bellatrix were such a hit, but I have always loved doing groupings of costumes that go together. Add to this my general geek-girl worship of Colleen Atwood and my affection for Tim Burton films, and you get obvious choices for the costumes next year: The Queen of Hearts and the White Queen.

The QoH has an obviously Elizabethan-inspired ensemble, which is exciting to me, as it's something I can basically build in my sleep. The difficulty will come chiefly in finding the overskirt fabric, which seems to be a light-to-medium weight gold brocade. Good thing I'm giving myself plenty of time to look!

As for the WQ, it's tough to see a whole lot of detail at this point. I've gone ahead and purchased 3mm hot-fix rhinestones for the sheer sleeves, and I've gotten some white lace with metallic gold threads running through it, but it's going to take a little while before any better images come out of her in costume. I'll have to wait to do my in-depth analysis until later.

I'm excited about the QoH, however, and I'll probably start analyzing her costume in the coming weeks; look for posts on that to come.

Once again, I think my sister and I will kick all sorts of ass at Comic-Con next year; I'd better make it one to remember!