Hey, I want to hear anyone’s costume design stories. I’m particularly interested in hearing from the professionals, but you hobbyists and parents who have to slap something together at Halloween, I’d love to hear from too.
If anyone’s curious: I’m halfway through the Boba Fett costume I’ll be wearing for Halloween this year. It’s one of the most insane projects I’ve ever worked on, yet I’m loving every minute of it. 
I just spent Sunday trotting around with a friend at a tourney. She was in “Ren Faire” type outfit- chemise, bodice and skirt, and I was in a cheap knockoff of 12th century Norman, minus head rail and chemise. I made both outfits. What do you want to know?
I’m not really a professional, but I do get paid (sometimes) for sewing things for people. I’m working on a kind of combo Legolas/Aragorn outfit for my fiance right now- the long duster that Aragorn wears, and Legolas’ shirt/tunic thing. I’ll make the pants later.
Okay, a story: I’m gradually making cloaks for what seems like most of my friends, and a bunch of us go to a small family summer camp up near Parry Sound in Ontario. The one week camp we go to is held at a site run by Christian Brethren- very conservative, and mostly small-town people. Every year, they endure a variable number (about seven, usually) of cloaked individuals, who like to sit on the dock with candles late at night, and also do sword fighting, play goth and thrash music, and dance. They’re slowly getting used to us, but they originally thought we were all possessed Satan-worshippers.
Everyone else who goes is… slightly more normal.
I swear, I’m going as a belly dancer again this Hallowe’een. The full 18th century ballgown was just too hot to dance in. I’d post a link to a picture, but I don’t know how.
Bother. Where’s Guin and Octavia Bunion-Smythe Esq. and the other costumers? Are we the only ones? C’mon, people! Hey, Mademoiselle!
I love costumes-but I’m still a beginner. I don’t know the first thing about making them, unfortunately.
I still want to do the Audrey Hepburn thing for Halloween.
Ooh, yes! That will be great! Oh, and check out the TorDope thread- there’re pics of me trying to teach a mixed group of guys/girls to bellydance. Promise you won’t tell LAF! 
Costume design seems to be easy enough. In making my Fett costume, I’ve found at least 5 websites (two of which are discussion forums) dealing with how to go about making the thing.
Also, it helps that my sister is a seamstress who could do all the “soft” parts of the costume for me. (Me being the handyman, I get to make the armor and other hard parts.)
Hmmm…wonder if we should do a CostumeDope (other than a RenFaire).
Do you post at theforce.net? They may have some things in the fan activities threads.
Where can I find pictures from TorDope?
Guin,
Nah. TheForce.net is my daily equivalent of Fox or Drudge for SW news, but if I joined its MBs…well, between it and the Dope I’d never get any homework done.
I know they have a costume forum, but they lump everything together, so it’s annoying having to filter through page after page looking for Fett ideas.
I’ve been getting costume ideas from:
Build Your Own Boba Fett
Mandalorian Costuming
Obi-Wan’s Jedi Academy (he’s got tips for Stormtrooper outfits, too)
The Dented Helmet Message Boards
and…
The Ultimate Boba Fett Costume.
I’ve also had to rely on the SW visual dictionary, my comic books, my Fett action figure, and my 12" Jango doll. I think I need to enter a 12-step program for this stuff.
Those guys have way too much time and money on their hands. I wish I had too much time and mney on my hands. I want one of those.
I make costumes, but I am definitely not a professional seamstress. I’m one of the slap-something-together-out-of-thrift-store-finds kind of costumer. Some of my better ideas from the past:
I found a small, pleated plastic lampshade at a thrift store, that reminded me of the cap on a tube of toothpaste. I tied it onto my brother’s head, outfitting him in a pale blue turtleneck and a felt Crest tube that came to his ankles.
Someone actually wore the most hideous strapless green lame’ gown to a party - it is gathered and draped tight down the body and ends in a full skirt under the knees. I added a whole bunch of fake pearls looped around my neck, a long green wig and a fishnet strung with seashells as a shawl and went as a mermaid.
Some friends once decided to have a theme Halloween party - everyone had to come as a pun. I wore all black (turtleneck, slacks, domino mask and “Zorro” hat trimmed in ball fringe), a colorful serape and some wings, and went as a Spanish Fly. I also made a One Night Stand costume for someone else that night - stuck a box over her shoulders, covered with a lacy tablecloth, added a battery-operated lamp, a small pile of books and a box of Kleenex.)
Quickest costume I ever made: I took some extra-large sweats (orange top, yellow pants), cut off the collar and wrist and ankle cuffs, ironed on some calico patches, added a straw hat, a pillowcase over my head (and under the hat) with a hole cut for my face to peek out, and tied the neck and cuffs with twine and went as a a scarecrow. Whole costume took me about 20 minutes to assemble.
Just search for TorDope, or failing that, check MPSIMS. A CostumeDope would be lots of fun!
I have been costuming for stage productions for ~15 years*. I’ve been paid for it, I’ve done it as part of community theatre, and I’ve been commissioned to make costumes. I don’t know that I have any interesting stories, though.
[sub]*~, in this case, means ‘about’, and not the more common sd meaning. Thank you.[/sub]
One of my friends nicknamed me “The MacGuyver of costuming” for the costumes I’ve created from stuff I had in my dorm room. I don’t sew at all.
I made a pretty accurate Zev (“Lexx”) costume from a tank top, my roommate’s belt, a sports bra, and a twist-tie.
I whipped up a Magenta (RHPS) costume out of a black dress, two white shirts, and some toilet paper. Won a prize for that one, in fact.
I also do drag, but I have occasionally purchased things specially for those costumes.
I think the trick is to visualize the complete costume, and then break it down to the simplest individual pieces. Gather together those pieces, and you’ve got your costume!
Hmmmm…some of my better past costumes:
-Fox Mulder. This one was easy: I threw on a black suit and made an FBI Badge on my computer.
-Scottish warrior: basically my Renaissance Faire costume, which I’ve been assembling for about 3 years. I’ve got a kilt, sporran, and vest from Scotland, some knee-high boots, a puffy shirt and some bracers to hold the sleeves up. I’ve also got a variety of swords to throw in, and several capes.
-Darth Maul: This was one of my most ridiculously complex costumes; it was awkward as hell to wear (but looked great). My sister had to sew the Jedi robes. I threw on a grey t-shirt underneath and some black sweatpants, and nobody was the wiser. I mixed in some black boots and black biker gloves, and threw on a great-looking hooded black cape. The hardest part was painting my whole head in that black-and-red pattern, and gluing 10 horns to my head in just the right locations. And don’t get me started on when the makeup began to run…yeesh.
Looked great, though.
I HAVE to learn to sew. I want the picnic gown so bad. Lissla, did you see the thread over at Sensibility? Koshka finished her picnic gown-it looks great!
I’m doing the Audrey thing because it seems simple. Just put my hair up, a tiara, little black dress, black gloves. The hardest part is looking for a ciggie holder.
Ciggie holders abound on eBay - look under “Everything Else- > Gifts & Occasions -> Costumes -> Adult”
Or if you’re a non-smoker and you just want the look, paint a long narrow dowel rod and stick one end in your mouth.
Oh, gosh I love Koshka’s picnic dress!
Yep, I make costumes, but I don’t like to call 'em that. Mostly
Restoration to 20th century though; no sci-fi.
Although I may reconsider it after seeing Koshka’s picnic gown - but seriously, where would I wear it? I can find places to wear 200 year old styles, but not sci-fi
Just wear them. If anyone asks if you’re in costume, say, “No. Are you?” with a mildly puzzled expression. It works very well.
touché!
Mwahahaha…
I’ll keep that mind.
eh…no real stories here. Just carpal tunnel from hand sewing for a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Did that, Arsenic and old Lace and my own Halloween costumes for years- Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and a few others.
Cyn