Costume College 2016: Thursday and Friday

As usual my roommate and I drove from the Bay Area to LA on Thursday. Normally we make a stop in between to visit FIDM before going to the hotel, but the costume exhibit was closed, so we went straight to the hotel. We arrived at 2 PM and found it made a world of difference! There was no line at all for check-in (compared to the huge one last year), and we didn’t have to wait for a porter. We were able to snag 2 luggage carts and within 15 minutes of arriving, we were checked in, the car parked, and all of our things unloaded in the room!

We were able unpack a bit and have a relaxing afternoon looking for friends arriving, until we got changed for the Thursday Night Pool Party. The theme was “Mod” and I wore a vintage 60’s dress.

By accident, Ginger, Vanessa, and I made a Powerpuff Girls team.

My dress had a cape so I guess I was sort of a superhero!

It was late when I started taking pictures, and most of my photos came out dark and of poor quality, so let’s skip straight to Friday.

Natalie and I wore our 1940s Star Trek costumes that we previously debuted at PEERS, and had a blast in them again. “Set phasers to sew!”We even met someone who said said she knew LeVar Burton (Geordi) and took a picture to show him!

There was this fantastic Star Wars group at CoCo, consisting of Loren, Jen, Katherine, Ginger, Twila, and Amy. They were all great, but I have a special fondness for Edwardian Kylo Ren.

During the day I took a few really great classes. Samantha Bullat of Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation taught two classes: “Because few Taylors” (about the challenges of presenting an accurate living history experience within the confines of modern needs, laws, and budgets) and “Understanding the Oorijzer” (a metal frame Dutch women used to prop up their caps). Both were very informative and presented well. I also took a class called “Accessorizing Your Teens/Twenties Outfits” by Mela Hoyt-Heydon. Her lecture focused on how to get that Downton Abbey look, and Mela is a great speaker and her classes always fun.

After my classes I made a donation to the Scholarship Fund so I could go do some early bird shopping in the dealer’s hall. I spent most of my money at one booth (Acme Notions) which consistently has lovely and interesting things. This time I got many millinery flowers, some odds and ends, and pretty vintage deadstock lingerie.

The Friday Night Social was full of lots of great costumes, as usual. The theme was circus, but it is not mandatory and I wore my 1920s cocoon coat, a beaded 1920s reproduction dress from Unique Vintage, Miss L Fire Vista shoes, and a beaded headband.

Natalie wore a beautiful green bustle dress.

Judy and AJ made really cute Sleeping Beauty fairies.

Merja had a great fox-trimmed ensemble.

Kevin and Kathy rocked the Roman look. (It’s hard to tell from the photo, but Kathy put so many tiny tiny curls in her hair to achieve the historical frizzed look!)

Molly looked so cute in Renaissance.

Bridget, ?, and Lana looked lovely, just out of a painting.

Gretchen’s circus outfit was just smashing, and one of my favorites of the evening.

I took many more photos, so those were just the highlights. I can’t fit them all here so take a look at my Flickr account for more. I will be making another post with the Saturday and Sunday photos, which include the wonderful things people put on for Gala!