Tag Archives: Star Wars

Jedi Librarian / Archivist Costume for Rebel Legion

Posted on August 21, 2020 by freshfrippery

I am happy to have an approved Jedi librarian/archivist costume for the Rebel Legion!

If you have not made a Jedi costume before I recommend you first read my post “DIY Generic Jedi Costume for Rebel Legion (A Head to Toe Guide)” because I use some of the same techniques referenced in this post.

I made my costume according to the Rebel Legion Jedi Librarian/ Archivist/ Historian Costume Standards but please note, I am not a RL judge and this post reflects my own experience making my costume and is not an official guide of any sort. This blog post will take you through the layers of my costume (with a dressing video at the end).

I used heavier fabrics like wool and cotton twill because I intend to use this for winter events; you’ll want to stick to cotton and linen if you plan to use it in warmer climates.

UNDER TUNIC AND SKIRT

I made the under tunic out of a poplin fabric with slight stretch. You actually don’t need a full shirt; a dickey just showing the collar is sufficient. However, for warmth and laundering reasons I wanted a full shirt.

Any mandarin-collared shirt pattern will do but I used a modified Simplicity 8768 (affiliate link), simply because I already owned the pattern. It is the top half of View A. Instead of a zipper I put snap openings down the center front. (The pattern runs large so I had room for the overlap closure).

The CRL guide requires either pants or a floor length skirt. I opted for a navy cotton twill skirt with a very full sweep. The skirt is self-drafted, but if you have basic sewing skills you can make one. Mine is made from gored panels to reduce bulk at the waist, but if your fabric is not thick you can do a simple gathered skirt. Please note that if you are planning to wear this for Saber Guild or any activity that requires stuntwork, I recommend a full circle skirt for mobility reasons. You can’t do a high kick with a narrow skirt!

I’ve also seen that some people do sew the the inner tunic and skirt together, so you don’t have to fuss with waistbands if you prefer.

OUTER TUNIC

I used the same pattern for the wool outer tunic as my linen Jedi one, except I skipped the lining. As before, I used the modified McCalls M6940 Game of Thrones pattern (affiliate link) for the body and Simplicity 8723 Harry Potter robe pattern (affiliate link) for the sleeves so please refer to my Jedi post for full details. It is a wrap dress with princess seams to be more figure flattering.

As before, I have a hidden tie closure inside the tunic, plus hook and bar closures on the outside.

The use of a coat weight wool for my tunic means it hangs beautifully like a real coat, and will be cozy for the winter!

BELT AND TOOLS

The belt is hidden under the obi, and is only used to hold up the tools. I’ve heard that these “tools” may be keys of some sort. They are actually optional items, not required for RL approval, but I think they add something interesting to the costume and are fun to make! Since the belt is not seen, I just used a modern belt.

My tools are based on the ones that Jocasta Nu wore in the Star Wars prequels.

Since I do not own a 3D printer I made the tools using items like broken pens and other items I had around the house.

I figured out that the “syringe” looking tool is made from a dental syringe easily purchasable through Amazon (affiliate link). I removed the metal washer and top handle, added a plastic cap and metal nut on top, add then a pen part on the bottom.

The bulby thing used a wooden honey dipper (Amazon affiliate link). I drilled a hole in the top of the honey dipper, added a button cover and 2 pen parts on bottom, then added pairs of metal jump rings to the handle and top of bulb.

The stylus thing consists of 5 pieces from various pens reassembled plus half a jewelry clasp at the top.

Everything was glued together with E6000 and painted with Rub ‘n Buff. Key rings were added at the end and then I cut leather straps to hold them to the belt.

POUCH

The CRL specifies the pouch must be suede with a drawstring closure. I found a suede pouch on eBay and then modified it. I punched extra holes and moved the cord so that the pouch would be gathered in the center front similar to Jocasta’s. I also cut a leather strip (slightly wider than the ones I used for the tools) and sewed it to the back of the pouch to give it a hanging loop. I swapped the wooden bead with a different closure I had in my stash.

If you want to make your own pouch from scratch, it’s a simple U shape. This is what it originally looked like before modifications:

OBI AND TABARDS

I would say that the defining feature of the Jedi librarian are the long tabards with the geometric designs. The original ones that Jocasta had were embroidered, but I’ve also seen people use upholstery fabric that’s woven with designs, or draw them on themselves with fabric pens or paint. I opted to make my own custom fabric using navy heat transfer vinyl flocking on to of bronze silk shantung. (At the time I made my costume I had not seen anyone else in the Rebel Legion use this technique for librarians, but I was approved and the CRL is vague about how to achieve the geometric designs).

I used a Silhouette machine (like a Cricut) to cut the designs after drawing them in the software. For those of you not familiar with these machines, they look like printers but with a thin blade instead of an ink jet. After cutting you peel away the excess material, apply it to your fabric with a hot iron, then remove the clear plastic backing. I used flocked HTV so the navy blue material had a velvety texture against the bronze silk. Here’s a test piece showing you what it looks like up close.

Here are some videos of the process.

@freshfrippery
Making appliqués on my #silhouette machine for cosplay part 1. #cosplay #crafts #heattransfervinyl #asmrmassage
♬ original sound – freshfrippery

@freshfrippery
Putting flocked appliqués on my #Jedi librarian #costume for Rebel Legion. #starwars #cosplay
♬ Star Wars (Epic Main Theme) – Samuel Kim

My obi closes in the back with hidden hook and bars. To keep the tabards level I have them sewn to the obi.

As for more explanation about the pattern shape for the tabards/obi and what shapes are acceptable under RL guidelines please refer to my Generic Jedi post. A few important points:

There are no shoulder seams. The top portion of the tabards curve from the front to the back.
The tabards are angled like a Y. They will not sit right if you just try to have 2 very long rectangles. You can save fabric by hiding the seam behind the obi.
The exact dimensions depend on your height and size, but for me I started with a lot of 6″ x 36″ rectangles and cut off extra as needed. You will need 14 rectangles (2 top tabards, 4 bottom tabards, 1 obi, then double everything for a lining). This includes seam allowance.
The tabards and obi have 2 layers: sew them right sides together on the long edges and one short edge, flip right side out to sandwich the raw seams, then hem the remaining short edge to your desired length. The hemmed end hides under the obi.
I used silk shantung which is lightweight by itself, but got heavy enough with the addition of the appliqués. I recommend using interfacing if you use thin fabric because you will want the tabards to have a decent weight to not flap around when you walk.

To help prevent the tabards from slipping off my shoulders I have a hidden snap on each shoulder.

BOOTS

My boots are the same ones used in my Generic Jedi costume: “Gabi” boots purchased from Slimcalfboot.com during a sale. The CRL calls for “low-heeled and closed-toe shoes” for skirts and calf-high brown or black boots if you’re wearing pants. Zippers must be on the inside of the leg if present.

GETTING DRESSED

Finally, here is a quick video of me putting on all the layers! The 3D printed Jedi holocron is from 3D Pro Designs on Etsy. I put my hair up in a bun and have 4 vintage U-shaped hair pins sticking out.

@freshfrippery
Getting dressed in all the layers of my #Jedi #librarian costume. #tiktokfanfest #bestcosplay
♬ Star Wars (Epic Main Theme) – Samuel Kim

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Your cost will vary a lot depending on what materials you use. I used a lot of wool, silk, leather, and flocked HTV, which raised my costs, but I got my fabrics on sale and reused my boots, which lowered my costs. If you’re on a budget I recommend looking at upholstery or drapery fabric for materials that already come with geometric designs, and sticking to cottons for your tunics. I also got really lucky on a crazy deal for my wool, which should have been the bulk of my cost. I’m also a bargain hunter when it comes to cosplays and go looking for deals on eBay or other places instead of buying everything “new.”

Materials list:

Inner tunic: 2 yards of 45″ cotton poly poplin shirting ($5.36 from Fabricmartfabrics.com)
Outer tunic: 3 yards of 55″ wool ($16.75 from a “garage sale”)
Skirt: 3 yards of 62″ navy twill ($21.58 from eBay)
Tabards/obi: 3 yards bronze silk shantung ($41 from Fabricmart)
Appliques: 5 sheets flocked heat transfer vinyl: $16.25 from Amazon (affiliate link)
Suede pouch: $11.79 from eBay
Leather strips: free, from a friend
Belt: $5.41 from eBay
Dental syringe: $10.37 from Amazon (affiliate link)
2 honey dippers: $6.56 from eBay (I bought 2 in case I make a mistake drilling)
Holocron: $27.30 from 3D Pro Designs on Etsy.
Thread, hooks and eyes, pens, paint, etc. from stash ~$5

Total cost (with reused boots and lightsaber): $167.37

If you need to cut corners because of budget the tools and holocron are not needed for approval, but are fun.

Thank you for reading and May the Force Be With You!

3 Comments

Posted in Star Wars and tagged librarian, Rebel Legion, Star Wars. Bookmark the permalink.

DIY Generic Jedi Costume for Rebel Legion (A Head to Toe Guide)

Posted on January 16, 2020 by freshfrippery

I’ve had some questions about how I put together my Jedi costume, which is not of any particular character that appeared in the Star Wars universe, but follows the guideline of what a Jedi would have worn in the Old Republic. This kind of costume is called a “generic Jedi” in the Rebel Legion organization, of which I am a member. I made my costume according to the Rebel Legion Jedi Costume Standards, which is a useful reference even if you want a costume for fun and not for RL approval. (Please note, I am not a RL judge and this post reflects my own experience making my costume and is not an official guide of any sort).

Photo by Ribidib

Photo by Ribidib

The fun thing about doing a generic Jedi is you get to put a lot of your personality into it. You can choose your own colors and there are different kinds of shapes that are allowed. I’ll discuss some of the options available to you in each section.

The basic parts you need for a Jedi costume are:

Outer tunic (the beige part of my outfit)
Tabards (the blue parts that go over my shoulders and down the front)
Obi (the blue sash around my waist)
Pants or skirt
Belt
Boots
Lightsaber
Lightsaber clip on belt

For RL approval you need at least 3 out of these 4 items:

Inner tunic (the white part of my outfit)
Two or more (leather or resin) pouches
Food capsules (the colored things on my belt)
Hooded robe

I didn’t want to hang too many things on my belt so I opted to have only one pouch and fulfilled my requirements by having the other items. (If you are petite you may have trouble fitting two pouches and eight food capsules onto the sides of the belt and have to opt for one pouch and four food capsules).

My inner and outer tunics, pants, and robe are made of linen. The obi and tabards are wool. These materials were personal preferences due to breathability and durability but natural materials are not required if you are on a budget.

The RL Costume Guide linked above has suggested colors; Jedi tend to be earth-tones so you’ll see a lot of brown, black, gray, beige, etc. but other colors are approvable. My blue ensemble is not particularly common but still allowed.

OUTER TUNIC:

The outer tunic is similar to a kimono in concept in that one side folds over the other side and there are big sleeves.

You can see the opening on the right side here.

There are lots of tutorials and free patterns online for Jedi robes and tunics, so I will not reproduce them here. However, most of those are meant for male or unisex figures. They assume you have a boxy tunic that will be fitted to you with the belt, but creates some extra bulk at the waist. I opted to have a tunic with curved princess seams in the front and back to be more figure flattering. If you are not female-bodied or you want to save time by not worrying about extra seams, the free online Jedi tunic patterns are great. Otherwise, I would modify a wrap dress pattern for your Jedi.

I already had this McCalls M6940 Game of Thrones pattern (affiliate link) for a cosplay project so I modified it:

Start with View A (the picture on the right).
Tape the skirt hip gore (yellow part with the lion) pattern piece to the skirt hip (red part above it) pattern piece so that you can use it as one big pattern piece. You should not have that extra horizontal seam at your hip on your Jedi tunic.
Shorten the skirt. My preference is above knee-level but you can make yours shorter or longer. (For RL approval it will need to cover your butt at least). You can also have a “hi-lo” tunic where the back is longer than the front.
Make a wide band (about 2 inches wide) for your collar instead of the narrower one in the pattern.
Use different sleeves. The Jedi sleeves are big cone shapes like wizard robes. I already had Simplicity 8723 Harry Potter robe pattern (affiliate link) so I borrowed the sleeves from that pattern, but made them longer. (For RL approval your sleeve should be knuckle-length).
Closures: instead of visible ties as shown on the McCall’s pattern, you want to have hidden closures on your Jedi tunic. I put hooks and bars on the right side of my tunic, and then a hidden ribbon tie on the inside left for extra security.

Unless your fabric is thick I recommend lining your tunic to give it better drape. A thin, flimsy tunic is going to look a little off if you want to look like an Old Republic Jedi or get RL approval. (If you are doing this as a casual Halloween costume then by all means do what’s quick and easy if you prefer!) I used two layers of “blanched almond” 100% linen from Fabricmart for mine. I have not used it myself but I have heard that Joann Fabrics has a “linen look” linen-rayon blend that is pretty good if you don’t have the budget for full linen. Crinkle cotton gauze is also a popular choice. You may be able to find a good polyester/cotton blend but it may be hot to wear.

INNER TUNIC:

Although not required I highly recommend having one. It’s a layer that you can launder without having to wash your whole costume each time. You can either make a full shirt or just a dickey (false shirt with just a collar and a bit of a front and back). The important part is that the collar shows. Mine is a full wrap shirt with a band collar about 2 inches wide.

As you can see it is a very simple shape, with just a snap closure, because you won’t be seeing most of it while the costume is worn. My pattern is self-drafted but you can modify any basic shirt pattern. The easiest thing would be finding a wrap blouse pattern with a V neck to start with, but if you have some basic sewing skills you can extend one “flap” of the shirt pattern over and cut out the neckline to be a V shape.

Mine is made out of linen because it wicks moisture. Wearing lots of Jedi layers can get warm!

TABARDS:

When worn, tabards look like two pieces that go over your shoulders and down the front and back of your outer tunic. They are NOT straight rectangles because they need to be angled to sit right. You can cut them out as Y-shapes but I preferred to have pieces where the seam was hidden by the obi because it saved fabric. Here is an in progress shot to show you what I mean. The top pieces need to be long enough to cover the front and back; there is NO shoulder seam for Jedi tabards.

The exact dimensions are going to depend on your height and how broad your shoulders are. They should be wide enough to extend past your shoulders slightly. Mine are 5″ wide but I am not a very large person. For the upper pieces cutting out rectangles about 6″ x 36″ wide was a good starting point for me. I am 5’6″ tall and that was enough fabric to have 0.5″ seam allowances and a lot extra to trim off when angling the ends. (The tabards are double thickness so cut 4 identical rectangles out).

The bottom half of the tabard is where you have a lot of chances to show off your personal preferences.

The ends can be squared off, pointed, or rounded. Mine are pointed and curved on one side.
The length can vary but must be at least as long as your outer tunic (for RL approval).
You can have the tabards meet and become one piece hanging in the front.
The back tabards can cross or not.
They can be fabric or leather.
You can put decorative symbols on them with paint or embroidery.

For the lower tabards I started with 4 rectangles that were 6″ x 28″, which like the upper tabards were enough for seam allowance and extra for trimming. My curve starts about 6 inches from the end.

I constructed the tabards by sewing the right sides together, turning them right side out, and top-stitching. They are the same on the front and back.

OBI:

The obi is the wide sash around your waist. The RL standards say that the obi should be the same width as your tabards or about the 3 times the width of your belt. I did the first option so my obi is 5″ wide, but yours should be proportional to your height and shoulder width. The length will depend on your waist measurement. You’ll want to have add at least several inches for overlap in the back, plus more for seam allowance.

The easiest obi is just a long rectangle, but a lot of people like to add texture and visual interest. Mostly this means pleating or scrunching up the top layer horizontally. I put in a series of diagonal tucks. I have not seen anyone else do this so I want to note that even though I got approved, if you are going for RL submission your judge’s opinion may vary.

The obi cannot have any visible closures. You can use velcro, hooks and eyes, or snaps but they must be hidden in the back overlap. (I used 2 large snaps). Some people also do not add closures and rely on the belt to keep the obi closed, but that makes it a little harder to get dressed.

I recommend sewing your tabards to your obi. (Then you put it on like a backwards vest, with the obi closure in the back). This will keep them from shifting while you are wearing them and they will hang symmetrically without having to adjust them each time. If you are clever about it, when you sew the tabards to the obi you will form small pockets between the tabards and obi for your credit cards and cash, or stickers and trading cards to pass out to kids.

BELT:

Leather and pleather belts are both approvable, but I chose a leather belt for durability since I plan to wear this costume a lot. My belt was custom-made for me by Mag Mel Creations on Etsy. David does really great work and has wonderful customer service; I highly recommend his shop.

The classic Jedi belt consists of a wide belt with a skinny belt down the middle, with a buckle and studs holding the skinny belt in place. My belt is dark brown leather and 2.5 inches wide but the width can vary depending on your height. There are different buckle types you can get but mine is the “Obi-wan” style. The buckle in front is not actually the main closure for the belt. Jedi belts overlap in the back and closes with studs (mine), Velcro, or snaps that are then hidden by a loop of leather that slides over the opening.

Your belt can be brown or black but should match your boots.

BOOTS:

Like the belt, your boots can be brown or black but need to coordinate with the belt. If you are following RL standards:

They should be tall but not extend over the knee.
Boots should be low-heeled.
Laces are not allowed.
Zippers are ok but need to be facing the inside of your leg.
Decorative buckles are ok but not if they are overly numerous.
I have an elastic gusset down the back of my boots, which are considered ok if they are discreet and blend in.

Like the belt, boots can be leather or pleather, but if you are going to be trooping a lot or marching in parades get some good quality leather boots to be kind to your feet!

I have very narrow calves so my options are limited, but I was able to get “Gabi” boots from Slimcalfboot.com during a sale. They also have a sister company called Wideshaftboot.com.

PANTS:

Getting pants are the easiest part of the ensemble! Only a little bit between the bottom of your tunic and top of your boots show, so there’s a lot of leeway to choose pants. You may even already have some in your closet that work.

Pants should be plain and in a solid color.
If there are pockets they should be hidden by your tunic. (No cargo pants with pockets down the side of your leg).
Whether they close with elastic, drawstrings, or buttons doesn’t matter because it won’t show. (Your outer tunic is supposed to be long enough to cover your butt).
Skirts are also allowed by RL instead of pants but they are supposed to be long enough to not expose any skin.

I made my own pants to match my robe, but many people buy nursing scrubs or use khakis. My pattern is self-drafted but you can use a pajama pants pattern and then taper the legs a bit.

I added 2 pockets to the back big enough for a phone and a wallet. My waistband is elastic because that’s a lot faster than putting in a zipper and placket.

ROBE:

The robe is an optional item but fun! Jedi robes are very oversized with really large hoods and sleeves. I used the aforementioned Simplicity 8723 Harry Potter robe pattern (affiliate link) but made a few adjustments:

Wizard hoods are pointed. Jedi hoods are rounded. You’ll want to cut off the pointy tip and round out the back of your hood pattern piece.
You’ll need to cut your hood bigger by extending the pattern pieces in all directions. Jedi hoods are HUGE. Did I emphasize they are SUPER BIG? They are so large that when you wear them the sides of the hood cover your shoulders.
When the hood is down, the back of it almost touches your butt. To get all that fabric into your neckline you’ll need to do big pleats. (Your hood does not need to be lined, but I did because I wanted all the seams and edges to be very neatly finished. I’ve seen Jedi with serged one-layered hoods get approved so it’s not necessary).
The sleeves are humongous and long enough to cover your hands. If you are using the Harry Potter robe pattern you’ll need to extend the length of the sleeves.
The robe should be close to floor-length. (The RL standard is no more than 2 inches off the floor). The HP robe pattern only goes to about knee length so you’ll want to lengthen the robe. Please note, if you plan to run, drop the robe!

POUCHES:

Jedi have leather pouches attached to their belts. (If you want to use it as a RL minimum extra you’ll need 2). The pouches are allowed to be pleather or resin. There is a lot of leeway to the pouches as long as they match the look of your belt. A lot of people use military surplus ammo pouches because they are easy to find and inexpensive. You may prefer to find a pouch large enough to hold a phone or wallet. I opted for a small pouch due to my proportions, and because I already put pockets in my pants.

My pouch is a military surplus leather slingshot pellet holder (affiliate link) that I darkened with a few layers of shoe polish and wax.

Some Jedi belt makers will also make you a custom matching pouch if you ask.

LIGHTSABER:

Lightsabers are a very personal item with lots of possibilities. As a generic Jedi and not a specific character you can pick a design that appeals to you instead of looking for screen accuracy. If you want a fun costume you can pick up a plastic lightsaber at a toy shop. If you want a nicer one with a metal hilt the cost varies wildly depending on design, if it has a sound board, if it can do multiple sound effects, if it can change colors, if you had a saber smith do custom engraving, etc. I’ve seen lightsabers cost anywhere between $50-$1000 or more. There are a number of companies out there making lightsabers so make Google your friend.

However, if you are interested in mine, it is a YDD from Amazon (affiliate link), which was recommended to me as being good for small hands. At about $80 with sound effects it is a great deal. I like the smooth look because it’s comfortable to hold. As far as I can tell it is the same as the Kyojin Tiny Giant from Pach Store, but I have not purchased from that company myself.

LIGHTSABER CLIP:

There are two main ways to attach your lightsaber hilt to your belt depending on your lightsaber. If your hilt has a D ring then you will need a “hook” type of attachment and if your hilt has a Covertec wheel then you will need a Covertec-style belt clip (affiliate link).

I have a hook attachment for my belt. You can buy “Jedi lightsaber clips” but a really cost-effective way to get the look and function is to buy an archery quiver clip (which is used to hold the quiver of arrows to your belt) from a sporting goods store. Mine is a “Neet chrome belt clip” (affiliate link). One end hooks onto your belt and the other end is a hook for your D ring.

FOOD CAPSULES:

Clipped to the belt are also little metallic pieces called “food capsules.” If you are going for RL approval you will need at least a set of 4; some people have 8. I bought my Jedi food capsules on Amazon (affiliate link), and they come in a set of 8 but I only use 4 of them.

HOW MUCH FABRIC DO I NEED?

The amount of fabric you use will depend on your size of course, but to give you a rough idea this is how much I used (as a 5’6″ tall slender person):

Inner tunic: 1 yard bleached white linen in 3.8 oz weight from Dharma Trading
Outer tunic (entirely self-lined so double-layered): 5 yards beige linen from Fabricmartfabrics.com
Obi and tabards (all self-lined): 2 yards blue wool from local sale
Pants: 2 yards blue linen/rayon Kaufman Brussels Washer Linen Blend in Paris Blue (affiliate link)
Robe (with self-lined hood): 6 yards blue linen/rayon (same as pants)

All fabric was wide widths (about 54″).

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

The cost of your Jedi costume will vary widely depending on what sort of materials you use, how fancy your lightsaber is, and whether your goal is to be Rebel Legion approvable or have a quick Halloween costume. I plan to wear this costume multiple times a year for many years and need to be comfortable during long hours so I invested in nice fabrics (all linen and wool) and high quality genuine leather boots and belt. Including my lightsaber (which was on the low end of the price range) I spent about $500. DON’T PANIC. If you use cotton or polyester fabric and pleather boots and belt I think you could put together a Jedi for $200, or even maybe $100 if you get creative at the thrift store. If you are on a budget I’d recommend going to a thrift store and looking for used boots there, and seeing what curtains and sheets you could use to make your garments instead of buying new fabric. If you have a bit of skill you can try your hand at making your own belt as well. (If you are not looking for RL approval you have a lot more flexibility in terms of faking the look with a store-bought belt). If you skip the robe, which takes up a lot of fabric, that will bring your costs down as well.

I wrote this guide with Rebel Legion approval in mind, but if you are not interested in that you can simplify or skip items. Also please keep in mind that your goals are your goals. Don’t let anyone make you feel embarrassed if you have a low budget, like unusual color combinations, or want a costume for fun and not for official approval.

Good luck and May the Force Be With You!

EndorBaseCards_2.3x3.5_plusBleed_VivienLeeJedi_Front

My Rebel Legion trading card, graphics by Colin Adams (OddViking)

HEY WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THESE “AFFILIATE LINKS”?

I am required to disclose that if you buy something through the Amazon link I get a small percentage of the sale that goes towards my domain registration fees and other costs associated with hosting the many photos on this website. (I don’t generate a profit on this blog; I just hope to break even). If you feel extra generous you can buy me a “coffee.” Thank you for reading!

13 Comments

Posted in Fantasy, Geekery, Star Wars and tagged costume, diy, generic Jedi, guide, Jedi, linen, Star Wars, wool. Bookmark the permalink.

Costume College 2018 Outfit Recap

Posted on August 10, 2018 by freshfrippery

I went a little overboard at Costume College this year and brought 8 costumes. Originally I thought I’d just dress up for the evening events and then bring some vintage dresses for casual daywear. Then I got recruited into various group costumes and things snowballed from there . . . I’ll be following up this post with more featuring the costumes worn by the other talented individuals at Costume College, but for now, here is my parade!

At the Thursday Night Pool Party the theme was “In the Realm of the Goblin King,” so of course I had to dress as Jareth! Elizabeth was my baby Toby.

The boots are American Duchess Tavistocks and the blouse is a vintage Gunne Sax. Everything else was cobbled together from modern clothes.

On Friday I wore my Victorian bicycling outfit with the “Adventurer’s” group of sporting ladies.

Friday night I wore my Crimson Peak Edith picnic outfit, along with my Elizabeth as another version of Edith, and Adrienne as our “sister-in-law” Lucille. I’ve worn this outfit before but it wasn’t fully finished then. I’ve made a number of upgrades and will be making a more detailed construction post on the blog.

It was a delightful surprise to even get some kudos on Instagram from Kate Hawley, costume designer for Crimson Peak!

On Saturday I was a member of a surprise group of Downton Abbey maids. It was decided I was the “head maid” since I had the most lace, and our pregnant friend Christine played the part of “the fallen maid” that got a little too friendly with the young master of the house.

We passed out buttons as prizes to people who could identify us correctly. (As Asian costumers we’ve experienced people calling us by each others names at conventions for years, so we thought it’d be fun to dress alike this year). Christine also made embroidered patches for us to wear with this same design.

Saturday night was the grand gala! I have so many wonderful pictures for a future post, but here I am in my Vice Admiral Holdo, along with my brilliant friend Kelsey in her Queen Amidala.

On Sunday I wore a vintage peignoir with feather trim over a black nightgown, and joined other ladies wearing their glamorous “Sunday undies.”

For the rest of the day on Sunday I rewore my vintage-style Star Wars First Order uniform, with a new purse and re-tailored collar. I had the privilege of a photoshoot with Gloria of In the Long Run, and here is a preview image I received. I can’t wait to see the final photos!

Adrienne also took this slow-motion villain cape action video. (Click on the link, not the photo). https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl2G7-vDvse/?taken-by=freshfrippery

For those of you keeping track, outfit #8 was a fuzzy Totoro kigurumi (which I forgot to photograph). It was very useful during the evenings when I wanted to feel cozy. (FYI, for anyone feeling a little unease, I am an outlier that brings more costumes than average. You are absolutely not required to dress all day, every day for CoCo. Many people attend classes in jeans, and not every attends the evening social events).

I had an incredible time at Costume College! Stay tuned for more posts featuring other costumers.

11 Comments

Posted in Costume College 2018, Crimson Peak, Downton Abbey, Geekery, Victorian and tagged Cosplay, costume, Costume College, Costume College 2018, edwardian, sewing, Star Wars, Victorian. Bookmark the permalink.

Vintage-Inspired Star Wars First Order/General Hux Costume

Posted on June 4, 2018 by freshfrippery

Recently I went to a themed party wearing a General Hux First Order costume with vintage styling. I had a lot of fun putting together this outfit and pretending to be sinister. Want this look? I’ve got links to all the accessories and base dress in this post.

General Hux wears a tunic and greatcoat with First order emblems and armbands signifying his rank, as well as a funny little hat with a metal emblem.

I substituted a dress for his tunic and a cape for his greatcoat. My gloves are vintage kid leather with lots of little cut outs, and my shoes are the 1940s Nita ankle strap heels from Royal Vintage Shoes.

I didn’t have time to make it all from scratch (except the cape) so I purchased an “Audrey Hepburn” dress on Amazon (affiliate link). The dress has a keyhole neckline and some cute button details. It has some stretch, and I would definitely size down if you are between sizes. I had to exchange the first dress I bought for a smaller size. The sleeves were a little wide on me, but I have skinny arms, so you may not have to tailor them like I did.

The dress comes with a matching fabric belt with a pleather backing. I flipped the belt around, cut off the buckle, and added this metal buckle blank (Amazon affiliate link) to make it look more like a leather First Order belt. You can also buy it at your local Tandy Leather store.

I bought the medium sized (3″ wide) shoulder patch from Mirror Universe on Etsy.

You can buy the arm bands online, but I made my own using white soutache trim (Amazon affiliate link). At first I tried to sew the soutache directly on the sleeve, but it was a little difficult getting everything to stay straight. In the end, I sewed the white soutache trim onto some matte black ribbon, put Misty Fuse on the back, and ironed the ribbon strips onto the sleeve. A few tips:

Misty Fuse is like Wonder Under or Stitch Witchery, except it’s black and very light. It doesn’t add bulk, and is dark so even if you mess up a little it won’t show up like white iron-on adhesive.
Use matte ribbon, not a shiny satin ribbon, to keep your ribbon backing from being too obvious.
Open up the sleeve seam so that you can tuck the raw ends of your ribbon and soutache inside before sewing it closed again for a clean finish.

My “stewardess pillbox” hat was purchased from Amazon (affiliate link). I added some vintage veiling, and added a nice metal pin that I purchased from The Empires New Clothes on Etsy.

Just for fun, I wore a “Thirst Order” pin from Dahlia Bunny on my dress.

The cape is self-drafted, but not difficult to make. I used a soft, low-pile velvet that I draped on my dress form. Originally, I made it floor length and super full so I started with 4 yards of fabric that became significantly less in the end. A last minute addition was a red lining to make my dress stand out, which meant more last minute shopping online with Prime to get this faux dupioni (Amazon affiliate link).

A trick for when you have an item that is two colors (or you’re just lazy) and you can’t topstitch without the wrong color thread showing on one of the sides: sew some Misty Fuse or Stitch Witchery onto the wrong side of the fabric. When you flip it over and iron the edges your cape and lining will fuse together.

Since it is somewhat off the shoulder I added snaps to the dress and cape to hold them together. This was done right before the party, so it’s not lined up perfectly. Next time I think I will add more snaps or hooks and bar so the collar will hug my neck better.

Final project cost tally:

Dress: $29.99 from Amazon
Hat: $13.99 from Amazon
Patch: $11.74 ($7.99 + $3.75 shipping) from Etsy
Hat pin: $13.45 ($9.95 + $3.50 shipping) from Etsy
Dress pin: $9 from Etsy
Cape fabric: $30 from Facebook
Cape lining: $8.72 from Amazon
Belt buckle: $4.17 from Amazon
Soutach: $4.99 from Amazon
Thread and misc from stash: ~$3

Total: $129.05

The shoes, gloves, and seamed stockings are part of my regular vintage wardrobe.

I had so much fun with this outfit! I am looking forward to wearing it again! (Sorry for the slightly blurry photos; the event had really dim lighting!)

UPDATE: I later wore this costume to Costume College and got a wonderful photoshoot from Gloria of In the Long Run!

4 Comments

Posted in Fantasy and tagged costume, First Order, General Hux, sewing, Star Wars, vintage. Bookmark the permalink.

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo Costume DIY: Patterns and Materials For Your Cosplay

Posted on May 6, 2018 by freshfrippery

My last post showed pictures of me having a fun time dressed as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo from Star Wars the Last Jedi, at Silicon Valley Comic Con. As promised, here’s a compilation of my research and some tips and tricks to help you with your own costume. This is a long post; it covers fabric and colors, pattern, shoes, wig, jewelry, makeup, and more. (Please note, this is how I personally made my own Admiral Holdo cosplay; I can’t guarantee yours will be Rebel-Legion approvable).

There are a lot of reference photos online, especially now that the DVD of the movie is out. I have a few important ones here in this post, but Google is your friend! The Official Rebel Legion has an excellent list of Holdo’s costume elements, so even if you are not going for RL approval, take a look at the list and the descriptions. To summarize:

Dress made of puce jersey or stretch fabric that drapes well
Fitted neck with draped front and exposed collarbones
Dramatic draped hood
Long, floor-length fabric on left shoulder
Long, fitted sleeves
Round-toe boots with chunky heel
Purple curly hair
Silver tiara
2 silver cuff bracelets
Earrings with purple stones
Cluster ring
Ring with marbled stone

Yes, it looks like a lot, but is doable and I’ll tell you in this post where to buy all the materials you need.

FABRIC AND COLORS

Keep in mind, the Vanity Fair photo of Holdo’s costume released before the movie does a wonderful job of showing the draping, but this was styled for a photo shoot and it does not show screen accurate color or hair.

On screen, you can see that her hair has much looser waves in the front, and the color of the dress is much less purple. Depending on the scene and lighting, it appears to change color, ranging from brown to mauve. The director has said that the dress is puce, and you’ll see on the Admirals in Purple Facebook group a lot of discussion on what the color actually is and what fabrics would work. I recommend checking out that FB group regardless; it’s got a lot of great posts and advice, including a pinned post with shopping links.

My advice is to get some fabric swatches and see what looks good on your skin. If you want to be screen accurate, go puce, but not everyone can carry it off. This is my swatch card from Stylish Fabrics.

My personal opinion is that “mauve pale” looks the most like the dress on screen, “mauve DK” looks most like the Vanity Fair photo, and “mauve 2017” is a compromise between the two. I looked like death in mauve pale so I used mauve 2017 for my own costume, and you can see that depending on the light it looks very different.

The fabric I bought is a rayon jersey, which is soft and stretchy, and has a nice drape. You do not need to buy rayon jersey, but your fabric cannot be stiff. It must be soft enough to give the waterfall effect on the back of the dress. The Stylish Fabrics rayon comes in several weights. I got swatches of the #406 (200 GSM), #409 (180 GSM), and #13390 (160 GSM). I purchased the 200 GSM, which is the thickest, for my entire dress and lining. Some other cosplayers have bought a thicker fabric for the main dress, and a thinner one for the hood to keep it lighter.

How much fabric to buy? I bought 11 yards, and had 2 full yards and some huge scraps left over, so 9 yards is plenty. I also self-lined the body of the dress, so if you skip that you can save a few yards. I am 5’6″ and if you are shorter than me you can also use the width, instead of the length of the fabric and save even more. So depending on your height and whether you want a lining, you will use 6-10 yards of a 55″ fabric.

DRESS PATTERN

Given the nature of the construction of this dress, you will have to drape it, either on yourself or a dress form. This is not a project I recommend for a beginner because there’s no ready made pattern, and knits sometimes stretch and sag in unexpected ways. I having enough sewing experience to drape mine on a dress form, but if you need help getting started, Simplicity 1716 is a cowl-neck dress pattern that you can adapt by lengthening. (I haven’t used it so I can’t vouch for it, but it appears to me to be a decent base).

The hood is one giant trapezoid with pleated edges. These are the dimensions I used; if you are taller than me you will want to increase the width of the base. You can figure this out by having a friend hold a tape measure in a U shape on your back, with the ends on each shoulder and the bottom of the U just below your butt. I am 5’6″ and a 60″ trapezoid base is perfect for me. (There’s no need to change the 12″ measurement; that creates the smallest U in the series of drapes on the hood).

The easiest way to cut a large trapezoid is to fold your fabric in half like this and cut at the diagonal.

Please note, this makes for a REALLY FULL and heavy hood, and A LOT OF PLEATING. I think if I remade the dress I would not use the full width of the fabric, and have shorter diagonals. The hood would still look fine. If you are shorter than 5’6″, definitely use smaller smaller measurements than what I have diagrammed above.

I cartridge-pleated my hood. I think this makes it look neater and more even than gathering. It is time-consuming, but a good way to get a lot of fabric into a small space.

Have I mentioned this hood is heavy? It will want to drag and dip in weird ways, so be sure to put a strip of boning across the top to keep a nice straight line. I used a plastic cable-tie, cut to size.

The other thing you’ll want to consider to keep the hood where it should be is to have some type of internal harness. I’ve seen a few options:

Backpack-style straps. Run a thick piece of elastic across the top of the hood (where you have your boning), and then make loops that will go across your armpits like a backpack (but is hidden inside the dress). This is the approach used by Anachronism in Action. (You can pad the straps to make them more comfortable).
A front harness that is hidden below the neck drape. I haven’t tried this myself, but this is explained on Jen Eyre’s blog.
My own approach was to build a harness based on a T-back racerback bra. That way the weight was not only around my arms, but distributed across my chest. I got a bra with a front closure, and reinforced the elastic with a thicker kind. I also had another strip of elastic with its own closure running along the bottom of the bra for extra security. Now you’ll have support from the elastic running along the top of the hood, the elastic straps that come over your shoulders, the elastic T strap that goes down your back, and the elastic that goes around your ribcage below your bust. (Don’t pick a sports bra or a bra with wide straps; they will show because of the exposed shoulder blades on the dress).

The floor-length drape on the left shoulder is just a long rectangle, also pleated with the hood. The length will depend on your height and how much of a train you want. My width was 24.”

The sleeves are long and fitted, with a seam down the inside of the arm. If you look at this photo you will see they are actually gathered on the lower halves.

I constructed mine by cutting extra long sleeves and putting elastic on the inside seam of the sleeves. Stretch the elastic as you stitch it onto the lower sleeves, and when you release the elastic the sleeves will be gathered.

For the neck of Holdo’s gown you have a gathered high-necked collar with a long draped portion in the front. The back of the neck has 2 flat areas that are not gathered. I used a long invisible zipper down the back of the collar. The zipper was extra long so that I could pull the collar over my head after I put the dress on, and the extra length is tucked into the dress. The bottom of the front drape is attached to the dress, but the bottom of the back collar is attached to the hood using heavy-duty hooks and eyes, which are the last thing you attach when putting on the dress. (The jersey of the dress is stretchy enough that you don’t need a zipper all the way down the back of the dress, although you should still have a center back seam if you want screen accuracy). Use more hooks than you think you need! I’m going to add more for the next time I wear it so it doesn’t shift off-center again.

I highly recommend looking at how Anachronism In Action did her collar so you can see what the pattern shapes are. You will need to bone and/or interface the collar so that it is stiff enough to stay up.

Some other tips:

When you sew together the long side seams of the dress, add some twill tape, ribbon, or other similar materials to help control the fabric from stretching too much. I used 6mm Mobilon tape, a semi-transparent elastic, because I wanted a bit of stretch to remain.
Jersey fabric stretches enough on the straight grain; don’t cut your dress on the bias.
Your jersey may have a subtle direction to the weave that looks like parallel lines. If you care about having everything in the same direction, that will use more fabric than if you don’t care. (My 9 yards did include keeping everything in the same direction).

SHOES

Holdo wears boots with a chunky heel and a round toe that are a similar color to her dress. This style is not hard to find, and can be painted or dyed to match. I used the “Refresh Footwear Women’s Closed Toe Chunky Stacked Block Heel Ankle Bootie” in mauve from Amazon (affiliate link), however, there are other similar boots you can find that will work just as well.

I found the toes tight, and was able to stretch them out by putting in a shoe stretcher while using a hair dryer to warm up and soften the synthetic material. (If you get real leather shoes you don’t need to use the dryer trick to soften them before stretching).

I painted my shoes with a transparent spray paint called Tint It in plum (Amazon affiliate link). You can also get this at Michael’s, but my local store was sold out. It dries very quickly and a couple coats was good enough to turn my shoes from a pinky mauve color to a nice purple matching my fabric.

Use the Tint It in a well-ventilated area. Lay down newspaper and wear disposable gloves. Tape off the sole of your shoe using painter’s tape, and use a bristle brush or old toothbrush to brush the suede to distribute the color after spraying. Do this immediately, because Tint It dries fast!

WIG

I used the Arda Wigs Josephine in Dusty Rose. I’ve also seen other cosplayers use the Lavender color. Personally, I think Holdo’s hair is in between the two, and on my next wearing I might darken my wig. One way to do this is with “the Sharpie trick.” Put a purple Sharpie marker into some alcohol, let the ink dissolve, and spray it on.

The Josephine wig is finger-waved with tighter curls than you need. I relaxed the hair (especially in the front) by using a garment steamer and combing through while the wig was hot. (If you are coloring your wig, do it on a cool wig after you’re done with the steaming!)

If you prefer a lacefront wig, I’ve also seen the Arda Wigs Bucky Classic used with a Holdo cosplay, but it is $68 vs. $30 for the Josephine. However, you won’t have to steam out the curls.

JEWELRY

Admiral Holdo wears a lot of space jewelry. This page from the Star Wars Visual Dictionary shows her tiara, cuffs, earrings, and rings.

SILVER CUFFS

Holdo’s silver cuffs can be purchased from various vendors on eBay and Aliexpress for a few dollars each. I bought a pair each from these 2 vendors and they were exactly the same. I would recommend sanding them a bit, or lining them with some extra dress material. At the end of the day, my dress sleeves looked fuzzy from all the rubbing of the sharp edges.

HALO

You have several options for a halo: buy a 3D printed one from Etsy, bribe a friend with metalworking skills, solder your own, or make a decent-looking one with $3, thirty minutes, some pliers, and wire! I picked the last option. I may upgrade to a soldered one later, to be a little more screen-accurate, but the wired ends of my halo are hidden inside my wig so it doesn’t matter much.

I originally planned to use 1/4 inch armature wire for a thicker halo, but my local store didn’t have any, so these are the materials I ended up using: 12 gauge floral wire, 26 gauge paddle wire, and a metal hair comb. I bought the wire at Michael’s and I used one of these combs from Amazon (affiliate link), cut in half with tin snips.

I can’t draw, so please don’t laugh too hard, but here’s a diagram of how it was done:

RINGS AND EARRINGS

Holdo has a silver ring with a cluster of stones, and a gold oval ring with a marbled stone. (I don’t know why one ring is gold when all of her other accessories are silver. If the non-matching bothers your OCD self, go silver for both like I did). I haven’t found anyone selling exact reproductions, but this Google Doc from the Admirals in Purple FB page has links to a number of Amazon and eBay rings that could work.

For the oval ring you can either purchase a cats’ eye stone ring, or paint a plain stone with nail polish. Mine is painted. A tip if your rings are too big: you can put some hot glue on the inside bottom. It’s not obvious when it’s worn and it keeps your ring from slipping off.

The earrings are a bit trickier to find. The Rebel Legion standard is a semi-circular silver earring with dangling purple stones. I haven’t found a super close match and people seem to be modding their own earrings by adding stones to silver findings. I am using these lever back earrings (custom ordered in silver) from Etsy, because they work for both Holdo and my 18th century costumes.

BLASTER

Holdo favors a classic blaster, the DDC Defender-5. There are some nice replicas for sale, but if you are on a budget, I would get a plastic replica of Princess Leia’s blaster, Dremel off the extra length in the barrel (the skinniest part), glue the ends back together, and paint it yourself. You can get one on Amazon for about $10 (affiliate link). It’s not exactly the same, but close enough.

MAKEUP AND MISC

Holdo wears lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, shaped brows, and nail polish. The exact products will depend on your skin tone, but here’s a few tips.

She has dark purple polish. I used Essie’s Smokin’ hot (Amazon affiliate link).
I can’t tell what color Holdo’s eyebrows are, so I’m not sure they match her hair. However, Laura Dern is a blonde with brown eyebrowns. My eyebrows are black, and I found them too stark compared to my purple wig, so I colored my brows purple. This is optional, but may be helpful to you if you are in the same situation. I covered my eyebrows with eyelid primer, filled in some spots with purple eye liner pencil, and covered the rest with purple eyeshadow. It’s subtle, but made a difference.

In the future, people don’t have to carry out money or keys, but in real life sometimes you need a way to carry your phone! I couldn’t add pockets to this clingy dress so I made a little drawstring bag to use at the convention. (Line yours with a non-stretchy material). I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve also heard of others using a ladies’ stretchy lace thigh holster to hold your stuff.

Let’s talk storage! There are a lot of pieces associated with this costume, and I didn’t want to go hunting for all of them right before a con. I’ve found that a 23″ long (28 quart Sterilite bin) is just the right size to hold the dress, boots, wig, bag, cuffs, backup cuffs, halo, earrings, and rings. The bins are about $5 at Target and absolutely worth it to keep your stuff together.

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

Depending on what you buy, where you get it from, and what you already have in your stash, your costs are going to vary. However, here is what I spent to give you a general idea. (I like coupons and bargains).

11 yards rayon jersey + tax + shipping, with a coupon: $63.44 from Stylish Fabrics
Swatch card + tax + shipping: $8.32 from Stylish Fabrics
Purple thread + tax, with a coupon: $3.26 from Joann Fabrics
Invisible zipper + shipping: $5.50 from eBay (since I couldn’t find a color match at Joann)
20 yards Mobilon tape: $6 from eBay (I have a lot left over!)
Elastic: ~$2, from stash
Racerback bra: ~$15 from Target
Wig + tax + shipping: $35.50 from Arda Wigs
Silver cluster ring + shipping: $13.29 from eBay
Metal oval ring + shipping: $1.99 from eBay
Earrings + shipping: $16.94 from Etsy
Bracers + shipping: $5.56 from eBay
Shoes: $14.46 from Amazon
Tint-It spray: $12.08 from Amazon
Aluminum floral wire + tax, with coupon: $3.92 from Michael’s (I have plenty left)
Silver paddle wire + tax, with coupon: $2.19 from Michael’s (this will last me forever)
Metal comb: $1.40 from Amazon ($6.99 for a 5-pack)
Purple nail polish, with coupon: $3.99 from Amazon

TOTAL COST: $214.84

The fabric is relatively inexpensive, but all the extra accessories do add up! The jewelry was a chunk of my cost (~$40) because I did get some better quality items I could wear with other outfits. If you are on a budget, you may be able to get some costume pieces for less money, or find things in your stash.

If you’ve managed to read all the way to the end, thank you and congratulations! This was a long post, but I hope it will be useful to you when making your own Admiral Holdo costume. Good luck and Godspeed Rebels!

(If you’re wondering what are these affiliate links, it means I get a small percentage of any purchase you make from Amazon through these links, which I have to disclose. I don’t get any of the money from the ads WordPress runs on this site, and I’m happy to provide all my tutorials for free. The affiliate fees go towards my domain registration and hosting. Thanks!)

30 Comments

Posted in Geekery and tagged Amilyn Holdo, Cosplay, costume, Star Wars, SVCC, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Bookmark the permalink.

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo Cosplay at Silicon Valley Comic Con

Posted on April 13, 2018 by freshfrippery

Last weekend at Silicon Valley Comic Con I premiered my Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo cosplay. I had a great time wearing this costume from Star Wars: The Last Jedi!

Although I’ve been planning this since last year, I only had a few weeks to sew it because I was busy with other events. I will have a follow-up post with more information about the construction, materials, tips and tricks, and a materials list, but for now here are some pictures from the event!

This was taken in the lobby of the convention center, not long after arrival.

However, before SVCC, my friend Chris Weiner took a few photos in his back yard with his superior camera!

The back drape of this dress is what made me fall in love it when I first saw a photo of Lauren Dern as Amilyn Holdo in Vanity Fair Magazine.

There were so many great Star Wars cosplayers at SVCC! I met Praetorian Guards, Stormtroopers, and Darth Vader!

I also met Kylo Ren, who bowed to his Disney overlords.

I was delighted to meet another Holdo. Double Holdo, double trouble!

I also encountered General Hux, and we had a stare-off.

Lego Obi-Wan was a delight!

I even found and ate a stormtrooper macaron cookie.

And it was an honor to be one of the cosplays featured on Business Insider!

Photo by Melia Robinson of Business Insider

My friend Adrienne took this video of me so you can see how the dress moves as I twirl.

SVCC was a lot of fun; I’ll be sure to be back next year! See my Flickr album for more photos from the event.

6 Comments

Posted in Cosplay, Geekery and tagged Amilyn Holdo, Cosplay, costume, sewing, Silicon Valley Comic Con, Star Wars, SVCC, The Last Jedi, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Bookmark the permalink.

1940s Star Trek Ladies at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017

Posted on April 23, 2017 by freshfrippery

Yesterday I went to Silicon Valley Comic Con with two other members of my vintage-style 1940s Star Trek mashup crew. We got a few “Star Trek pin-up girls” comments, but were pleasantly surprised at how many people called us the Andrews Sisters! That wasn’t our intention but still neat how many people got the vintage reference.

The highlight of our day was meeting Jonathan Frakes aka Commander Riker!

He was super nice! It was really exciting to meet and take a photo of him, but the experience was even better than we expected because he seemed excited to see us too! When he spotted us his jaw dropped and he said, “Look at you guys!” He complimented our outfits and style. We would have liked to talk more but after a quick photo the staff herded us away and we were left with some really great memories!

The other fun part of the day was geeking out with other fans. We took literally hundreds of photos for and with other people that were excited to see our handmade Star Trek costumes. We took so many photos our cheeks hurt at the end of the day and we quickly settled into our “standard” pose for the day.

I wish I hadn’t forgotten my shoulder pads though! My dress is made of rayon (which is so wrinkle-prone). The front is supposed to be blousy and fall into soft gathers, but without the pads it looks too wrinkly.

We also ran into some storm troopers! At first one pointed to his or her chest to indicate our comm badges and then made disapproving gestures, but eventually we achieved detente.

We also had an encounter with the Borg when we went outside to the food truck area.

And I got to meet Dark Helmet!

These two Mr. Jones were great. They portrayed the characters well, teasing each other with lines from the Indiana Jones movies. The elder Dr. Jones was really convincing with an impeccable costume and props, and passed out tickets to his upcoming lecture. We had fun with these guys.

There were a lot of really fantastic costumes that I weren’t able to photograph, either because they walked past too fast, or I was busy taking photos with someone else.

By the way, I am on Instagram now. I just opened my account so there is much yet but you can follow me as @freshfrippery.

2 Comments

Posted in 1940s, Geekery, Other Clothes and tagged Commander Riker, costume, geek, Jonathan Frakes, nerd, Silicon Valley Comic Con, Star Trek, Star Wars, SVCC. Bookmark the permalink.

Fresh Frippery

Tag Archives: Star Wars

Jedi Librarian / Archivist Costume for Rebel Legion

DIY Generic Jedi Costume for Rebel Legion (A Head to Toe Guide)

Costume College 2018 Outfit Recap

Vintage-Inspired Star Wars First Order/General Hux Costume

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo Costume DIY: Patterns and Materials For Your Cosplay

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo Cosplay at Silicon Valley Comic Con

1940s Star Trek Ladies at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017

Follow me by email!

Ko-Fi

Categories

Tags

Recent Posts

Recent Flickr Uploads

Other Costume Blogs

Archives