This is the first in a series of fabulous reader guest posts. In an early fashion blog entry, I talked about celebrating my diverse and beautiful friends and these new guest posts are dedicated to that idea. So. . .
My old friend Ted Prodromou writes in from California. We performed in a number of plays together over the years, including the infamous Lucky Stiff (don't ask!) and Sweeney Todd. I am inspired by his creativity and ingenuity, and I hope you are, too. Enjoy!
My old friend Ted Prodromou writes in from California. We performed in a number of plays together over the years, including the infamous Lucky Stiff (don't ask!) and Sweeney Todd. I am inspired by his creativity and ingenuity, and I hope you are, too. Enjoy!
This is my ghost costume that I wear while LARPing!
LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing) is a hobby where we dress and act as a character for an extended period of time. It's kind of improv theatre meets Dungeons & Dragons. We go up camping for a weekend at a camp for developmentally disabled kids, up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, that rents out space to us at a discount price because we also volunteer there off-season. It's cold, and exhausting, and time-consuming, and a lot of fun.
The particular setting for this costume is northern England, circa 1864. The character is a ghost, dressed in faded finery, who generally scowls and whispers a lot.
The outfit is a coat, vest, and shirt that my friend made for me. She's studying fashion design right now, so I got a chance to have this commissioned for much less than what I'd usually expect to pay for something like this. It's personally designed hand-sewn, and I'm really way too proud of it.
The material is actually tapestry material from a bulk fabric store. I was originally hoping for a more traditional coat, but I was on a budget. We found this fabric for $5 a yard, and I instantly fell in love with it. The woman's face is very expressive, the fabric is thick (which is handy when it's cold out), and I like that the pattern is reversible.
(The mask is a store-bought plastic half-mask and just intended to look a little more spooky and conceal my face a little so I can look more somber and ghostly.)
I wear this about every two or three months, for a few hours at a time. When I wear it, I'm probably posing dramatically and whispering something ominous.
I've worn this outfit for other occasions -- fairs and dances and the photo shoot you see here -- but it's definitely my ghost costume.
The last time I wore it was for this photo shoot, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, where my friend was taking photographs of all her past work for her school portfolio. The photo shoot was in a park in downtown Mountain View, California. Families were walking their dogs because it was a sunny day, and just about every child who walked by would stare at me. I was a little worried that I'd scare people in my spooky outfit, but I smiled and waved, and was glad I didn't make any kids cry. I think they were just curious why I was dressed up.
The next time I'm going to wear this is tonight! I'm heading up to the hills right now after I finish writing this. Goodbye!
LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing) is a hobby where we dress and act as a character for an extended period of time. It's kind of improv theatre meets Dungeons & Dragons. We go up camping for a weekend at a camp for developmentally disabled kids, up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, that rents out space to us at a discount price because we also volunteer there off-season. It's cold, and exhausting, and time-consuming, and a lot of fun.
The particular setting for this costume is northern England, circa 1864. The character is a ghost, dressed in faded finery, who generally scowls and whispers a lot.
The outfit is a coat, vest, and shirt that my friend made for me. She's studying fashion design right now, so I got a chance to have this commissioned for much less than what I'd usually expect to pay for something like this. It's personally designed hand-sewn, and I'm really way too proud of it.
The material is actually tapestry material from a bulk fabric store. I was originally hoping for a more traditional coat, but I was on a budget. We found this fabric for $5 a yard, and I instantly fell in love with it. The woman's face is very expressive, the fabric is thick (which is handy when it's cold out), and I like that the pattern is reversible.
(The mask is a store-bought plastic half-mask and just intended to look a little more spooky and conceal my face a little so I can look more somber and ghostly.)
I wear this about every two or three months, for a few hours at a time. When I wear it, I'm probably posing dramatically and whispering something ominous.
I've worn this outfit for other occasions -- fairs and dances and the photo shoot you see here -- but it's definitely my ghost costume.
The last time I wore it was for this photo shoot, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, where my friend was taking photographs of all her past work for her school portfolio. The photo shoot was in a park in downtown Mountain View, California. Families were walking their dogs because it was a sunny day, and just about every child who walked by would stare at me. I was a little worried that I'd scare people in my spooky outfit, but I smiled and waved, and was glad I didn't make any kids cry. I think they were just curious why I was dressed up.
The next time I'm going to wear this is tonight! I'm heading up to the hills right now after I finish writing this. Goodbye!