the word meme: costuming
Jul. 9th, 2009 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonIn an attempt to write about something that isn't fencing, I'm participating in this meme, as tagged by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
skill_grl:
Some of these might get long and complicated, so I'm taking them one by one, starting at the top:
Costuming: I think I've always been a costumer, but it was a long trip figuring that out. My first efforts were the usual Halloween costumes, and always by proxy, because I couldn't sew as a child (indeed, I was scared of the sewing machine until high school - I was convinced my fingers would go under the feed dogs - have I mentioned before that I was an anxious kid?). My mother tells me I started planning what I'd wear in summer, and though I don't remember it, I believe her because she made some of them herself :)
Two that stand out for me was a wonderful poly-suede lion costume (so soft!). She must have had huge remnants, because the next year I had an Indian costume made out of the same material. There are photos of me in others, but these are the ones I remember wearing :)
My last Halloween I was a vampire - not much of a stretch because by that time I was a budding teenage goth :P I think most of my high school years was a frustrated fight against what I perceived as tacky clothing - this was the late 80s and the key styles I remember were big hair, neon colors, and pink glitter lipstick. Not only didn't this look good on me (did it on anyone?), it was excessively fussy. Goth was simple: black, white, red. Want variety? Lace, velvet, fishnet. It was just so much more elegant in my eyes.
Needless to say I wasn't finding what I wanted in the mall, so my mom suggested sewing lessons with a woman who had a bridal/fabric shop near my school. By that time I was already altering my own thrift store finds by hand (and not very well) and she assured me that this way I'd learn how to get exactly what I want.
The woman who was my first teacher was amazing! None of the peewee apron or pillowcase projects from her - she wanted me to make something I'd actually want to wear. To this day I think it's the best way to start out: with a simple skirt pattern. Long or short, stretch or woven, zipper or not - the details didn't really matter. The purpose was to learn to read a pattern and finish with something wearable.
Within a year or two I'd surpassed my mother's admonitions that knits and zippers were "too hard" :P
Construction took a rest in college, but one of my professors turned me onto fashion history and told me about the Costume Society of America. I should have clued in then that my real interests lay with clothing as social history, not as commerce, but the department I was in didn't do design, and I didn't want to switch to theater arts ('cos then I might have to act - horror!)
Working retail only confirmed my aversion to selling clothing as product. I continued to make (and still do occasionally) modern "everyday" clothing, but more and more I turned my efforts to art-to-wear, club gear and other things that couldn't be found off the rack.
My purchase of QEWU and discovery of a place to wear all these crazy things (Costume College!) ~2002 started an ongoing "reboot" of how I approach this hobby. I figured out I could do more and be better at costuming than I ever thought possible, and I met likeminded people to bang brains with!
Costuming is, for me, a way to play, stand out, blend in, and experiment with different personas. After moving pixels around all day, it's a way of manipulating the physical world and getting my hands dirty. It's the joy of making something new.
My fantasy closet would have a meticulously researched outfit from every time period and place, and I'd be able to put one on and blend in - or stand out - perfectly, getting exactly the reaction (or lack of) that I want.
skill_grl:costuming
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Some of these might get long and complicated, so I'm taking them one by one, starting at the top:
Costuming: I think I've always been a costumer, but it was a long trip figuring that out. My first efforts were the usual Halloween costumes, and always by proxy, because I couldn't sew as a child (indeed, I was scared of the sewing machine until high school - I was convinced my fingers would go under the feed dogs - have I mentioned before that I was an anxious kid?). My mother tells me I started planning what I'd wear in summer, and though I don't remember it, I believe her because she made some of them herself :)
Two that stand out for me was a wonderful poly-suede lion costume (so soft!). She must have had huge remnants, because the next year I had an Indian costume made out of the same material. There are photos of me in others, but these are the ones I remember wearing :)
My last Halloween I was a vampire - not much of a stretch because by that time I was a budding teenage goth :P I think most of my high school years was a frustrated fight against what I perceived as tacky clothing - this was the late 80s and the key styles I remember were big hair, neon colors, and pink glitter lipstick. Not only didn't this look good on me (did it on anyone?), it was excessively fussy. Goth was simple: black, white, red. Want variety? Lace, velvet, fishnet. It was just so much more elegant in my eyes.
Needless to say I wasn't finding what I wanted in the mall, so my mom suggested sewing lessons with a woman who had a bridal/fabric shop near my school. By that time I was already altering my own thrift store finds by hand (and not very well) and she assured me that this way I'd learn how to get exactly what I want.
The woman who was my first teacher was amazing! None of the peewee apron or pillowcase projects from her - she wanted me to make something I'd actually want to wear. To this day I think it's the best way to start out: with a simple skirt pattern. Long or short, stretch or woven, zipper or not - the details didn't really matter. The purpose was to learn to read a pattern and finish with something wearable.
Within a year or two I'd surpassed my mother's admonitions that knits and zippers were "too hard" :P
Construction took a rest in college, but one of my professors turned me onto fashion history and told me about the Costume Society of America. I should have clued in then that my real interests lay with clothing as social history, not as commerce, but the department I was in didn't do design, and I didn't want to switch to theater arts ('cos then I might have to act - horror!)
Working retail only confirmed my aversion to selling clothing as product. I continued to make (and still do occasionally) modern "everyday" clothing, but more and more I turned my efforts to art-to-wear, club gear and other things that couldn't be found off the rack.
My purchase of QEWU and discovery of a place to wear all these crazy things (Costume College!) ~2002 started an ongoing "reboot" of how I approach this hobby. I figured out I could do more and be better at costuming than I ever thought possible, and I met likeminded people to bang brains with!
Costuming is, for me, a way to play, stand out, blend in, and experiment with different personas. After moving pixels around all day, it's a way of manipulating the physical world and getting my hands dirty. It's the joy of making something new.
My fantasy closet would have a meticulously researched outfit from every time period and place, and I'd be able to put one on and blend in - or stand out - perfectly, getting exactly the reaction (or lack of) that I want.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 02:29 am (UTC)It was in college when I realized people would pay me to do what I did for fun. It took a bit longer to realize that a) costuming pays pittance and b) I don't like sewing for money.
It's kind of fun to be belly dancing in public now because I'm **gasp** actually using my undergrad degree! Well, the other half of it, at least. ;-p
My English degree looks great when paired with my MLS. My tech theatre degree sort gets ignored. But now that I'm dancing and putting together my own outfits! Woohoo!