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Apr. 26th, 2003 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonI've been crawling along on the Costume Con sum up - there is so much to say and I find that I am still too exhausted and not eloquent to describe anything in a way that does it justice, let alone REMEMBER everything! What I've got will hide behind cut tags for brevity. What is under the tags is very long - you've been warned!
Arrival: The plane landed at O'Hare ahead of schedule, so I was on time for the hotel shuttle. To my pleasant surprise, I was supposed to share a shuttle with Margo Anderson (of Margo Anderson's Historic Costume Patterns/One Tough Costumer - FABULOUS Elizabethan patterns), but she didn't arrive in time.
Hotel: The con was held at the Doubletree Northshore Hotel, in Skokie IL. Doubletree = free cookies, and I was very glad because I hadn't eaten since around noon!
After checking in and dumping my bags, I saw a few people who looked like they might be there for the con (there is a "type" - sometimes), and asked them about programming, because I had never received a schedule. As it turned out no one else had either - which in retrospect should not have been surprising (Costume Con is in a different city every year, so it's not like the coordinators have yearly experience putting on an event of this size).
After checking the hotel schedule (not updated yet), I decided to have an early night so I could get up for classes in the morning. The cookie wasn't enough after all day in airports/on planes, so I ordered some bruschetta and got some sleep.
Morning: Up early and... nothing is happening, at least according to the vendors I talked to in the lobby. They directed me to the person in charge of programming, who told me that classes started at 4. This left me wide awake and at loose ends. While spending the day hiding in my room with a book usually defines my perfect weekend, I wasn't looking forward to it - I wanted ACTION, dammit! I wasn't alone - there were many folks milling around the lobby looking for SOMETHING to do.
I finally met Margo and her husband Wayne when they approached the vendors - also to see what was happening. Wonderful people, friendly right off the bat. It's one of the things I loved about Costume College and it seemed that the friendliness was going to be the same here. I joined them for breakfast at the IHOP, where we surprised each other by what we had in common, and came up with a game plan for the day.
Margo decided she'd see about setting up their vending, and Wayne, myself, and another Con-attendee at loose ends, K., decided to rent a car and go down to the Field Museum. Wayne has an interest in dinosaurs and the Field has Sue, the largest/most complete T-Rex ever found. Myself, I was just keen to hang out with my new friends.
Afternoon: Rented car and drove into Chicago. I navigated, which wasn't difficult as it is very flat - the roads are laid out on a grid. It was also very cold, mostly because of the wind coming off Lake Michigan. I'd not been to the city since I was 4 years old, and the only thing I remembered were fragments of the King Tut exhibit, so it was like being there for the first time.
We parked in a far lot and took the museum trolley to the museum itself. Waiting for it was freezing, due to the wind off Lake Michigan, but chat kept it off my mind. Our trolley driver, Dean, was clearly a frustrated stand-up comedian, throwing some of the vilest puns I'd heard since I left D. at home :P
The Museum: lots to see, and took many photos of Sue - I'm not a huge dinosaur fan but she (it?) was indeed impressive. I was more interested in the man eating lions of Tsavo (the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" is about their reign of terror), if only because of the frisson created by the horror of them attacking people. A cautionary tale about letting your kittycat get bigger than you are!
We had intended to hit the Art Institute Museum, but by the time we got out of the Field it was 3:30 and we were all starving, so we headed back to the hotel with the aim of ordering Chicago-style deep dish pizza. (Indeed, I found that the biggest challenge throughout the weekend was finding the time to eat - there were no breaks between classes and I was running around so much that anything I ate burned immediately!)
Dealers' Room: while Wayne went off to order the pizza, the rest of us split up to stave off hunger with some shopping. Alter Years, the vendor that had owned me all during Costume College, was there with a full room just for themselves (drool!!). Margo was situated in the other room, cramped in with several others, including Poison Pen Press, Farthingales, Ursula's Alcove and others (more drool, weep, covet, etc.) Being on a budget, I decided to behave until I'd had a chance to really consider what I needed and what I didn't.
Dinner: K. and I went to Margo and Wayne's hotel room for the pizza. It was fantastic, but I was so hungry I had little time to savor it. Wayne showed me a draft of his book about Shakespearean English - dictionary, history, and usage - which I hope will reach a publisher, as it looked interesting and EXTREMELY thorough at a skimming through.
Friday Night Social: this was a chance to meet up with other con attendees and chill out. The theme was "gangsters", which implied 1920s and 1960s, though ultimately anything went - I dressed in all black with my red pleated Issey Miyake coat and it was perfectly acceptable. I didn't socialize much as I was getting tired from a long day, but I took a lot of photos before I retired - several men really shone in well done zoot suits. You've not lived 'til you've seen Darth Vader attempt to do the Charleston!
Got up early and hit IHOP again, because they do breakfast cheaply and well. Stopped by the shopping (I couldn't stay away, it was so PRETTY!!!) and ran into Drea Leed (the woman behind the comprehensive Elizabethan Costuming Page /The Well Dressed Peasant). We chatted for a few minutes, then I rushed off to the first of MANY classes.
Class Highlights (includes classes taken Sunday, as I don't have the schedule in front of me):
I took many more classes than this, but what I mostly took away was:
Shopping: Broke down and got some books because I'd never seen them before - one on theatrical prosthetic makeup, another on basic stage makeup, one on hand-making your own shoes, and another on molding and casting (I still want a 790!). Also picked up the Men's Elizabethan Pattern from Margo and Wayne - talked to D. on the phone and he is still keen on (or at least willing :P) to wear a 16th century scholar's costume.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Masquerade: The first of 2 competitions, this took place in the hotel ballroom. Lights were dimmed so I couldn't take pictures of the stage competitions, but I got a few in the hall later. Highlights:
Much of the audience was also in costume, and I took the opportunity to wear the only costume I brought with me, the recently completed Farscape duster, with vinyl pants, combat boots, and black tank top. Folks liked it, but very few knew what it was. It wore well, and I didn't catch on anything, as I'd feared.
Post-masquerade socializing: The con suite was divided into one room with a big-screen tv (where we viewed the single video masquerade entry, a live action costumed version of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?") and a separate room for chat and munchies.
It is here that several of us (myself, Margo, Drea, and several other women who I won't name as they don't have public websites - let's call them A., M., and the Other Allison) conceived the fantastic plan of entering next year's masquerade. M. was wearing a hot pink 18th century gown with rhinestone detail, and this gave us the notion of doing a variety of historical periods - Regency, Elizabethan, Restoration, etc. - entirely in hot pink and crusted with rhinestones, performed to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (from that Marilyn Monroe movie - where she wears pink and lots of diamonds). I've never entered a costume in a competition before and the idea of being on stage petrifies me, but with moral support (i.e., I won't be the only one up there) I think I can do it. So sometime over the next year I'm going to be making a hot pink Regency gown, complete with underpinnings! This is what happens when I get around other members of my species - this WILL happen!
I stayed up until 3am, chatting with everyone - watching members of the 501st Legion ham it up for the hotel staff, gossipping about cute boys in movies (Daniel Day-Lewis in "Last of the Mohicans"! Kenneth Branagh with lips!) the concept of "microcelebrity" (Drea, Margo, and Robin are well known enough in the costuming world that they could easily have set up a table with a sign saying "genuflect here"), costumes, life, etc. ad infinitum. I was the first to wimp out and I crashed hard.
Morning: Up early but emphatically NOT bright-eyed and bushy tailed. I experienced the first indicator that I am not 21 anymore and need rest and food at regular intervals or I am borderline dysfunctional.
Ate breakfast, then staggered into Alter Years and picked up Mantua Maker's Regency stays pattern (highly recommended) and La Mode Bagatelle's Regency wardrobe pattern (which fellow H-costumer D. advised me could be problematic in smaller sizes) in FAR advance preparation for next year's competition. Chatted briefly with Janet Anderson, and realized that I had little to complain about re: sleep - she went through a LOT to be there, and was unlikely to rest for yet another week!
Afternoon: Easter buffet with Margo and much company in the hotel's restaurant! Got to talk to some new people and some I'd met before, and ate some really good chocolate cake. The restaurant staff (indeed, all of the hotel staff) were very understanding about so many people going around in elaborate costumes, and I was mightily impressed that Margo and others in carefully handcrafted work would dare to go anywhere near food while wearing them!
A few classes and much coffee later, I decided take a nap. I really needed it, because it was getting to the point that I wasn't getting much out of the classes, and my introverted tendencies were asserting themselves - I was starting to "shut down" socially and didn't want to alienate my new friends.
Future Fashion Show: Took place in the afternoon with wonderful creations. I took pictures, but it makes more sense when you look through the folio to see what the original sketches looked like. Impressive!
The nap wasn't enough, but it helped enough for me to get through the rest of my classes and actually learn stuff, without getting snippy. Drea said her goodbyes, having to leave before the historical masquerade because of obligations at home.
I took dinner and another nap on my own in my room, so I'd be (relatively) fresh for the historical masquerade at 8.
The Historic Costume Masquerade: Wow for both the competitors AND the audience! All the serious historical costuming came out of the woodwork for this one, and again I took many pictures. Highlights:
Iron Costumer: Set up like the show "Iron Chef", which I'd never seen but I got the gist. This was the halftime show for the Historic competition but easily stole the floor with the frantic sewing and assembling. Secret Ingredients: siding and AOL sign-up discs. Results - a jack in the box run by CD, "Costume Man" (superhero), and the most witty, the Dodo of the Internet (like AOL, slow, fat, and going extinct).
Post-Masquerade: much chatting and joy over the inclusion of candied ginger as snacks. Again, discussion ran from topic to topic but we all hushed and listened while Teddy related his story of destroying a bathroom at a 5 star hotel in Holland while preparing for a costuming competition (you had to be there - it was hilarious!) I was too tired to continue and said my goodbyes, as I was leaving for the airport on the 9 am hotel shuttle.
At breakfast I talked to a masker from my neck of the woods (!) and a couple of costumers from the Galactic League. They were very friendly and instructive - I didn't know that there were events devoted entirely to masking.
The rest of the morning was a haze, and once I got on the plane I promptly fell asleep for most of the flight. D. picked me up at the airport and was graceful enough to listen to me babble about how I'm going to compete in Atlanta next year and how great everyone was and.. and.. and...
So that is my saga. IMHO everyone should go to one of these things, even if they're not particularly interested in costume - it's just fun. It's playing dress-up with better toys than you had as a kid. And it's amazing to see what people can do with their own two hands.
Photos are coming soon - will post link when they're up.
Arrival: The plane landed at O'Hare ahead of schedule, so I was on time for the hotel shuttle. To my pleasant surprise, I was supposed to share a shuttle with Margo Anderson (of Margo Anderson's Historic Costume Patterns/One Tough Costumer - FABULOUS Elizabethan patterns), but she didn't arrive in time.
Hotel: The con was held at the Doubletree Northshore Hotel, in Skokie IL. Doubletree = free cookies, and I was very glad because I hadn't eaten since around noon!
After checking in and dumping my bags, I saw a few people who looked like they might be there for the con (there is a "type" - sometimes), and asked them about programming, because I had never received a schedule. As it turned out no one else had either - which in retrospect should not have been surprising (Costume Con is in a different city every year, so it's not like the coordinators have yearly experience putting on an event of this size).
After checking the hotel schedule (not updated yet), I decided to have an early night so I could get up for classes in the morning. The cookie wasn't enough after all day in airports/on planes, so I ordered some bruschetta and got some sleep.
Morning: Up early and... nothing is happening, at least according to the vendors I talked to in the lobby. They directed me to the person in charge of programming, who told me that classes started at 4. This left me wide awake and at loose ends. While spending the day hiding in my room with a book usually defines my perfect weekend, I wasn't looking forward to it - I wanted ACTION, dammit! I wasn't alone - there were many folks milling around the lobby looking for SOMETHING to do.
I finally met Margo and her husband Wayne when they approached the vendors - also to see what was happening. Wonderful people, friendly right off the bat. It's one of the things I loved about Costume College and it seemed that the friendliness was going to be the same here. I joined them for breakfast at the IHOP, where we surprised each other by what we had in common, and came up with a game plan for the day.
Margo decided she'd see about setting up their vending, and Wayne, myself, and another Con-attendee at loose ends, K., decided to rent a car and go down to the Field Museum. Wayne has an interest in dinosaurs and the Field has Sue, the largest/most complete T-Rex ever found. Myself, I was just keen to hang out with my new friends.
Afternoon: Rented car and drove into Chicago. I navigated, which wasn't difficult as it is very flat - the roads are laid out on a grid. It was also very cold, mostly because of the wind coming off Lake Michigan. I'd not been to the city since I was 4 years old, and the only thing I remembered were fragments of the King Tut exhibit, so it was like being there for the first time.
We parked in a far lot and took the museum trolley to the museum itself. Waiting for it was freezing, due to the wind off Lake Michigan, but chat kept it off my mind. Our trolley driver, Dean, was clearly a frustrated stand-up comedian, throwing some of the vilest puns I'd heard since I left D. at home :P
The Museum: lots to see, and took many photos of Sue - I'm not a huge dinosaur fan but she (it?) was indeed impressive. I was more interested in the man eating lions of Tsavo (the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" is about their reign of terror), if only because of the frisson created by the horror of them attacking people. A cautionary tale about letting your kittycat get bigger than you are!
We had intended to hit the Art Institute Museum, but by the time we got out of the Field it was 3:30 and we were all starving, so we headed back to the hotel with the aim of ordering Chicago-style deep dish pizza. (Indeed, I found that the biggest challenge throughout the weekend was finding the time to eat - there were no breaks between classes and I was running around so much that anything I ate burned immediately!)
Dealers' Room: while Wayne went off to order the pizza, the rest of us split up to stave off hunger with some shopping. Alter Years, the vendor that had owned me all during Costume College, was there with a full room just for themselves (drool!!). Margo was situated in the other room, cramped in with several others, including Poison Pen Press, Farthingales, Ursula's Alcove and others (more drool, weep, covet, etc.) Being on a budget, I decided to behave until I'd had a chance to really consider what I needed and what I didn't.
Dinner: K. and I went to Margo and Wayne's hotel room for the pizza. It was fantastic, but I was so hungry I had little time to savor it. Wayne showed me a draft of his book about Shakespearean English - dictionary, history, and usage - which I hope will reach a publisher, as it looked interesting and EXTREMELY thorough at a skimming through.
Friday Night Social: this was a chance to meet up with other con attendees and chill out. The theme was "gangsters", which implied 1920s and 1960s, though ultimately anything went - I dressed in all black with my red pleated Issey Miyake coat and it was perfectly acceptable. I didn't socialize much as I was getting tired from a long day, but I took a lot of photos before I retired - several men really shone in well done zoot suits. You've not lived 'til you've seen Darth Vader attempt to do the Charleston!
Got up early and hit IHOP again, because they do breakfast cheaply and well. Stopped by the shopping (I couldn't stay away, it was so PRETTY!!!) and ran into Drea Leed (the woman behind the comprehensive Elizabethan Costuming Page /The Well Dressed Peasant). We chatted for a few minutes, then I rushed off to the first of MANY classes.
Class Highlights (includes classes taken Sunday, as I don't have the schedule in front of me):
- Robin Netherton's lecture about Victorian medievalism was a real eye-opener - so much medieval costume history relies on flawed 19th century sources that it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, but that's what Robin has been doing as an independent scholar for years. It really highlighted how contemporary biases can taint the best-intentioned research. It makes me wonder if in 100 years someone will do a study of the popularity of Rennaisance festivals/SCA events in the 20th-21st centuries, and how modern attitudes played into that!
- Scaling 2D-3D - lecture by Janet Anderson (of Alter Years - does not have a personal page, which is a CRIME as she is a master costume cross trainer, bar none!) regarding the best methods to scale a costume in art or photographs to your real body size. Obviously it is easiest when you are about the same size/shape as the actor/actress/wearer in the picture, but things get progressively more difficult when you move on to artwork and the exaggerated proportions of fashion illustrations and animated characters. Most valuable tip - find the "quiet zone" in the costume, the place with least detail, to make changes in length/width, as it will be least noticeable. Janet also talked about how to fake the unrealistic proportions of comic-book heroes with corseting and padding - she claims she can take up to 4" off a man's waist with a properly fitted men's corset. I believe her!
- Blinkie-Light-Widgets - use of LEDs and other battery-powered lighting in costumes. Conclusions: rave culture is your friend, as it has made LEDs and laser pointers much cheaper/easier to find than ever before. I missed part of this due to needing a nap (more on that Sunday), but found it quite interesting nonetheless. Between D. and other friends I can probably catch up the rest, if I ever need to.
- God is in the Details - the little things like having the right underpinnings, shoes, and hair MATTER when creating the whole image, particularly if you're competing (a new concern - more on that Sunday). I got some good sources on wigs (which I will need if I do anything historical) and some thoughts on how to alter shoes. More importantly, it was inspiring to see other folks who approach a costume as designing the whole - I am always frustrated with myself when I have to cut corners because I can't find what I need to make an outfit "just so", and it's refreshing to know that I'm not the only nit-picky one out there, and to know that there are some workable solutions.
- Chaos Costuming - dicussion with Teddy (the costumer so brilliant he doesn't need a last name!) about how he does a chaos costuming room at Cons - an hour was not long enough to demonstrate. Basically you provide fabric scraps and sewing machines in a room that is free for the entire event, and let people make things up on the fly. Hazards - this can wind up being a depository for everyone's scrap fabric, and this must be stored SOMEWHERE between events. The "Iron Costumer" competition was similar to this, only with a time limit and organized teams (more on that Sunday).
- Embellishing Cabochon stones - I always wondered how these were attached to costumes! Turns out that Aleene's fabric glues truly are fantastic. Glue your cabochon to a piece of "E-Z" felt, and start stitching seed beads around the edges to create a "bevel" (hard to explain, but easier to demonstrate). Cut the felt close to the edge and finish the edge with more beads, then cover over the stitching with ultrasuede. Fun and inexpensive!
I took many more classes than this, but what I mostly took away was:
- Look at things not for what they are, but for what they COULD be - not just at the fabric store, but at the thrift store, Michaels, Home Depot - everywhere!
- When researching costume history, be aware of the biases/limitations of your sources.
- Be aware of your OWN biases - don't ignore research just because it doesn't support your theories.
- It CAN be done - never say die!
Shopping: Broke down and got some books because I'd never seen them before - one on theatrical prosthetic makeup, another on basic stage makeup, one on hand-making your own shoes, and another on molding and casting (I still want a 790!). Also picked up the Men's Elizabethan Pattern from Margo and Wayne - talked to D. on the phone and he is still keen on (or at least willing :P) to wear a 16th century scholar's costume.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Masquerade: The first of 2 competitions, this took place in the hotel ballroom. Lights were dimmed so I couldn't take pictures of the stage competitions, but I got a few in the hall later. Highlights:
- The Luminex dress - made in top secret, it was very simple and my photo didn't turn out well because it was taken in full light - on stage with dimmed lights it was far more like the photo at the link. Once this becomes more cheaper and more readily available it will be mightily fun to play with - rumor has it that Warner Bros. has ordered some for use in the new Scooby-Doo movie (??)
- The Centauri Emperor - to my surprise, most sci-fi costumes entered for competition were not direct copies of outfits designed for movies/tv series. I was impressed by the detail of the costume, but the humor was in the stuffed toy of Kenny from South Park (D. explained to me that in the series the Centaurian emperors were constantly being killed off).
- Court of the Crimson King - cast of thousands (well, around 7-8)! They filled the stage in elaborately decorated headpieces, robes, masks, and makeup and performed to the song of the same name. I can't remember whether they won Best in Show or not, but I'm guessing that they certainly won a people's choice award!
Much of the audience was also in costume, and I took the opportunity to wear the only costume I brought with me, the recently completed Farscape duster, with vinyl pants, combat boots, and black tank top. Folks liked it, but very few knew what it was. It wore well, and I didn't catch on anything, as I'd feared.
Post-masquerade socializing: The con suite was divided into one room with a big-screen tv (where we viewed the single video masquerade entry, a live action costumed version of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?") and a separate room for chat and munchies.
It is here that several of us (myself, Margo, Drea, and several other women who I won't name as they don't have public websites - let's call them A., M., and the Other Allison) conceived the fantastic plan of entering next year's masquerade. M. was wearing a hot pink 18th century gown with rhinestone detail, and this gave us the notion of doing a variety of historical periods - Regency, Elizabethan, Restoration, etc. - entirely in hot pink and crusted with rhinestones, performed to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (from that Marilyn Monroe movie - where she wears pink and lots of diamonds). I've never entered a costume in a competition before and the idea of being on stage petrifies me, but with moral support (i.e., I won't be the only one up there) I think I can do it. So sometime over the next year I'm going to be making a hot pink Regency gown, complete with underpinnings! This is what happens when I get around other members of my species - this WILL happen!
I stayed up until 3am, chatting with everyone - watching members of the 501st Legion ham it up for the hotel staff, gossipping about cute boys in movies (Daniel Day-Lewis in "Last of the Mohicans"! Kenneth Branagh with lips!) the concept of "microcelebrity" (Drea, Margo, and Robin are well known enough in the costuming world that they could easily have set up a table with a sign saying "genuflect here"), costumes, life, etc. ad infinitum. I was the first to wimp out and I crashed hard.
Morning: Up early but emphatically NOT bright-eyed and bushy tailed. I experienced the first indicator that I am not 21 anymore and need rest and food at regular intervals or I am borderline dysfunctional.
Ate breakfast, then staggered into Alter Years and picked up Mantua Maker's Regency stays pattern (highly recommended) and La Mode Bagatelle's Regency wardrobe pattern (which fellow H-costumer D. advised me could be problematic in smaller sizes) in FAR advance preparation for next year's competition. Chatted briefly with Janet Anderson, and realized that I had little to complain about re: sleep - she went through a LOT to be there, and was unlikely to rest for yet another week!
Afternoon: Easter buffet with Margo and much company in the hotel's restaurant! Got to talk to some new people and some I'd met before, and ate some really good chocolate cake. The restaurant staff (indeed, all of the hotel staff) were very understanding about so many people going around in elaborate costumes, and I was mightily impressed that Margo and others in carefully handcrafted work would dare to go anywhere near food while wearing them!
A few classes and much coffee later, I decided take a nap. I really needed it, because it was getting to the point that I wasn't getting much out of the classes, and my introverted tendencies were asserting themselves - I was starting to "shut down" socially and didn't want to alienate my new friends.
Future Fashion Show: Took place in the afternoon with wonderful creations. I took pictures, but it makes more sense when you look through the folio to see what the original sketches looked like. Impressive!
The nap wasn't enough, but it helped enough for me to get through the rest of my classes and actually learn stuff, without getting snippy. Drea said her goodbyes, having to leave before the historical masquerade because of obligations at home.
I took dinner and another nap on my own in my room, so I'd be (relatively) fresh for the historical masquerade at 8.
The Historic Costume Masquerade: Wow for both the competitors AND the audience! All the serious historical costuming came out of the woodwork for this one, and again I took many pictures. Highlights:
- Henry Tudor-Tutankhamen and his 6 Wives - after a talk with the Turkish ambassadors, Henry decides it would be easier to marry all 6 at once. What followed was a parody of Tudor, egyptian style - brocades with snakes, fake leopard fur, and gabled pyramid hoods. Best part - Henry's codpiece was a large, stuffed rearing cobra!
- 1950s Dior reproduction - immaculately done by Janet Anderson, it won Best in Show and with good reason!
- "Finishing Touch" - an everyday 19th c. Scandinavian immigrant having her picture taken, it didn't seem as impressive without the rich fabrics and trims of more "wealthy" costumes, until you learned that it was entirely hand-stitched - DAMN!! Won Best in Class and deserved more, I think!
- Visual pun of a Nero Wolfe novel - guy in wolf mascot costume, draped in a toga with a fiddle, talking to his assistant "Archie" (a prop of a stone arch) as he sets it afire. Won for most pun-laden documentation :P
Iron Costumer: Set up like the show "Iron Chef", which I'd never seen but I got the gist. This was the halftime show for the Historic competition but easily stole the floor with the frantic sewing and assembling. Secret Ingredients: siding and AOL sign-up discs. Results - a jack in the box run by CD, "Costume Man" (superhero), and the most witty, the Dodo of the Internet (like AOL, slow, fat, and going extinct).
Post-Masquerade: much chatting and joy over the inclusion of candied ginger as snacks. Again, discussion ran from topic to topic but we all hushed and listened while Teddy related his story of destroying a bathroom at a 5 star hotel in Holland while preparing for a costuming competition (you had to be there - it was hilarious!) I was too tired to continue and said my goodbyes, as I was leaving for the airport on the 9 am hotel shuttle.
At breakfast I talked to a masker from my neck of the woods (!) and a couple of costumers from the Galactic League. They were very friendly and instructive - I didn't know that there were events devoted entirely to masking.
The rest of the morning was a haze, and once I got on the plane I promptly fell asleep for most of the flight. D. picked me up at the airport and was graceful enough to listen to me babble about how I'm going to compete in Atlanta next year and how great everyone was and.. and.. and...
So that is my saga. IMHO everyone should go to one of these things, even if they're not particularly interested in costume - it's just fun. It's playing dress-up with better toys than you had as a kid. And it's amazing to see what people can do with their own two hands.
Photos are coming soon - will post link when they're up.
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Date: 2003-04-27 12:10 pm (UTC)