Costume College (or How To Make Friends And Influence Costuming Habits)
First of all. Damn you all. All of you with your hot, HOT, super cool costumes. Here I was, all happily ensconced in 16th century Germany - claughter713 , stop your smirking about your 19th century corruptive influence! - and then WHAM, BAM! Literally hundreds of costumes that made me make my patented Grabby Hands Of Want And Misery in every direction I looked.
You bitches have it out for me. You hate that I have any free time, don’t you?
Why do you do this to me?
But before all that: the Evil Co-Conspirator (claughter713 ) and I had a plan for CoCo 2011. We put out the call for roommates and - after much screening and multiple choice testing - we landed two of the most awesome women evah as our hotel co-habitants; mmcnealy and K Jachens.
Then there was plotting. And sewing. And prank planning and last minute craft projects.
And finally, we actually made it to LA on Thursday afternoon.
/insert giddy squeeing, merry-making and general cursing of Los Angeles area traffic here.
We decided that a low-key entry was our best plan for this first time out; basically no costumes for anything other than costume event times. So, after a run to Trader Joes for much needed supplies with mmcnealy , we set up the Colonial(+) and made up a couple of tumblers of something delicious. Having requested that mmcnealy secure the room number of harmanhay earlier from the road, my Evil Twin and I then clambered down to post our now infamous room-tag on her door. I am honestly shocked that she missed hearing us with the random giggling and general “Oh Jared!” remarks we were making.
What can I say, he’s beautiful. *happy sigh*
As the evening progressed, claughter713 took the opportunity of being in LA as a chance to visit her grandpa (I will let her tell her own tale of Traffic Woe here) and mmcnealy and I headed out to help harmanhay set up the Oak Leaf Dress for display downstairs.
Yes, these hands have handled the Oak Leaf Dress. I may never wash them again. *grin*
I also got to have a Real Face-to-Face Conversation with harmanhay for the first time. This was a treat, as it turns out we get along as well in real life as we do online. *joy*
Eventually mmcnealy and I headed to the Blogger Meetup. It was there that I realized that my ability to cloak my actual persona from my online persona is a little too effective. *chuckle* I wandered around, talking to the folks I already knew in RL (mmcnealy and sstormwatch - bless you!) and generally thinking, “Yeah, well clearly I need to blog about COSTUMING more.” *eye roll* It wasn’t until the next day that demode clued me in saying, “So yeah, I’ve had folks asking me, ‘Who is this h-s-i-f-e-n-g person? I thought she was coming to CoCo?’. Put up an icon with your picture on it for #&^%’s sake!” (++)
That’s a pro-tip (#1) people, take note. *grin*
Despite my unintended shield of anonymity, I had a really lovely time at the Bloggers Meetup, although I generally felt like a bit of a stalker. It’s been made clear to me in many CoCo posts that this is a common feeling, so I am OK with it. Maybe we need a ribbon for next year, “Why Yes, I DO Read Your Blog!”. *snort*
I got to chat with myladyswardrobe , jenthompson , koshka_the_cat , love3angle , demode , trystbat , modehistorique , and a slew of others. You ladies Rock My World; I mean honestly, it’s one thing to enjoy ya’ll online, but finding out that I just like hanging out with you in general as well? Total. Bonus. Points.
It was lovely!
Toward the end of the evening claughter713 arrived and deftly chose to deal with her recent traffic angst via medication (martini). There were stories of the number of hours it took to cover the last few miles to her grandfather’s house, all of which reminded me of how happy I am that the Beast known as the 405 fwy is a road I only have to travel on rare occasions.
Friday morning I was up bright and early (like, 6:30 AM people) and I drug claughter713 down to the gym. harmanhay joined us later on and eventually we all made our way upstairs again to prep for classes.(+++)
Classes. OMG. Classes. Honestly, I am not going to list what I took here. It is enough to say that 99% of my classes for the weekend were amazing. The teachers? Fabulous! The information? Valuable and well delivered! Overall? Totally inspiring!
The one *meh* class had both claughter713 side-eyeing each other within five minutes of the start time and quickly making an exit for the door.(++++) Thank goodness we’d showed up when there were only seats in the back left to take!
Friday night was the Pretty Pink Princess Party (hosted by the inestimable love3angle , demode , trystbat , modehistorique , and company): claughter713 and I had decided on 1950’s house-frau costumes, complete with Clutchable Pearls and Cock Apron. We dressed up, showed up, and spent a good few hours laughing like mad and enjoying the company of like minded costume freaks. We got to enjoy the Powerpoint That Shall Not Be Named, sport sparkly pink tiaras and generally misbehave in the most prim-and-proper manner possible.
Holy hell. It’s only Friday Night. *eyes bug out*
It was on Saturday morning that claughter713 and I realized that we are secretly geniuses. Without even knowing how critical the choice would be after a late night on Friday, we had managed to schedule no classes until the early afternoon. Success! There was a bit of shopping, one fabulous class, a class with a rapid exit and then nothing but time on our hands to mess about and visit.
Dinner was across the street in the fabulous Italian shop in the lower half of the mall. The whole room crew plus harmanhay made our way there and were delighted with both the food and the services. Plans were quickly made to return again if time permitted.
So we headed into Saturday night’s Gala well rested with plenty of time to help mmcnealy sew the last bits of her gown. This is one of my favorite memories of the weekend; all five of the ladies in the Your Wardrobe Unlock’d Sweat Shop dogpiled on the last bits of that dress and whipped out a finished garment in what has to be record time. It was truly an inspiring sight to behold! (+++++)
Finally, with hair, make-up and clothes flying we ran downstairs…
..and smack-dab into the middle of the Red Carpet.
So, claughter713 and I were CoCo newbs. We had no idea what the hell we were getting into. Add to that the fact that we were walking behind mmcnealy in her stunning new dress, and we suddenly realized that we had found ourselves in the middle of a Photo Gauntlet.
*gulp*
Honestly though, it was kinda fun. I mean, how often do you get to feel like a starlet in a simple woolen gown? *chuckle* It was strange, and somewhat daunting, but really very cool.
I can’t wait til next year! (*plotty plotty plotty*)
Gala was fun, but I think we’re going to skip the dinner in 2012 and opt for food & drinks in the room with friends prior to heading down for socializing and photos. That way we can fit in another night of Italian cuisine and can avoid smuggling red wine bottles in our costumes… *grin*
As the night wore on, the dresses got hotter and eventually the decision was made to swap out for Little Black Dresses instead of Gala Gowns. Back up to the room, and then down again - we were ready for more fun and it was still only a little after 10:00 PM. Eventually the party downstairs wrapped up (after a couple of misbehaving Hussars were hustled out of the photo booth - Love you H & G!) and I headed back upstairs again to join up with the rest of the roomies. Since they were all turning in, I changed into my PJ’s and headed down the hall to love3angle‘s digs.
Now, by this point in the weekend my voice was a WRECK. By that, I mean that I had talked, laughed and shrieked myself into a mere wraith of normal vocal capacity. But you know what, it was OK. Sitting around with the PPP crew, listening to demode tell the story of Colonial Williamsburg, trading quite notes with trystbat about SCA vs. Faire and how the two really need to learn from each other, and generally getting ‘high’ off the costume buzz, was the perfect end to a lovely day. I was happy to just sit back and watch. *smiles*
Sunday Undies was a rush, but totally fun as it meant seeing folks up and about after a long night (always a telling moment!) and in their fabu frilly frou-frous. Then off to class again and eventually back to the Italian Grotto for a final dinner as a group. We had a few more folks with us, and seating took a little while to arrange, but eventually we all ended up with grub and drinks and a chance to unwind from the weekend as a unit.
I love these ladies, they can all come sit by me and gossip their little hearts out any time. ;)
Monday morning and mmcnealy left us at the hideously early hour of 5:30 AM. We missed her that day as we all headed out to the Garment District. Sadly the GD was not as cheap as I remember it from years past, perhaps the merchants have figured out that folks will pay more? At any rate, I still managed to pick up a couple of good deals, and we found yardage for a number of projects that claughter713 had in mind as well.
At the end of the day, I cleverly managed to get us lost on the way back to the hotel (Yeay! More time with harmanhay ! Don’t mind that we held her hostage, she didn’t! *grin*) and so we ended up leaving town a schosh later than originally planned. In the end, there were goodbyes and some tears and lots of promises (INCLUDING PINKY SWEARS, and don’t think I’ll forget those!) to get the Crew back together next year at the absolute latest.
The evil that is CoCo 2012 is already in the process of being planned:
There will be ribbons.
There will be pranking.
There will be an altar on the back of our toilet to the Costume Gods.
Oh yes…it will be glorious…
See you there!
(+) British Tiki Bar of DOOM (TM)
(++) I know that demode was far more polite than this when she said it, I just more like to remember it this way. ;)
(+++) I actually managed to work out two mornings and swim/spa on a third. Pretty proud of that record actually. *nods happily to self*
(++++) Pro-tip #2: When you aren’t sure about a teacher or course content, have an emergency cell phone call on standby. Makes for a clear exit strategy.
(+++++) The Sweat Shop is taking applications for next year’s last-minute garment sewing. Just in case harmanhay needs help with the final bits of the Peacock Dress. *whistles tunelessly*
You bitches have it out for me. You hate that I have any free time, don’t you?
Why do you do this to me?
But before all that: the Evil Co-Conspirator (claughter713 ) and I had a plan for CoCo 2011. We put out the call for roommates and - after much screening and multiple choice testing - we landed two of the most awesome women evah as our hotel co-habitants; mmcnealy and K Jachens.
Then there was plotting. And sewing. And prank planning and last minute craft projects.
And finally, we actually made it to LA on Thursday afternoon.
/insert giddy squeeing, merry-making and general cursing of Los Angeles area traffic here.
We decided that a low-key entry was our best plan for this first time out; basically no costumes for anything other than costume event times. So, after a run to Trader Joes for much needed supplies with mmcnealy , we set up the Colonial(+) and made up a couple of tumblers of something delicious. Having requested that mmcnealy secure the room number of harmanhay earlier from the road, my Evil Twin and I then clambered down to post our now infamous room-tag on her door. I am honestly shocked that she missed hearing us with the random giggling and general “Oh Jared!” remarks we were making.
What can I say, he’s beautiful. *happy sigh*
As the evening progressed, claughter713 took the opportunity of being in LA as a chance to visit her grandpa (I will let her tell her own tale of Traffic Woe here) and mmcnealy and I headed out to help harmanhay set up the Oak Leaf Dress for display downstairs.
Yes, these hands have handled the Oak Leaf Dress. I may never wash them again. *grin*
I also got to have a Real Face-to-Face Conversation with harmanhay for the first time. This was a treat, as it turns out we get along as well in real life as we do online. *joy*
Eventually mmcnealy and I headed to the Blogger Meetup. It was there that I realized that my ability to cloak my actual persona from my online persona is a little too effective. *chuckle* I wandered around, talking to the folks I already knew in RL (mmcnealy and sstormwatch - bless you!) and generally thinking, “Yeah, well clearly I need to blog about COSTUMING more.” *eye roll* It wasn’t until the next day that demode clued me in saying, “So yeah, I’ve had folks asking me, ‘Who is this h-s-i-f-e-n-g person? I thought she was coming to CoCo?’. Put up an icon with your picture on it for #&^%’s sake!” (++)
That’s a pro-tip (#1) people, take note. *grin*
Despite my unintended shield of anonymity, I had a really lovely time at the Bloggers Meetup, although I generally felt like a bit of a stalker. It’s been made clear to me in many CoCo posts that this is a common feeling, so I am OK with it. Maybe we need a ribbon for next year, “Why Yes, I DO Read Your Blog!”. *snort*
I got to chat with myladyswardrobe , jenthompson , koshka_the_cat , love3angle , demode , trystbat , modehistorique , and a slew of others. You ladies Rock My World; I mean honestly, it’s one thing to enjoy ya’ll online, but finding out that I just like hanging out with you in general as well? Total. Bonus. Points.
It was lovely!
Toward the end of the evening claughter713 arrived and deftly chose to deal with her recent traffic angst via medication (martini). There were stories of the number of hours it took to cover the last few miles to her grandfather’s house, all of which reminded me of how happy I am that the Beast known as the 405 fwy is a road I only have to travel on rare occasions.
Friday morning I was up bright and early (like, 6:30 AM people) and I drug claughter713 down to the gym. harmanhay joined us later on and eventually we all made our way upstairs again to prep for classes.(+++)
Classes. OMG. Classes. Honestly, I am not going to list what I took here. It is enough to say that 99% of my classes for the weekend were amazing. The teachers? Fabulous! The information? Valuable and well delivered! Overall? Totally inspiring!
The one *meh* class had both claughter713 side-eyeing each other within five minutes of the start time and quickly making an exit for the door.(++++) Thank goodness we’d showed up when there were only seats in the back left to take!
Friday night was the Pretty Pink Princess Party (hosted by the inestimable love3angle , demode , trystbat , modehistorique , and company): claughter713 and I had decided on 1950’s house-frau costumes, complete with Clutchable Pearls and Cock Apron. We dressed up, showed up, and spent a good few hours laughing like mad and enjoying the company of like minded costume freaks. We got to enjoy the Powerpoint That Shall Not Be Named, sport sparkly pink tiaras and generally misbehave in the most prim-and-proper manner possible.
Holy hell. It’s only Friday Night. *eyes bug out*
It was on Saturday morning that claughter713 and I realized that we are secretly geniuses. Without even knowing how critical the choice would be after a late night on Friday, we had managed to schedule no classes until the early afternoon. Success! There was a bit of shopping, one fabulous class, a class with a rapid exit and then nothing but time on our hands to mess about and visit.
Dinner was across the street in the fabulous Italian shop in the lower half of the mall. The whole room crew plus harmanhay made our way there and were delighted with both the food and the services. Plans were quickly made to return again if time permitted.
So we headed into Saturday night’s Gala well rested with plenty of time to help mmcnealy sew the last bits of her gown. This is one of my favorite memories of the weekend; all five of the ladies in the Your Wardrobe Unlock’d Sweat Shop dogpiled on the last bits of that dress and whipped out a finished garment in what has to be record time. It was truly an inspiring sight to behold! (+++++)
Finally, with hair, make-up and clothes flying we ran downstairs…
..and smack-dab into the middle of the Red Carpet.
So, claughter713 and I were CoCo newbs. We had no idea what the hell we were getting into. Add to that the fact that we were walking behind mmcnealy in her stunning new dress, and we suddenly realized that we had found ourselves in the middle of a Photo Gauntlet.
*gulp*
Honestly though, it was kinda fun. I mean, how often do you get to feel like a starlet in a simple woolen gown? *chuckle* It was strange, and somewhat daunting, but really very cool.
I can’t wait til next year! (*plotty plotty plotty*)
Gala was fun, but I think we’re going to skip the dinner in 2012 and opt for food & drinks in the room with friends prior to heading down for socializing and photos. That way we can fit in another night of Italian cuisine and can avoid smuggling red wine bottles in our costumes… *grin*
As the night wore on, the dresses got hotter and eventually the decision was made to swap out for Little Black Dresses instead of Gala Gowns. Back up to the room, and then down again - we were ready for more fun and it was still only a little after 10:00 PM. Eventually the party downstairs wrapped up (after a couple of misbehaving Hussars were hustled out of the photo booth - Love you H & G!) and I headed back upstairs again to join up with the rest of the roomies. Since they were all turning in, I changed into my PJ’s and headed down the hall to love3angle‘s digs.
Now, by this point in the weekend my voice was a WRECK. By that, I mean that I had talked, laughed and shrieked myself into a mere wraith of normal vocal capacity. But you know what, it was OK. Sitting around with the PPP crew, listening to demode tell the story of Colonial Williamsburg, trading quite notes with trystbat about SCA vs. Faire and how the two really need to learn from each other, and generally getting ‘high’ off the costume buzz, was the perfect end to a lovely day. I was happy to just sit back and watch. *smiles*
Sunday Undies was a rush, but totally fun as it meant seeing folks up and about after a long night (always a telling moment!) and in their fabu frilly frou-frous. Then off to class again and eventually back to the Italian Grotto for a final dinner as a group. We had a few more folks with us, and seating took a little while to arrange, but eventually we all ended up with grub and drinks and a chance to unwind from the weekend as a unit.
I love these ladies, they can all come sit by me and gossip their little hearts out any time. ;)
Monday morning and mmcnealy left us at the hideously early hour of 5:30 AM. We missed her that day as we all headed out to the Garment District. Sadly the GD was not as cheap as I remember it from years past, perhaps the merchants have figured out that folks will pay more? At any rate, I still managed to pick up a couple of good deals, and we found yardage for a number of projects that claughter713 had in mind as well.
At the end of the day, I cleverly managed to get us lost on the way back to the hotel (Yeay! More time with harmanhay ! Don’t mind that we held her hostage, she didn’t! *grin*) and so we ended up leaving town a schosh later than originally planned. In the end, there were goodbyes and some tears and lots of promises (INCLUDING PINKY SWEARS, and don’t think I’ll forget those!) to get the Crew back together next year at the absolute latest.
The evil that is CoCo 2012 is already in the process of being planned:
There will be ribbons.
There will be pranking.
There will be an altar on the back of our toilet to the Costume Gods.
Oh yes…it will be glorious…
See you there!
(+) British Tiki Bar of DOOM (TM)
(++) I know that demode was far more polite than this when she said it, I just more like to remember it this way. ;)
(+++) I actually managed to work out two mornings and swim/spa on a third. Pretty proud of that record actually. *nods happily to self*
(++++) Pro-tip #2: When you aren’t sure about a teacher or course content, have an emergency cell phone call on standby. Makes for a clear exit strategy.
(+++++) The Sweat Shop is taking applications for next year’s last-minute garment sewing. Just in case harmanhay needs help with the final bits of the Peacock Dress. *whistles tunelessly*