costume musing
So, yeah, it's pretty much definite that my LoJ costume this year will be a satyr. And I'm planning on it not sucking like last year's, too. I've done lots of sketches and worked out quite a lot of things, but it's still not really together--I'm just way more along than I was at this point last year.
Tonight I finally started buying stuff for it, so yay that! I bought a pair of springbok horns, to make my own horn headset, because the only pre-made headset I found that I liked was technically custom-made, and cost 180 pounds, and...no. I'm not planning on my whole costume costing that much, and if I were, I wouldn't be able to do it anyway, because I don't have that much to spend on a costume. And the real actual horns (which, yes, I realize are not goathorns, but I can't find goathorns that aren't either enormous or straight and boring) cost me $21, including shipping.
Then I did a bunch of research on fur, because once again, I could find no non-authentic option that satisfied me. It looks like the most aesthetically-pleasing, accurate, and affordable option here are unshorn goatskins, which are cheap because goatskins are primarily used to make drums nowadays, and therefore the unshorn ones are the bargain ones (unlike, say, cowhides, where the opposite is often true) because the drummers then have to shear them themselves. The option that is superficially even cheaper than that is rabbit. I'm not sure it actually would be cheaper, though, because I'm estimating I'd need about 15 skins, and they run about $4 a piece. Whereas I'm fairly sure I'd only need two goatskins, and they run about $20 a piece. And it would be so much easier to stitch up 2 skins than 15, and so much easier to find skins that match well enough to be convincing.
So, I'm still working on that. I need to get out my pattern and figure out more exactly how much material I need for the fur pants.
And then there's the top. I did a pretty satisfying sketch of a sort of bra top with interesting shoulder strappiness and a boned panel that covers most of the front of the body, going down in a "V" shape. And I actually already have fabric I like for that, left over from last year's Halloween costume, so I would just need the boning supplies. Since I don't know how to make a bra I'd probably use one I already have and just make a sort of shell for it. Just, since it's completely conceptual at this point I'm not sure how it's actually gonna look, and may end up making a lot of changes.
Then, finally, shoes, which...I kind of think, if I got some thrift store shoes and some leather that matched them, I could make some sort of...covering for the end of the shoes, so they'd look cloven? I don't know. I'm concerned they may end up just looking like clown shoes if I'm not careful. But certainly I could waste the $20 or whatever it would take to attempt it.
Okay, I'll stop boring y'all now and go do something more productive.
Tonight I finally started buying stuff for it, so yay that! I bought a pair of springbok horns, to make my own horn headset, because the only pre-made headset I found that I liked was technically custom-made, and cost 180 pounds, and...no. I'm not planning on my whole costume costing that much, and if I were, I wouldn't be able to do it anyway, because I don't have that much to spend on a costume. And the real actual horns (which, yes, I realize are not goathorns, but I can't find goathorns that aren't either enormous or straight and boring) cost me $21, including shipping.
Then I did a bunch of research on fur, because once again, I could find no non-authentic option that satisfied me. It looks like the most aesthetically-pleasing, accurate, and affordable option here are unshorn goatskins, which are cheap because goatskins are primarily used to make drums nowadays, and therefore the unshorn ones are the bargain ones (unlike, say, cowhides, where the opposite is often true) because the drummers then have to shear them themselves. The option that is superficially even cheaper than that is rabbit. I'm not sure it actually would be cheaper, though, because I'm estimating I'd need about 15 skins, and they run about $4 a piece. Whereas I'm fairly sure I'd only need two goatskins, and they run about $20 a piece. And it would be so much easier to stitch up 2 skins than 15, and so much easier to find skins that match well enough to be convincing.
So, I'm still working on that. I need to get out my pattern and figure out more exactly how much material I need for the fur pants.
And then there's the top. I did a pretty satisfying sketch of a sort of bra top with interesting shoulder strappiness and a boned panel that covers most of the front of the body, going down in a "V" shape. And I actually already have fabric I like for that, left over from last year's Halloween costume, so I would just need the boning supplies. Since I don't know how to make a bra I'd probably use one I already have and just make a sort of shell for it. Just, since it's completely conceptual at this point I'm not sure how it's actually gonna look, and may end up making a lot of changes.
Then, finally, shoes, which...I kind of think, if I got some thrift store shoes and some leather that matched them, I could make some sort of...covering for the end of the shoes, so they'd look cloven? I don't know. I'm concerned they may end up just looking like clown shoes if I'm not careful. But certainly I could waste the $20 or whatever it would take to attempt it.
Okay, I'll stop boring y'all now and go do something more productive.