Costume College Recap
Costume College was wonderful, as always. It was fantastic seeing so many friends, and meeting new ones, too! One of the things that always amazes me is that I wind up meeting new Seattle-area costumers that I didn't know before. So hopefully I can get some of them to come out to PSHCG events. I also met a couple of Vancouver, BC costumers, so I think we're going to try to plan a few international events, and meet in the middle (Vancouver is about 3 hrs from me).
All my costumes were well received, too! It's funny how many people that I didn't know came up to me and said they'd been watching me make whatever I was wearing at the time on Instagram. I've had my instagram for a few years now, but I feel like this was the first year that that really happened. I feel like we need ribbons for "I saw that on instagram" or something like that. I also want to remember to make ribbons for next year that say something along the lines of "Yes, I'm really that tall." There's quite a few tall costumers out there, and I think we need ribbons, since everyone always comments on it anyway.
It's just such a pain to post pictures, so sorry, but I'm not doing a day-by-day wrap up with pictures. You can see my pics on instagram or facebook. I've been doing about a post a day on instagram (though they are now mixed with vintagesummerchallenge posts), and I've edited and posted pics for Thurs & Fri on Facebook (hopefully I'll get to the Sat and Sun ones shortly). That said, here's a text recap:
Wednesday: My friend Emily and I flew down, and arrived in Burbank in the afternoon. Sarah picked us up and we hung out at Sarah's mom's house (I styled a hedgehog wig for Sarah, too). Then the three of us went to go see The Play That Goes Wrong in downtown LA. It was my second time seeing it (I saw it when I was in London), but it is still sooo freaking hilarious! Emily took an uber to her hotel, and Sarah and I went back to her mom's house.
Thursday: Sarah and I sewed a bit on her gala gown, then we headed out to CoCo. I was able to check in right when we got there, and then a different Sarah and I changed into our Victorian bathing suits and took the beach bus to Topanga Beach (if the schedule is right for this bus, it's pretty amazing - it takes a little under an hr to get from a block away from the hotel to the beach, and only costs $2). We played on the beach for a while and took lots of pictures, then went across the street for thai food, and got a Lyft back to the hotel (the bus only comes every couple hours). Then I started steaming/pressing, and got changed into my white cotton teens dress with new hat for check-in and the pool party. I managed to snag a late registration class, and of course got to hang out with everyone, but eventually it was time to go back upstairs, press a couple more things, shower, and go to bed.
Friday: I decided to skip the 9am class I was originally interested in, because we had stayed up too late the night before. That meant I didn't actually have a class till noon, so I got dressed in Anna Frozen Fever, went down to breakfast, went back upstairs, pressed some more, went to Chris's awesome bustles class (it was so neat seeing all the different shapes, and now I feel like I need a Lotta bustle), and then had to go to rehearsal for the showcase. Unfortunately, the rehearsal was right in the middle of a class I wanted to go to. Oh well. So then I wound up with a little free time before Nicole's class on shoes. It was fascinating. I wish I had the patience/skills for shoe making, but there is no way. Then it was time to get ready for the showcase.
**A couple notes on changes for this year, for those who weren't attending. For one, the Portrait studio was a disaster. No more Shotwell and his neutral backgrounds. No, they had hired some team of photographers to shoot terrible pictures on green screens, so that none of the details of your costumes showed, and it looked like you were floating on a flag, or whatever the background was for that particular time/day. Horrendous. Also, they've turned the (ice cream) social into a showcase thing. Because I was in the Disney bustles group, I had elected to take part in the showcase. Everyone who was participating had to go wait in a small room off the room that had been set up with the stage. We had to get there at least 30 mins before the showcase started, and stay in there the whole time. The room was waaay too packed, and while I guess they had food and drink for the audience members, they neglected to have anything for the participants, and the only way we could watch the show was by pulling apart cracks in the curtains cordoning that area off. Seriously. And of course, we could only socialize with the other people in our crowded room. I don't know who came up with this whole mess of an idea, but it better not happen again.**
Because those of us in the showcase had to be sequestered so early, we also didn't wind up getting pictures of everyone in the Disney bustle group. We were missing at least 5-8 people in the one picture we did get, which also has a terrible background and lighting. *Sigh* Anyway, after the showcase, we finally had a bit of socializing time. After I changed out of my Fairy Godmother bustle, I wound up going up to the hospitality suite with Emily, and we had an amazing Greatest Showman sing-along with Marika and Christina. It was sooo much fun! Probably one of the highlights of CoCo.
Saturday: I again skipped early morning classes. I started with Bridget's sheer fabrics class, which was really neat, and now I need a mid-Victorian sheer dress made of dimity. I had to duck out early for my newly added limited, though, which was Sahrye's Intro to Integrating Lights in Costumes. It was fascinating! I have never soldered before, and I learned how to do that, and wired LED lights to batteries, making a badge and a bracelet. And now I have all sorts of ideas for incorporating lights into things to wear to Disney World in a few months. After that, I think I pressed my last costume and went to Kendra's historical retro class. I knew about some of it before, but it was nice learning about other references to past styles that I hadn't previously noticed. Then I got ready for the gala! I actually got ready on time this year, which is almost unheard of, and had plenty of time to walk the red carpet. But here I need to insert another rant. Some super rude lady was manning the end area of the red carpet/the entire rest of the hallway past it (including the self-portrait area), and yelled at us for stopping to use the self-portrait set up, and yelled at us again when we paused in our walking (she said you have to be moving at all times in this area, so naturally I started step-touching). It was so ridiculous. *rant over* Then we rounded up everyone and got lyfts over to Maggianos, where we experienced the slowest service in the hottest restaurant ever. Like literally, we weren't seated until over 15 mins past our reservation, and then the service was so slow, that I think we left about 2.5 hours later, missing almost all of the gala. The bibs worked super well, though, and we were able to take some good pictures after we got back, and hang out in the hallways downstairs for a while.
Sunday: I woke up super early to get to the Bargain Basement, but apparently everyone else woke up even earlier. (It opened at 7:30am - we were aiming for 7, made it by 7:10, and it took us till about 8:30 to get in the room. Apparently the line had started to form by 5:30!). So needless to say, by the time I got in there, there was nothing good left. I got 3-4 vintage crochet laces, and managed to win two beautiful prints at the silent auction. My new 1840s dress was a huge hit all day. I loved wearing it (though I have to take a look at the closures, since the hooks/bars kept coming undone), but the hair did eventually get really heavy (that was kind of my feeling all weekend, in fact). This was limited class day for me. I had a 9am limited of Making 18th C hair products, taught by Cynthia and Annette, which was fantastic. I can't wait to use the pomade and powder I made! Then I had a smallish break, and had Kathryn and Shannon's class on metal thread embroidery. I didn't finish the project, but I got all but one of the sampler stitches finished, and I will hopefully go back and work more on it at a later time. We hung out at the pool in the evening, packed, and then had a small room party. Another wonderful CoCo!
Monday: We checked out and went on the fabric district tour. On the bus, we planned a group project for next year - 1830s Disney Villains. I'm doing Governor Ratcliffe. :) I was really only looking for one outfit's worth of fabrics - burgundy velvet to match the burgundy velvet ribbon Emily found for me in the marketplace, and white silk for the exposed parts of the underskirt and sleeves. (I've posted the plate to instagram and FB I think, but it's a late 1860s plate that hangs in my bedroom and has been teasing me for the last year.) I already have the fabrics for everything else I'm planning this year, especially since half of them are holdover projects from previous years. Then we took the bus back, and Emily and I flew back to Seattle from Burbank that night.
That turned out way longer than I had anticipated, but there's my CoCo wrap-up! I can't wait till next year!
All my costumes were well received, too! It's funny how many people that I didn't know came up to me and said they'd been watching me make whatever I was wearing at the time on Instagram. I've had my instagram for a few years now, but I feel like this was the first year that that really happened. I feel like we need ribbons for "I saw that on instagram" or something like that. I also want to remember to make ribbons for next year that say something along the lines of "Yes, I'm really that tall." There's quite a few tall costumers out there, and I think we need ribbons, since everyone always comments on it anyway.
It's just such a pain to post pictures, so sorry, but I'm not doing a day-by-day wrap up with pictures. You can see my pics on instagram or facebook. I've been doing about a post a day on instagram (though they are now mixed with vintagesummerchallenge posts), and I've edited and posted pics for Thurs & Fri on Facebook (hopefully I'll get to the Sat and Sun ones shortly). That said, here's a text recap:
Wednesday: My friend Emily and I flew down, and arrived in Burbank in the afternoon. Sarah picked us up and we hung out at Sarah's mom's house (I styled a hedgehog wig for Sarah, too). Then the three of us went to go see The Play That Goes Wrong in downtown LA. It was my second time seeing it (I saw it when I was in London), but it is still sooo freaking hilarious! Emily took an uber to her hotel, and Sarah and I went back to her mom's house.
Thursday: Sarah and I sewed a bit on her gala gown, then we headed out to CoCo. I was able to check in right when we got there, and then a different Sarah and I changed into our Victorian bathing suits and took the beach bus to Topanga Beach (if the schedule is right for this bus, it's pretty amazing - it takes a little under an hr to get from a block away from the hotel to the beach, and only costs $2). We played on the beach for a while and took lots of pictures, then went across the street for thai food, and got a Lyft back to the hotel (the bus only comes every couple hours). Then I started steaming/pressing, and got changed into my white cotton teens dress with new hat for check-in and the pool party. I managed to snag a late registration class, and of course got to hang out with everyone, but eventually it was time to go back upstairs, press a couple more things, shower, and go to bed.
Friday: I decided to skip the 9am class I was originally interested in, because we had stayed up too late the night before. That meant I didn't actually have a class till noon, so I got dressed in Anna Frozen Fever, went down to breakfast, went back upstairs, pressed some more, went to Chris's awesome bustles class (it was so neat seeing all the different shapes, and now I feel like I need a Lotta bustle), and then had to go to rehearsal for the showcase. Unfortunately, the rehearsal was right in the middle of a class I wanted to go to. Oh well. So then I wound up with a little free time before Nicole's class on shoes. It was fascinating. I wish I had the patience/skills for shoe making, but there is no way. Then it was time to get ready for the showcase.
**A couple notes on changes for this year, for those who weren't attending. For one, the Portrait studio was a disaster. No more Shotwell and his neutral backgrounds. No, they had hired some team of photographers to shoot terrible pictures on green screens, so that none of the details of your costumes showed, and it looked like you were floating on a flag, or whatever the background was for that particular time/day. Horrendous. Also, they've turned the (ice cream) social into a showcase thing. Because I was in the Disney bustles group, I had elected to take part in the showcase. Everyone who was participating had to go wait in a small room off the room that had been set up with the stage. We had to get there at least 30 mins before the showcase started, and stay in there the whole time. The room was waaay too packed, and while I guess they had food and drink for the audience members, they neglected to have anything for the participants, and the only way we could watch the show was by pulling apart cracks in the curtains cordoning that area off. Seriously. And of course, we could only socialize with the other people in our crowded room. I don't know who came up with this whole mess of an idea, but it better not happen again.**
Because those of us in the showcase had to be sequestered so early, we also didn't wind up getting pictures of everyone in the Disney bustle group. We were missing at least 5-8 people in the one picture we did get, which also has a terrible background and lighting. *Sigh* Anyway, after the showcase, we finally had a bit of socializing time. After I changed out of my Fairy Godmother bustle, I wound up going up to the hospitality suite with Emily, and we had an amazing Greatest Showman sing-along with Marika and Christina. It was sooo much fun! Probably one of the highlights of CoCo.
Saturday: I again skipped early morning classes. I started with Bridget's sheer fabrics class, which was really neat, and now I need a mid-Victorian sheer dress made of dimity. I had to duck out early for my newly added limited, though, which was Sahrye's Intro to Integrating Lights in Costumes. It was fascinating! I have never soldered before, and I learned how to do that, and wired LED lights to batteries, making a badge and a bracelet. And now I have all sorts of ideas for incorporating lights into things to wear to Disney World in a few months. After that, I think I pressed my last costume and went to Kendra's historical retro class. I knew about some of it before, but it was nice learning about other references to past styles that I hadn't previously noticed. Then I got ready for the gala! I actually got ready on time this year, which is almost unheard of, and had plenty of time to walk the red carpet. But here I need to insert another rant. Some super rude lady was manning the end area of the red carpet/the entire rest of the hallway past it (including the self-portrait area), and yelled at us for stopping to use the self-portrait set up, and yelled at us again when we paused in our walking (she said you have to be moving at all times in this area, so naturally I started step-touching). It was so ridiculous. *rant over* Then we rounded up everyone and got lyfts over to Maggianos, where we experienced the slowest service in the hottest restaurant ever. Like literally, we weren't seated until over 15 mins past our reservation, and then the service was so slow, that I think we left about 2.5 hours later, missing almost all of the gala. The bibs worked super well, though, and we were able to take some good pictures after we got back, and hang out in the hallways downstairs for a while.
Sunday: I woke up super early to get to the Bargain Basement, but apparently everyone else woke up even earlier. (It opened at 7:30am - we were aiming for 7, made it by 7:10, and it took us till about 8:30 to get in the room. Apparently the line had started to form by 5:30!). So needless to say, by the time I got in there, there was nothing good left. I got 3-4 vintage crochet laces, and managed to win two beautiful prints at the silent auction. My new 1840s dress was a huge hit all day. I loved wearing it (though I have to take a look at the closures, since the hooks/bars kept coming undone), but the hair did eventually get really heavy (that was kind of my feeling all weekend, in fact). This was limited class day for me. I had a 9am limited of Making 18th C hair products, taught by Cynthia and Annette, which was fantastic. I can't wait to use the pomade and powder I made! Then I had a smallish break, and had Kathryn and Shannon's class on metal thread embroidery. I didn't finish the project, but I got all but one of the sampler stitches finished, and I will hopefully go back and work more on it at a later time. We hung out at the pool in the evening, packed, and then had a small room party. Another wonderful CoCo!
Monday: We checked out and went on the fabric district tour. On the bus, we planned a group project for next year - 1830s Disney Villains. I'm doing Governor Ratcliffe. :) I was really only looking for one outfit's worth of fabrics - burgundy velvet to match the burgundy velvet ribbon Emily found for me in the marketplace, and white silk for the exposed parts of the underskirt and sleeves. (I've posted the plate to instagram and FB I think, but it's a late 1860s plate that hangs in my bedroom and has been teasing me for the last year.) I already have the fabrics for everything else I'm planning this year, especially since half of them are holdover projects from previous years. Then we took the bus back, and Emily and I flew back to Seattle from Burbank that night.
That turned out way longer than I had anticipated, but there's my CoCo wrap-up! I can't wait till next year!