On the list of things that peeve me are friends and family who assume that because I have a lot of costumes that it means that they can raid my wardrobe.

No.

I have spent probably over $1500 in the last year and half on my costumes, whether I made them or bought them. They are also in my size. Some are exact fits, others have a small amount of give based on how they were made. Unless you are my exact size, they will not fit.

I have maybe 2 costumes from when I was heavier and I may offer if asked nicely or if I know of a circumstance –  not demanded to, not felt obligated to, not guilt tripped into.

It’s just plain rude.

Get ready for an influx of photoshoots with new costumes!

Bob and I are rebranding our studio to Queen City Pinups, featuring classic and costuming pinups. Stay tuned for official opening and exclusive mini-sessions!

Now THAT’S an oddly specific blurb

New Tattoo!

I went to my friend, Bree Sunshine, at Coronado Ink, to touch up my luck cat tattoo:

While I was there, she also touched up my Harley Quinn diamonds and added in the Green Lantern symbol. Gotta keep up my geek cred! Harley is on my left ring finger, GL on my right middle

In costuming news, I finished the NoFlutter Fantasy Harley Quinn!!! Just need to have Bob make some time to take the pictures. Ive also been working on my abs – I have a 4 pack if I suck in my tummy! LOL So Im feeling better about fitting into my Injustice 2 Harley Quinn costume 🙂

So here is where I am in my costume progress.

All fabric pieces have been made! Minus the leggings. Those will be last, as I want to finish the leg armor before putting on accents on the leggings.

The armor is interesting for me, as I have never done it. I have all the pieces cut out and will be doing some gluing in the next few days. I don’t know when I will get to painting as DH is in the middle of building shelves for the dining room in the work area in the basement.

My goal is to be done in time to compete at the Buffalo Comicon at the end of September.

If I have finished before other conventions, I may try to compete in them as well.

This is prompted by a family member on a budget, but I think my thoughts are worth sharing. In regards to buying a costume vs commissioning one.

It is more and more acceptable to have costumes than it was 20 years ago. When I started cosplaying, there really was no choice but to make your own costume. Even your Halloween pickings were slim and horrible for the costs they were. If you needed something outside of Halloween, forget it!

Now though, you can get decent costumes very affordably. The costs for these mass produced items for a consumer is about the same as just getting the materials for someone to make, not counting a pattern if one is available. I bought the Injustice 2 Harley Quinn costume because after factoring my costs, time, and ability, this was the most cost efficient to me.

Not counting the corset, Steampunk Harley Quinn easily cost me $100+ in materials and patterns. The costume that I am currently working on I have $70 in materials invested so far. If I didn’t already have a ton of material and notions already, I would be adding in an additional $50. I am also using 3 different patterns with an average cost to me of $10 each, which I already had waiting in my drawer.

This is not counting the time spent. If youve heard the phrase “Time is Money,” this is where its coming from.

If you want an affordable costume, there is no shame in buying it. Im glad that I have the ability to sew simple pieces and can turn the ideas in my head into a reality. I have MANY store bought costumes. Mostly Harley items from Spirit and Hot Topic through the years (long before the Suicide Squad Movie). Only one sucked and only because it wasn’t made for a girl with a butt! LOL I also have Bombshell Batwoman, an Arkham Knight variant Harley, and Suicide Squad Harley from Hot Topic; I have another Harley variant from one of the other Arkham games from Spirit (A corset and skirt. Should be pants, but the skirt is cute.) and Ive used many store bought pieces and turned them into costumes. There also are many overseas shops that have wonderful costumes at very reasonable costs.

If you are looking for something unique, in-depth, or intricate, then by all means commission a seamstress. Be prepared to pay for it.

If you’re looking to compete in a cosplay contest, be prepared to make most of it yourself. Each contest has its own threshold. Ive seen 50-70% self-made as the requirement. Some may require you to have a write-up of what you did and what you used. Check the rules of the particular contest you are thinking of entering.

If you are on a budget, its ok to buy a costume. Its OK to thrift and piece together – close enough is close enough! This is supposed to be fun, not stress you out over the costs.

As some of you may know, I’ve unexpectedly taken on making a new costume. I wasn’t planning on anymore until next year, but when I saw NoFlutter’s Fantasy Siren’s I was dead in love (July 28th Post).

I thought I would share my progress. It’s definitely been a challenge, because I have no idea what I’m doing. Seriously, Im this dog:

I’m pretty proud of the fact that so far I have 90% of the materials already. I needed more fabric to make the sleeves and more bias tape, because I always need more bias tape lol I am also using bits and pieces of patterns I have already bought (on sale, of course)

The progress picture is a little outdated. I have the tails on the corset. I literally have everything from the waist up. I’m going to figure out how to make briefs on non-stretchy fabric next. After I get more black and red thread XD

More updates soon