This week’s Flashback Friday: Halloween & Cosplay
I don’t remember my first Halloween costume, but I remember being a princess in 1st grade, a Care Bear in 2nd grade, and a cat in 4th grade. And no, I have no idea why I was a cat. I suspect it was cheap or on sale (I already owned the skirt, the leotard, and the tights.), which was a factor when dressing for Halloween.
For all that we were broke, I enjoyed dressing up for Halloween–something that followed me into adulthood.
When my husband and I were nineteen, we transformed our apartment into a haunted house. One Halloween, we invited everyone to go through it and scared a good number of kids. 😉 The decorations and costumes weren’t all that–we were broke college students–but we tried because Halloween was something to enjoy.
(Image left was the doorway looking into black walls, black-light, and spooky candles. Image right is me on the balcony trying to be a scary goth or something. Who knows.)
When it wasn’t Halloween, I dressed up in Renaissance gear to attend the local ren fests. Being someone else was something I did every day as an author, so why not dress the part?
More recently, my love of dressing up has shifted to cosplay. My first cosplay was Kaylee from Firefly. (Please note that the pic on the right is in a mirror so it is reversed, but you can see the patches better on that pic.)
My second cosplay was Jayne from Firefly. It’s hard to see in this pic, but I’ve got his utility belt with “grenades” and knife, as well as combat boots and leg holster with his revolver. (EDIT: Found the pic with Vera!)
After that, I expanded into the world of pinafore cosplay (Darling Army is who makes mine and she does an AMAZING job!). First it was a creeper from Minecraft. I really need to get a green wig for this…
Then it was a Dalek from Doctor Who, and no, I didn’t crochet the hat. I wish! This pic is from Anglicon 2015 when Todd McCaffrey decided to join my panel on writing for different media.
And then I decided to dress as Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro, one of my favorite Miyazaki movies.
My first version didn’t have the better hat. It had a hoodie that made the ears more Eeyore and less Totoro. I ended up with a better version later. Here’s a pic of my husband and I at GeekGirlCon 2014. He’s holding my soot sprites. 🙂
Below is the better version with the better hat. And yes, I’m trying to imitate his smile. 😀
It began with a princess, and it hasn’t stopped since. There’s something awesome about dressing up as what I’m not–quite similar to creating characters who I’m not.
What will I cosplay next? I’m not sure. I’ve considered doing a white mage or black mage from the Final Fantasy series. Maybe I’ll even get my husband into it!
I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween, full of costumes and creativity!
