M i a M o o r e

Friday, May 17, 2013

Metroplex Lolitas Twinning Meetup

Prints as sweet as sugar!

After the ATX lolita group posted photos of their super huge twinning meetup, some of the Metroplex girls wanted to try it too! Twinning in lolita is when you pair with someone else and wear the same dress or print. It can be the same color and cut or totally different, and you can match it down to the shoes and wig or only match prints. There's a lot of freedom within twinning!

All the twins!

Oh no! Stop fighting, we're friends!

Unfortunately, I proved to be bad luck during the planning phase of this meetup. Everyone I planned on twinning with couldn't make the final meetup day! So I played photographer and lamented being twin-less. No cute twinning poses for me! On the plus side, I did get to wear a new skirt I recently acquired secondhand and pretending I know how to use my camera is really fun!

A beautiful photo edit by Camille showcasing my lonely self.

Outfit Details:

Headband, Bolero, Blouse, Purse: Forever 21 | Skirt: Bodyline

Wrist Cuffs: Handmade (not by me!) | Tights: Target | Shoes: ModCloth

My bolero, skirt, and wrist cuffs were all bought secondhand from other lolitas. Swap meets are my favorite!

All of our lovely twins! I think every pair turned out so adorable and well-coordinated! It was such a fun meetup idea and something I'd love to try again (maybe next time with a twin).

Have you ever matched outfits with someone else?

Psst, don't forget to enter the Love is Sweet giveaway with several prizes adding up to $59! The deadline for entering is Wednesday!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Love is Sweet Giveaway!

Some of my May sponsors and I have gotten together to host a giveaway! It ended up being themed appropriately to match Donna's banner, so it's called the Love is Sweet giveaway!

The prizes are...

A dessert table banner from The Epicurean Crafter
A cupcake headband from Love A Lolita
Ad space from Jo, My Gosh!
Ad space from Mia Moore (that's me ;)

Altogether, the giveaway is worth $59!

How to Enter

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the giveaway. The only requirement is that you leave a comment on this post, but you can earn extra entries too! No giveaway-only accounts. If you don't have a need for ad space, then we will pick two winners.

The giveaway ends on Wednesday, 5/22. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 10, 2013

Cosplay: Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2

In my cosplay series, I examine each costume I make, how I created it, what I would do differently, and so on! For more cosplay posts, just look in the cosplay tag here or sort by costume here. For cosplay tutorials, check out the Cosplay 101 tag.

Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2 Cosplay

This is one of my all-time favorite costumes to wear! It feels like I bring it out almost every convention. It was also one of my very first "real" costumes to complete!

I really love the freedom of interpretation that these kinds of genderbend costumes allow. I've seen so many different takes on female Team Fortress 2 characters, all of them unique and special in their own way! I am happy to add my hat to the ring.

Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2

Back when I used to play games a lot, TF2 was my go-to, and Engineer was my main class. Aside from loving the gameplay strategies the Engineer used, I adored his personality. I had always wanted to do a female version as a costume, but it took a while to get the push to do it.

A friend of mine who used to cosplay (male) Engineer was retiring his costume and gifted me all of his accessories, making it much easier for me to throw the rest of the costume together! Everything is hodgepodged from different locations. I am particularly fond of the bright color of the shirt and the girly details it has -- I found it right before the convention at a Plato's Closet!

Conventions

Ikkicon 2011
A-Kon 2012
Comet Con (3rd place in the cosplay contest!)

(I feel like there are more but I'm having a hard time remembering!)

Materials

Hardhat, glove, kneepads, goggles: Home Depot (gift from my friend)

Wig: Arda Wigs

Shirt: Plato's Closet

Engineer Class Patches: Neither Sparky on Etsy (hard to see, but they are there!)

Suspender shorts: Forever 21

Belt: Mom's

Boots: Forever 21

I like...

I love this character and how comfortable this costume is! It's easy to put on, recognizable, and comfortable to wear.

Since there is no official female version of the classes, I had a lot of freedom in deciding what direction I wanted to go in. I've seen a whole range of female TF2 costumes, and they all have their own charms, whether they are dead-accurate or pin-up versions.

As I was picking out costume pieces, I tried to keep in mind what a female version of the Engineer would wear -- nothing too fussy or difficult to wear in battle, but with a few extra girly elements. I think I succeeded in making a costume I felt captured his personality, but balanced with some added femininity.

I don't like...

I can't believe how long I've had this costume to still not have a prop for it! I really want to make a wrench and maybe a suitcase dispenser, but I keep forgetting until it's too close to the convention.

Next time, I'll...

I definitely want to have the wrench ready next time I wear this costume. Also, if I can find some actual overall shorts rather than suspender shorts, I'd prefer that, but so far I'm having a hard time finding any that fit right. Other than that, I may need to replace my boots soon, but the rest of my costume is good to go!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Cosplay: Tamara from The Devil's Carnival

In my cosplay series, I examine each costume I make, how I created it, what I would do differently, and so on! For more cosplay posts, just look in the cosplay tag here.

Tamara from The Devil's Carnival!

This is the first costume I've done from something that wasn't animated -- The Devil's Carnival is a horror musical by the same team that created Repo! The Genetic Opera. I used to shadowcast Repo! so when TDC came out, I knew I had to see it. I went to the original road tour and waited around to see what else would happen. Now, part two of TDC is in the works, and in the meantime, they had another road tour that was a double feature of TDC and Repo! I knew I wanted to make a costume for TDC, so this was the perfect opportunity.

The challenge? The second road tour was announced about it a month before the day of the show. I had a real time crunch in making this costume.

Tamara from The Devil's Carnival

Of all the characters in The Devil's Carnival, Tamara was one of my favorites, though she appears in the movie for a pretty short period of time. Her sin is being too trusting -- she plays the frog in the Aesop's Fable of "The Scorpion and the Frog."

The carnival that hell is set in is in some kind of alternative universe, and Tamara's outfit is very 1950s inspired. I love all the little details that make it more "frog" like. From the moment I saw her, I knew I was going to make her dress.

Most of my photos of this costume are me hooping.