 Fantasy: October 27, 2010 Issue [#4038] |
  Fantasy
This week: Costumes Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.
-Epictetus
In general, costumes are the first thing in life that let other people know who we are. They indicate who the person is without saying anything.
-Molly Parker
Never wear anything that panics the cat.
-P.J. O'Rourke |
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Costumes
With Halloween coming up fast, and since I just did this in the Comedy newsletter last week, I thought I'd turn our attention to one of the most intriguing aspects of Fantasy culture: the costume.
Of course, unlike fans of other genres, we don't have to wait until Halloween to dress up. All we have to do is find a nearby convention. But for some of us, being in crowds (especially those crowds) causes great anxiety. Still, that's no reason not to express yourself at least at Halloween parties.
Let me be honest about one thing, here: I have no creativity whatsoever when it comes to costuming. Where other people can see a costume or outfit in a movie or whatever and go on to replicate said costume with some success, I don't have the first idea where to start. You'd think I could at least pull off the "browncoat" look from Firefly/Serenity, but I always seem to choose exactly the wrong shade of brown or something.
That brings me to my first point about selecting a costume: Know your limitations. Unless you're absolutely sure that you can pull off, say, a Transformers costume, don't even try. You'll just waste your time and end up frustrated (unless you want to go the pun route and cover yourself in little electric transformers... but you might have a hard time finding someone who "gets it"). No, you should perhaps make a list of all the costumes you think you'd want to do, and winnow out any that require a greater level of skill than you or your friends have.
Second point: Mass-produced, retail costumes are available for many popular science fiction and fantasy characters. These are frowned upon in convention circles, but if you're going to a costume party, where everyone else is going to be a zombie or sparkly vampire or hobo or some such, you can probably get away with it. I won't tell anyone; I promise.
Third point: Depending upon where you live, the Halloween season gets cold. While I'd love to see your Slave Leia costume from Return of the Jedi (if you're a female), do try to avoid frostbite. If you're in the more northern latitudes and must have a Star Wars costume, I'd suggest a tauntaun. You'll get a lot of "your tauntaun will freeze" jokes, but that's half the fun. Or maybe Chewbacca. Stay warm.
Fourth point: Makeup. For some costumes, makeup is essential; masks just don't cut it. Especially if you want to be a Na'vi - but see the above paragraph concerning ambient temperature. A costume party is one of the few times when men get to wear makeup and not get looked at funny (unless the costume is funny) - but if you're a guy, and you're not in theatre or art, please get help with this.
Final point: I've been talking about costumes from things like Star Wars, Avatar and Firefly. But look, everyone else is going to have one of those costumes, too. You want to do something less popular, so you'll stand out. But not so unpopular that people will be like, "What?" There's a fine line to walk, here. Just like women don't like to show up to a party wearing the same dress as the hostess, you don't want to be one of several C3POs. Exception: you can never have too many stormtroopers.
Most importantly, half the fun of a costume is getting to be someone else for a while. Play it up. Have a good time. Before you know it, you'll go back to being just another faceless corporate drone.
Come to think of it, that could make an excellent costume... |
Since this is October, let's look at some crossovers with Horror/Scary:
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (September 29, 2010)" , I talked about the care and feeding of minions.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  : Minions are always fun, until they start complaining. Then you got to get out the cattle prod and zap them.
No minions were harmed during the making of this story.
Submitted item: "Revolution of Humans and Anthros Intro" [18+]
Sometimes a cattle prod is sufficient. Sometimes, not so much.
Marlsbeth  : I rewrote the Introduction to my novel and have been getting good reviews. Please, check it out!
Thanks!
Submitted item: "Invalid Item"
Remember, folks, use the form below for feedback and item submissions!
Fiona Hassan : I really liked your suggestions about the minions! I'll definitely use them in a story sometime ;)
-Fiona
Glad to help!
Alexandra Jones : Fantastic newsletter on minions! It's so easy for a writer to plop a couple of secondary villains into their story to add to the atmosphere. But every character in a good story has an active purpose, as well as logical motivations. Otherwise the minions end up being nothing more than cookie cutter villains. I'll definitely keep this in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing,
~Ali
Yep, minions are people too! Except when they're not.
Cynaemon  : Hi, Count Waltzula, great newsletter. And by the way, if you are in Southern California, those aren't Halloween costumes, just daily wear. LOL
Yeah... I'm not, but I hear it's even worse in New York City!
LJPC - the tortoise : Robert! What do you mean the minions have to be three dimensional?! But I just had suits specially made to fit the cookie-cutter sameness of their thin two-dimensional forms. Darn it. If I fatten up the minions, give them backgrounds and actual thoughts, I'll just have to give away the too-small suits to Good-Will or something. 
-- Laura
Isn't that where you got the suits to begin with? Don't spend a lot of money on your minions. Keep 'em hungry.
And that's it for this time! Happy Halloween, Blessed Samhain, and good luck with NaNoWriMo if you're participating! Until next time,
DREAM ON!!!
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