While I wait for everyone to see “Avengers Endgame” this week, I thought I would highlight some great new products available at Ulta, in stores and online.
They released a great make-up line inspired by “Avengers Endgame” with an eyeshadow pallet, four lip glosses, four matte lipsticks and three make-up bags.
I got two of the make-up bags and love them! I got the smallest one for my purse and the medium sized one for travel.
I didn’t have an opportunity to try the eye shadows or the lip glosses, but the good word is that they are both great.
I did get two shades of matte lipsticks. Both have a nice feel, good amount of pigment and aren’t drying. I tried them both, and they lasted all day.
As the kiddo has gotten older, I decided it was time for her to have her first custom-made cosplay. She chose a new Spidey Suit. Our wonderful friend, Vegan Spiderman, recommended zentaizone.com. They did not disappoint!
All these amazing photos were taken by Justin Davidson Photography. Book him here.
We highly recommend you go the custom route. The suit fits her perfectly. We also recommend a removable mask and putting soles on the feet. Both of those options came in really handy!
The zentaizone site link is here so you can order your own suit!
*This is a repost from SDCC for our New Wave Avengers.
For our last SDCC recap, we wanted to share our latest cosplay, New Wave Avengers.
This cosplay was thought up in about five minutes in our local JC Penney. We were headed back to the car after getting our nails done and there were bright sport coats on sale at the store. One blue and one red. Scout said, “We could do Avenger suits!” Those sportcoats didn’t fit either of us, but an idea was born!
After spending an afternoon on Amazon, I got everything sent to us on Prime and just in time for SDCC.
So, a quick breakdown of the pieces… Sportcoats here, shirts here and ties here. All on Amazon. The Stark Glasses also on Amazon here. The stars and stripes glasses from Target. The buttons are from Cons we’ve attended over the years. Pair all this with black leggings. White sneakers are the classic styles from Reebok. The Stark gloves from Amazon. The shield is a Marvel Legends shield, which is really hard to find these days, but cosplaysky.com has a similar one.
Finally, our make-up is from Dollar Tree. No, really.
I have to admit, we both really like these eye shadows and lipstick. We are both still using them!
All these amazing photos are by Justin Davidson Photography. As always, we cannot recommend him highly enough! Book him here. You will not be disappointed!
Yellow glasses from Amazon. I also have a blue pair for the “back of the limo” pictures. Also from Amazon. Cat shirt from Cafe Press. Suit jacket from Goodwill for 12 bucks.
OK, you did good kid, but you’re still not an Avenger…
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Don’t do anything I would do.
There’s a little grey area. That’s where you operate.
I’m not hugging you. I’m opening the door so you can get out.
*This is a repost about my Scarlet Witch cosplay and how Justin gets the most perfect shots!
My friend, Ava, made this great video about the cosplay shootout that happened in Griffith Park a couple of months ago. I was lucky enough to get pics from Justin Davidson Photography and be interviewed. Enjoy! Book Justin here.
*This is a repost from 2016 for our Nick Fury and Captain America cosplays.
For part three of our trip to WonderCon 2016 we focused on our new cosplay, Cap and Nick Fury. I finally, finally, pulled the trigger and commissioned a Captain America corset and leggings from Castle Corsetry. Tis a thing of beauty! Here are some pics of the work in progress:
Both Photos by Castle Corsetry
Both Photos by Castle Corsetry
Here are some pics of the finished product with close-ups of the seams, oh the seams!!!
Photos by Castle Corsetry
Photos by Castle Corsetry
Photos by Castle Corsetry
I absolutely love this cosplay! I will be wearing this for many years to come. If you would like to commission some of their work and/or order some of their cinchers or corsets, please visit their site here. Also, feel free to shoot them an email with any questions you might have. I cannot recommend their work hard enough!
Here are some solo photos that Justin Davidson Photography took for me:
Photos by Justin Davidson Photography
Photos by Justin Davidson Photography
Photos by Justin Davidson Photography
For Scout’s Nick Fury cosplay, we hit up Amazon for the coat. It is actually an adult sized pleather trench. It is made in China, so I knew the sizing would be tiny. I was right. My regular sized 10 year old needed an XL! When ordering from sites like these, go through a reputable company like Amazon, and measure for sizing. Then go up a size. Especially when ordering for your kid. If it is too big, it won’t be for long! The eye patch is also from Amazon. Leggings, t-shirt and boots from Target. The prop weapons are by Disgruntled Veteran on Etsy. He makes con-friendly props that are a good price and quality. Get them here.
Here are some pics of Scout’s cosplay:
Photos and Lead Photo by Justin Davidson Photography
Photos by Justin Davidson Photography
We had an opportunity for Justin Davidson Photography to take some great cosplay photos of our new cosplay. As always, Justin makes us both feel super comfortable and brings great ideas for locations, lighting and poses to the table. If you want some great photos, please book him here.
All cosplay photos and lead photo by Justin Davidson Photography
For the fourth and final recap of our trip to WonderCon 2016, we’ll talk about the Marvel group photo and post some more photos of excellent cosplays we saw at the con. Until next time…
This week is the opening of “Avengers: Endgame”, so we thought we would post some of our favorite Marvel cosplays with shopping links this week! See ya at the movies!
In this case, the team leader and brick are both the dress. In other cases, a Captain Marvel necklace might be needed, but the dress includes the star on her chest.
The purse I got is from Wish. I do recommend Wish for handbags and other accessories, but I do not recommend them for clothing or make-up. The clothing sizing is sketchy as best (runs beyond tiny) and the make-up is usually knock-offs of name brands. Because of that, you can’t depend on the ingredient lists on the packaging. But, if you want a purse for yourself, click this link.
The Blaster- Hair and Make-up
This cosplay didn’t require a wig or any super special make-up. For pin-up, a nice red lip is a great finishing touch. I wear “Love Is On” by Revlon. Get yours here.
Adaptations for Everyday Wear
This one is pretty simple to adapt to everyday wear. I’d lose the petticoat and that’s pretty much all you need to do to take this look to the office or out and about.
As always, professional pictures by Justin Davidson Photography. Book him here. You’ll be glad you did!
Benji and I recently changed the name of our blog, and I thought maybe an article with the reasons why was in order.
Basically, as my kid grows, the blog needed to grow a bit as well. We also found ourselves feeling negativity in the cosplay community such as, picking on people’s cosplays, their size, their gender or nationality and what not. We both needed to, as my friend Justin so aptly put it, “rekindle joy”. So, we refocused our efforts on cosplay, but with a bounding and dapper slant. When we did, we found our new voices.
Now, please don’t worry. I will still be posting tips and tricks on raising a good little geek, but our cosplay ideas will now be more bounding and will actually be more inclusive in your everyday life, which brings us to…
Recently, we had the amazing opportunity to present a panel idea I have had for ages, “In Plain Sight: Using Everyday Fashion to Express Your Inner Superhero”, at WonderCon in Anaheim, California. Not only did we get to present this panel, but to have some of our closest friends sit on the panel with us and moderate the panel for us.
It was an amazing experience to say the least! We filled the room and handed out all the ducks! Thank you all for coming to see us. We really appreciate it.
To explain why it was so meaningful, we need to go way, way back into my childhood. I’ve written about my early experiences with fashion before. My maternal grandmother was a huge influence on me. Matching bags and shoes. Dressed up for church. Red lipstick applied in the rear-view mirror. Other early influences include old movies, which remain the epitome of glamour in my humble opinion. I was in love with the 50s style dubbed, “the new look” after WWII. The swing dresses, the lady-like look of a scarf of your hair to preserve your “do”, the red lipstick, the handbags, all of it, really. Problem was, I was born in 1967, so as a kid, I was subjected to 70s fashion. I never felt comfortable in any of it, to be honest. I tried. I really did, but the skirts weren’t twirly and my long hair was always tangled, and my Dad wouldn’t let me cut it. I just didn’t feel, “right”. I longed for pretty twirly dresses, but my Mom didn’t care about fashion, so I didn’t have any kind of sources really to explore my personal style until much later in life.
The 80s were my teenaged years and things were a lot better. The music was better and the fashions for teenagers were way better. I discovered thrifting, and holy crap was that amazing! Big blazers, rubber bracelets, wearing 5 watches at one time, hats! Yes, please!!! Also, what was really great about it was, first, I got to put outfits together by myself for the first time, second, at thrift stores there were tons of old vintage 50s looks. Turns out, I could incorporate them into my wardrobe and make my own outfits. I felt like me for the first time. There were swing dresses too, but unfortunately for a plus-size girl, they usually didn’t fit, but I didn’t give up trying. The lack of clothes choices forced me into creativity so I could really create a look that was me.
The 90s and 00s were made up of work uniforms and trying to figure out how to recapture my confidence of the 80s to no avail. But then…
I got divorced and started fresh with everything. I started going to comic conventions and discovered a whole world of fangirl fashion, size inclusivity and positivity. I also discovered that most geeky girls are like me, they love vintage 50s looks. I began to celebrate my fandom and feel like myself again.
My first geeky dresses were purchased at the Her Universe booth at Comikaze. I saw them from afar. Immediately assumed they weren’t for me, but something told me to go ask the question I always ask and walk away disappointed. Gluten for punishment, I guess. I go up the booth and ask, “What size do these go up to?” I was expecting, “An XL”, then me saying a soft, “Thanks anyway” and walking away. But, BUT, instead I got, “Oh, we have up to 3X.” Then, because I wasn’t born yesterday, assume they are an Asian 3X, which is about a Medium for us big American types. I ask if I can hold up a 3X and see if it will fit. The lady says, “Oh, it’ll fit ya for sure!” I’m thinking, “Yeah, right.” I hold it up. It looks like it will fit me, but I’m still waiting for disappointment. I say, “OK, if I buy it and go try it on in the bathroom and it doesn’t fit, can I bring it right back?” She says sure. I buy the dress. I got into the bathroom and try it on. It fit. I cried for 15 minutes. I go back to the booth and buy another dress and thank her for her kindness. I’ve been a faithful customer ever since.
That was the beginning of the realization that the geek community is very body confident and positive. All sizes are included in the fun. These companies have figured out what others have not, that style has no size limit.
To be able to fit into fashion pieces you want is a, pardon the expression, a big deal. You are included. That positivity and confidence is contagious. You find yourself carrying yourself taller, and you want everyone to feel this amazing. I feel stronger when I wear something superhero themed. I feel more confident. I am a part of a team. I don’t want anyone to ever feel excluded like I once did.
I lost my grandmother when I was 13, so she never got to experience either of my fashion metamorphoses, but I like to think she knows and is proud. If she was here, with her love of movies and fashion, I also like to think that she would be participating right along side me in this. I am doing my best to pass on all this knowledge to Benji as well.
I hope that this site has and will continue to inspire and encourage you to find your inner superhero, your body confidence and body positivity. I look forward to hearing about your adventures and triumphs in the comments. Huzzah!
We had an amazing time at WonderCon, but easily the best part of the trip was our panel, “In Plain Sight”, on Sunday afternoon.
We had an absolutely amazing time discussing how to integrate geeky and nerdy fashions into your daily wardrobe. We filled up the room and handed out all the ducks too!
We were all in agreement that by bringing your fandoms into your daily wardrobe is a great way to bring out your inner superhero on a daily basis.