InPlainSight.style *FKA raisingaheronotavillain.com
An all ages geek/nerd fashion, mash-up cosplay, bounding and lifestyle blog with an emphasis on body positivity and confidence.
The Disney Dress Shop is a fantastic source for dapper and vintage looks for all the Disney fandoms.
They are also size inclusive, so everyone can have fun with fashion. The fit is true-to-size as well.
The Dress Shop also has ties, brooches and bags to accessorize your look.
Here are some of my favorite dresses from the shop.
Visit their site here
Happy shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
*Pro photos by Justin Davidson Photography
So, you found the perfect dress or the perfect outfit. Congrats! However, now you need to know how to style it.
What is styling exactly? Dictionary.com defines it as, “to design or arrange in accordance with a given or new style.” Accessorizing the outfit is a start, but there is also your make-up to consider as well as jewelry.
Jewelry is technically an accessory, but it is important enough to be listed seperately in this case.
So, how do you get started styling an outfit? Here are some steps to consider while you are styling. There are no hard set rules by any means, but this is a handy guide to help get you started. You’ll be styling your own outfits in no time at all!
When using your Team Build Checklist, styling the outfit consists of the Scientist, Exotic and Blaster steps. Download your own copy of the check-list here.
Even if you aren’t using this guide to style a cosplay or bound, the tips still apply.
Is your outfit a vintage style or 80’s inspired? Maybe it is a more formal style or a business suit. If it is a 50’s style dress, then you’ll want to pair it with more vintage-style accessories. A business suit would be paired with more subdued and professional accessories.
Are you wearing this 50’s style dress to work or to a con? Are you wearing this dress to Disneyland for Dapper Day? How about to a wedding? I’ve worn the same dress to all of the above, but it was styled differently for each event. What’s great for Disneyland is not appropriate for work and so on.
While you are considering your venue or event, think about what kind of functionality you need. Are you going to a con? You’ll need the most comfortable shoes you can get that also compliment the outfit. Disneyland? What is the temperature going to be that day? If your day out is in August, then you might want to leave the petticoat at home (trust me on this one). Do you have a parasol? If yes, then you can leave your hat at home if you want. What kind of bag should you carry? Take all this into consideration when putting the pieces together.
Your base outfit is what you work from here. A big fit and flare dress should really have smaller, more tailored accessories to create a balance. If you have a hat, then make it smaller with the big dress. Same with the bag. Very colorful dress or outfit? Then more subdued make-up.
The last piece when you are styling an outfit is what do you want people to see? I know your outfit is the focal point, but what do you want people to take away from it? If you have a bound, this is kind of done for you. If you are bounding Captain America for example, then the star on the chest or the red and white stripes on the bodice tell people that you are bounding Cap. If you have a dress that is a great color, then you want to keep things simple and just draw the eyes to the pretty color. Don’t overthink it.
I hope that these tips help you. In our next post, I will post some photos of outfits with explanations why I styled them the way I did, and how I would, and do, style them differently in different situations.
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
InPlainSight.style’s latest group cosplay was for Fall Dapper Day at Disneyland. We went as Robin Hood and Little John.
In this post, we’ll break-down Benji’s Robin Hood dapper cosplay using the Team Build Checklist.
Here is a good reference photo to build upon.
This photo has Robin wearing a yellow hat, however, in appearances in the parks and for most of the film, he is wearing a green hat. So, we went with a green hat.
Robin’s hat serves as both the Leader and the Brick because his ears are a part of that. His hat was important to show the character as Robin Hood, but also a dapper version of Robin.
We chose a newsboy cap from Amazon. Then we purchased a set of fox ears and tail from Spirit Halloween. I cut the ears off of the headband, cut holes in the hat and worked the ears through the holes. Then I secured the ears with hot glue.
The Scientist needed to be green shoes, so we found some Chuck Taylor-style shoes from Amazon.
The Exotic needs to be the outfit itself. What makes him Robin Hood and not just a fox wearing clothes. Now for the tunic. A tunic is not dapper, so we went with a button down and tie. Because Robin is an outlaw, we decided with a business tie, but left undone. The shirt and tie and both from Amazon.
The pants we went with brown as a substitute for the fox fur legs.
We opted to not do fox make-up because it is Dapper Day and not a full-on cosplay. WE did need one more item to finish the look. Because Robin is busy robbing, he needed a money bag to keep his treasure in. As luck would have it, I found a purse literally shaped like a money bag on Amazon.
Next up is my Little John look. Until then, happy shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
The kiddo and I recently hosted our very first (first of many, I hope) couture meet-up at The Federal in North Hollywood.
We had a great time! I was recently inspired by the Lolita tea houses all over the world where Lolitas can meet up with each other in their favorite looks and hang out, inspire each other, take fun pictures, etc.
I wanted to widen the scope of the invite to include all kinds of geekery, so we put in the invite that there were no dress-code rules; wear whatever you want. As you can see, we had some great looks sported by some awesome ladies:
I chose to wear my new Black Widow dapper look.
Let’s break it down with the Team Build Checklist. Click on the link to print your own.
Click on the links to buy.
Happy Shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
When you’re putting together an everyday cosplay or bound, one of the best and easiest-to-use tools in your easy reach is jewelry.
Jewelry falls under “The Exotic” category on your team build checklist. I’ve attached a team build here for you to print and use.
If you have a dress that is a color inspired by a character, then the jewelry you choose can be the perfect touch to complete your bound.
Below are a couple of examples of outfits that I wear on the regular that have a great jewelry component. I’ve also included shopping links for all the pieces.
My first outfit is my Avengers Engame everyday cosplay. I have a great Avengers dress that I like to wear along with this great bomber jacket, both from Torrid. Once you pair the outfit with a great Captain Marvel necklace and infinity gauntlet bracelet (from Hot Topic and Amazon, respectively), then you have a great complete look! Click on the links to shop.
My next look are two necklaces that you can use in a screen accurate cosplay, but bring them into an everyday outfit to turn it into a great Marvel bound.
Star Lord replica necklaces from Amazon.
Next up is my Han Solo bound. I paired a Han Solo wrap skirt with a vest to make a great gender-bend Han Solo bound, but a great finishing touch is this Millenium Falcon necklace from Amazon.
My last look is one of my favorite go-to outfits. I have this great Star Lord bound. The dress is from Amazon, as is the shrug. The jewelry is also from Amazon. Click on each link for the bracelet, the leather bracelet, the Star Lord mask necklace and cassette tape necklace.
Let us know in the comments how you use jewelry to add finishing touches to your everyday cosplays and bounds. We love to hear from you!
Love, Kim and Benji
Recently Her Universe released a whole line of clothing for “Avengers Endgame” at Torrid and torrid.com.
I was lucky enough to nab two of my favorites, this dress…
This dress fits perfectly, and I absolutely love the print on the skirt.
And this jacket…
This jacket is also perfection! The jacket is a bomber-style jacket, but windbreaker weight, which is perfect for LA. I want to wear it until I just can’t wear it anymore!!!
Both are available in stores and at torrid.com. Click this link to get your own!
There were a few other pieces that looked great as well, but I’m on a budget.
Happy Shopping!
Love, Kim and Benji
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.
Part of the discussion was a review of the Team Build Checklist. Feel free to download and print it by clicking here.
We enjoyed meeting each and every one of you, and hope to present this panel again at SDCC in July. I’ll keep you posted.
Feel free to post questions and/or points of discussion in the comments.
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
My latest creation for WonderCon was a pin-up Iron Man Cosplay, complete with light up arc reactor!
I am super duper proud of this cosplay, so let’s break it down with some shopping links!
I used my handy dandy cosplay Team Build Checklist. Print your own check list here.
I found this fantastic arc reactor online at Etsy. Get your own here. It runs on 3, AAA batteries for hours and hours. I wore it all day at WonderCon (about 7 hours) and the batteries were still going. It didn’t get hot to the touch or even warm, and it is super lightweight. The artist provides a sticky pad to adhere it to your clothes, but I utilized the loop to make a necklace out of it. It didn’t show up in most pictures, but it is super bright.
I cannot recommend this dress from Amazon highly enough. It comes in a gazillion colors and it really and truly size inclusive, going up to 4xl. I am wearing a 4xl in these pictures. I apologize for the wrinkled look. The iron in my hotel room was pretty sad and didn’t do a good job at all getting it pressed for me after unpacking it. Get your own dress by clicking this link.
Check out the tutorial post here.
Again, I recommend Amazon as your first stop when looking for accessories to dress up your cosplays and bounds. Get the shrug here. Get the gloves here. Get the sunglasses here. Get the petticoat here. All four from Amazon, and also all come in a gazillion colors.
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.
This one is pretty simple to adapt to everyday wear. Lose the arc reactor and put on an arc reactor pendant instead. Click this link for a cute one. I’d also 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!
Happy Shopping!
Until next time…
Love, Kim and Benji
We hope you can join us for our brand new panel! Let’s rekindle some joy!
Love, Kim and Benji
We hope to see you there!
Love, Kim and Benji
