For our latest outfit of the day, I am styling a kimono-style jacket. Now, I know that this isn’t an actual Kimono, but this cut and style is called as such in stores, so I am using the term as reference and not under the delusion that it is an actual Kimono.
I have a few of these jackets, and I love the ease in which they can take an outfit to the next level.
I have a goth style on in this post, but I also have a buffalo plaid one and a navy blue one covered in stars that I pair with my super hero tees.
If you’re like me, you are not a shorts person. Not that I have a problem with my legs showing, after all, I wear a number of mini-skirts, but I just don’t like the way they look on their own. So, I decided to create an outfit using shorts and a t-shirt in a different way. I hope you like it!
So, first off, the shorts are a comfy stretch denim Bermuda short from Lane Bryant. Their denim tends to fit me well, but you choose whatever store makes your preferred jeans to find your shorts. I also picked a longer cut because my thighs pretty much require it. Super short shorts ride up too much to make room for my legs, so I went a little longer.
I went with a more goth look here, but you can pick any tee that suits you to go with the shorts. This tee is from Hot Topic.
I put on tights from Snag under the shorts with tall boots. You don’t have to go with tights, but again, with my “ride up” situation, putting tights on helps the shorts stay put for me.
You can go with a combat boot, tall boots like I did, or a super clunky sneaker to complete the look. My boots are from Forever 21.
OK, obligatory, “2020, what a crappy year!” Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the actual effects of 2020 on nerds, specifically, cosplaying nerds.
Let me start off by stating that I have a job. I’ve had a job this whole year. I have a home and a healthy family, so I am getting through this year blessed to be perfectly honest. So, when I begin my complaining below, please know that while I feel disappointment over things lost in this craptastic year, I do have some perspective.
We lost cons, movies, tv shows, Dapper Day, and countless other nerd celebratory things this year while sheltering and trying to slow the spread of COVID. It was the right thing to do, but it sucked. It has been lonely, and at times, boring. What are cosplayers to do with their time now? Well, I have some ideas I’d like to share. These ideas do apply to other hobbies, so if you aren’t a cosplayer, please read on!
Zoom Meet Ups
I know, you are probably already doing this, but with a lot of us getting Zoom fatigued (me included), we’ve kind of let this one go by the wayside. I think with the holidays coming, we should bring it back. Perhaps a meet up with your holiday best bound, cosplay or dapper look.
Find Masked/Socially Distant Events to Attend with Your Household Members
This one can be tricky, depending on where you live. I’m fortunate enough to live in LA, so we have Downtown Disney, Universal Citywalk and Knotts Berry Farm to go to. In all these instances, they are strictly enforcing social distancing and mask wearing, as well as attendance numbers, so I feel safe going to these events. There are no rides or live shows, but you can put on a nice bound and have a nice day out!
Find a Drive-Thru Event and Cosplay In Your Car
Seems silly, but so is 2020! Again, LA has a ton of drive-thru light displays, so we can get gussied up and go and have a nice evening out.
Work on Some New Builds
Now that there is literally no “con crunch time”, take this time to look at your cosplays and bounds and see if anything needs touching up or updates. I’ve been doing this with my weekends for a while now. I can say that I have more than enough new looks for Avengers Campus when it opens and for cons for the next two years! But, I’ve been able to really take my time and make them look the way I want them to look. I’m super proud of these and can’t wait to show them off, which brings me to…
Photo Shoots
Now is a great time to do some photos of those looks. Get out your ring lights and tripods and go to town on some photos! Photos and then posting them on Instagram or Facebook is a way to stay engaged with your hobby and also stay in touch with your nerdy friends!
Purchase the In Plain Sight Book For Fresh Ideas
Lastly, please allow me to toot my own horn for a sec and suggest getting a copy of my new book, “In Plain Sight: Using Cosplay to Express Your Inner Superhero”. The book is full of information for the new cosplayer as well as ideas and inspirations for the experienced cosplayer/bounder. I have also come up with an organizational system for building looks, which I have dubbed the Team Build Checklist. You basically building your look by using classic superhero team member archetypes to assist you. Please see the example below of my Star Lord bound along with a photo of the actual look:
Right now for the holidays, I have a limited number of books that are $5.00 off the regular price and signed copies to boot! Just email me at inplainsight.style@gmail.com for one of those. If you want to purchase through blurb.com, click here.
Regardless if you buy a copy, I hope that this list has given you a little inspiration to get you through to when the vaccine is readily available, and we can all get out and enjoy our hobbies again!
I recently took a quick inventory of my basic wardrobe staples and found my leggings to be rather sad and in need of replacing.
I shopped around and found that leggings are super expensive these days! You can get a deal if you join various clubs online, but it is a hassle to skip month after month or endure a long “hard-sell” phone call to cancel that membership. So, I did some shopping on good ‘ol Amazon.
Now, Amazon clothes shopping can be a disappointing experience. The picture vs. reality can be a real let-down. But, I found some great leggings, so I had to share this great find with you!
I took them on a test drive, and I am happy to say that they stay put all day long. They keep their shape. They pass the bend-over test! Last but not least, they are true-to-size and size inclusive! So, I cannot recommend these highly enough!
Our next outfit of the day is my new dragon dress by Retrolicious.
Recently, Retrolicious had a warehouse super sale, and I cleaned up. I really like their take on the “new look” with interesting fabrics. They do have some great mid-century staples, like polka dots and bold colors, but to have a swing dress with dragons all over it, or witches or dinosaurs, really opens up your creativity.
I, like every other fashion-obsessed person, always wanted to have a big ‘ol closet. I have a small closet at home that has always been a struggle to keep neat and tidy. So, when the kiddo got old enough that he didn’t need a toy room anymore, I pounced on the opportunity to make-over the room into my own dressing room.
This small wardrobe with shelving is a great place to display some of my handbags, and I use it for skirts and cardigans. I use these Loungefly mini-backpacks for Cons and theme park visits because they hold everything I need, and they are super cute and great for bounding. For Loungefly’s website, click here. The wardrobe is from Target.
This cube storage unit is from Target from ages ago. I actually traded furniture from Benji here. He obviously did not want pink furniture in his room anymore, and I love pink, so it worked out. I replaced the pastel cubes with cubes from Dollar Tree. The vignette on the wall I put together with items from the 99 Cent Store. The bat light is from Amazon.
The wicker high-boy is the first piece of furniture I ever bought for myself back in 1990. I will have it always. The shield I glittered it myself because my shield got all scratched up, so I rehabbed it. Click here for instructions.
This clothing rack is from Bed Bath and Beyond. It has shoe storage below and a shelf on top. I keep my dresses here because they are much heavier. And finally, the large zip-up wardrobes hold our cosplays and we’ve had them forever. We purchased them at Bed Bath and Beyond.
So, I took the room and built it wall by wall to give myself the dressing room of my dreams. I hope I’ve inspired you to do a make-over of a space within your space.
I don’t know about you, but I do love to save some money. Problem is, I also love to shop for new nerdy-themed wardrobe items. The good news/bad news in that is that now, more than ever before, we have really good choices!
But, let’s say there’s nothing new catching your fancy out there on the interwebs, but you still have an event coming up. You need to put on something new. What is a nerd to do?
Well, try shopping your closet. I recently had WonderCon coming up, and I wanted to dress in dapper/pin-up styles the whole Con, but I didn’t have enough pieces. I couldn’t find anything I liked really, so I decided to shop my closet. After all, I have a ton of pieces, so maybe I could put together something with what I already had. Guess what? I did just that, and now I have a new go-to fave, this Black Widow bound!
The best way to do this is to take something you really like and challenge yourself to find something in your closet you’ve never paired it with before. If you usually wear something with jeans, then try pairing it with a skirt and vice versa.
I put together pieces that I didn’t buy to go together here, for this Tony Stark bound…
I recently got to take part in my first ever Disneyland After Dark event, Heroes Assemble.
It was an amazing time! The event took place at Disney’s California Adventure park in Anaheim. All the heroes, ALL of them, were there for photo ops, which was just great. Star Lord and the Guardians had a DJ’d dance party going on. Ashley Eckstein from Her Universe was also there for a meet and greet. The park had special themed food and drinks, including infinity churros! I had a lovely boozy lemonade with red, white and blue stars sprinkled on top. Yummy!
I became a part of the collector’s collection…
BF and I got to meet Doctor Strange…
And I met Carol Danvers!!!!
Now, let’s break down the fashion, shall we!
I did a basic pin-up style Captain Marvel bound for the event. Here are the pieces:
