Hi everyone! I really appreciate your feedback in the recent poll! Apparently everyone is as enthusiastic about all the different options as I am, because the poll keeps getting 3-way, 4-way and 5-way ties, so I haven’t been making my costume decisions based solely on that! Lol! But I’ve done some thinking and I decided to eliminate some of the options. Here is a list of the things I eliminated.
- Renaissance/Elizabethan. Nobody voted for that one, and the Padmé costume was very much inspired by that style, and there are so many other good options, so I’m quite okay with not doing that one.
- Ever After. I really love those costumes, but again, they’re in that early Renaissance style and are too similar to the Padmé costume. And they’re not crazy elaborate anyway!
- LoTR cosplay. I’m not actually a huge LoTR fan- the elven costumes are pretty much the extent of my interest in it. I would have had a lot of fun doing the Arwen Requiem gown and cloak, but I really don’t look like Arwen at all- I don’t have that oval shaped face, or blue eyes, or really dark hair like that. But I’m also not blonde like Galadriel. Seriously, LoTR needs a light/medium brunette with a circle shaped face and brown eyes! Lol!
- Once Upon a Time. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE those costumes, and I know it’s been in the lead in the poll for a while now. But I just feel like I wanted to do something more elaborate than that. You might say that the OUaT costumes are very elaborate- and they appear to be, but structurally they are not that complicated.
This leads me to the things that are still options. I still have no clue which of these I want to do, but I’ll explain the pros and cons of each and maybe you can help me decide…
- Elinor cosplay from Brave. I figured if I was going to do something medieval, I would choose between Elinor and Arwen. I picked Elinor because I like Brave better than LoTR, and I have Elinor’s hair color and stuff. I think I would look great in that lovely green. My main concern with doing this one is that it probably won’t be enough of a challenge, and I’ve already done a medieval inspired costume. It was horribly cheap looking but oh well! Also, medieval things don’t have corsets and I really wanted to make a corset. But, it has long sleeves and I could add a long train…
- Edwardian. The more I’m researching this on Pinterest, the more I’m discovering that the Edwardian era, also known as the Titanic era/Belle Epoque, is one of my favorite fashion eras EVER. Take a look at my board on Pinterest. You should be able to view it even if you don’t have a Pinterest account. I almost eliminated this because the style is meant to flatter tall, curvy, full-chested women. And I am a short, flat-chested ectomorph with basically no curves at all. But then I was discovering that they basically wore super-padded bras and hip pads under the corset to add the illusion of an hour glass figure, so there you go! I could just do that! That doesn’t solve the short problem but I think I can make it work.
- 1920s. Again, I kind of feel as though it would be a waste of my body type to not do this era because back then they actually LIKED flat-chested ectomorphs with no curves at all! That was the ideal body type! It was a backlash against the Edwardian era. I was considering eliminating it because I really want to do a corset, but then I found out that they DID have corsets… but they were different. They looked like tubes, not hour glasses. Their purpose was to hide, and not accentuate, curves. They were also made of elastic and were more stretchy and comfortable, but the thing is, I might not actually need one because I already kind of have the ideal ’20s body. My main concern with this one is that they didn’t really have long skirts (like, to the floor) and so I probably wouldn’t be able to do a train. And I really wanted to do one. Also, like the Elinor costume, I kind of feel like this wouldn’t be enough of a challenge unless I make the corset, but making the corset would probably be overkill because I don’t really need it!
- Designing my own. If I do this, I can throw in all the elements I really wanted- an Edwardian corset, long sleeves, a skirt with a train, and something flattering to my body type. It would be a sort of timeless fantasy dress. But my main concern is that it might not have a very unique style, and all the elements I wanted might not look so great together. But it would be fun when people say, “Where did you get the dress?” And I’d say, “I made it…” And they’d be like, “What pattern did you use?” And then I’d say, “Oh, I designed it….” That would be very fun conversation. I feel like I want to replicate an existing style, but inventing my own might be fun too.
Now that I’ve found out about the Edwardian bust improvers and hip pads, I’m seriously leaning towards that. But I want to hear what you guys think! I’m not going to set up another poll because then I’ll have to tell everyone to stop using the old one, but please comment and tell me whether you think I should do Elinor, Edwardian, 1920s or my own design! Thanks!
Amelia Marie 