The Costumer

Hello, faithful readers! I just wanted to announce a few changes that will be occurring on this blog. This blog will still remain up, available, and active, but as you have noticed, I will not be posting every day. My new goal is to make a comprehensive weekly post. Among other projects, this blog is and was intended to bolster my freelance career. Now that I’m obtaining more substantial freelance projects, I am unable to update daily without sacrificing quality of content. Therefore, I’ve decided not to sacrifice quality, and to simply post less frequently.

Readers of Merry Meet (my other blog) will be happy to learn that the same applies to that blog as well. I also still blog weekly over at LARPers.

The second change is the use of Entrecard. I will no longer be using Entrecard after April 7th, due to guideline changes and marketing strategy.

Thanks!

~Tara, AKA The Costumer

Check it out–my fellow blogger Lynne found a message someone left for me. What do you think?

Just a quick note–you can subscribe to The Costumer to receive e-mail alerts and post teasers each time The Costumer is updated. Just click on the “subscribe” link at the top of the page. Thanks!

Barack Obama is now our president-elect. Congratulations to the supporters, donors, and voters who made this historic choice to change America for the better. After eight long and hard years, I am so proud that my country has chosen to look back to our founding principles and apply them during this election.

That said, it’s time to party it up with style. Here are some ways to dress up to show your support of Barack Obama’s win:

-Be subtle. Politics should stay out of the office, but there’s nothing wrong with suddenly wearing a whole lot of blue or all of our flag’s colors together. The patriotic look is always in style.

-Be…not so subtle. Buy up all the precious pins, shirts, hats, and other pretties. You could even decorate your car or dress your dog.

-Be a moderate. A simple American flag pin will show your support of your country and its momentous decision. A campaign button on your jacket is certainly an appropriate addition as well.

-Go quirky. Do something creative. Perhaps you could even dress to encourage others to write letters to the house and senate members as well as the new president. Put it on a shirt, and hand out some envelopes!

Costume parties are a great idea for many occasions, not just Halloween. Hosting theme parties of all sorts will guarantee an enjoyable time for your guests. If budget is an issue, consider something affordable such as a pajama party.

One of the best ideas I’ve ever come across actually comes from a tradition shared by my grandmother and her group of friends. This circle of friends meets weekly for breakfast, but every now and then they have a ‘come as you are’ breakfast. This variation on a costume party theme involves the party organizer calling the invitees. Those attending are required to come to the event as they are dressed when they answer the phone. For best results, the party organizer usually calls in the morning on a Saturday to ensure that most guests will in fact be in their pajamas.

Other ideas include: princess parties, toga parties, and pirate parties. A famous example of this includes the ‘tarts and vicars’ party idea mentioned in the Bridget Jones series.

Inspired by “Which Witch Will Win?” event at the Philadelphia Melting Pot, I realized that people think of many things when they hear the word ‘witch.’ Authors like Gregory Maguire (Wicked) and general open mindedness towards nature-centric beliefs have caused us to re-examine the witch stereotype. Even in the traditional Halloween witch sense, there are many different possibilities.

To save money this year, I decided I mostly wanted to wear a costume that I already had. The charity “Which Witch” event came up, and the invitation mentioned a contest in a few different categories including glam witch and nurturing witch. My friend Katie, who truly commits to an idea once she has claimed it, decided to go all out as a glam witch. Desiring to use materials I already had, I called myself the nurturing nature witch and bought some inexpensive fake foliage at a craft store, dressing up my renaissance faire costume to look folky, green, and natural.

With a little creativity and little to no money, challenge what others think about witches. This is also an easy last minute Halloween costume idea.

This blog will focus on various aspects of costuming, including but not limited to: Halloween costumes, renaissance faires and festivals, plays, historical, and live action role playing (LARP).

I’ve always enjoyed dressing up and wearing costumes. As I got older, my love for costuming never went away. It’s always fun to dress up and assume the role of a character. I’ve even used it as a tool to get ‘in character’ for a character in one of my stories. I look forward to hearing from other costume enthusiasts.

Please enjoy my brief daily tidbits on the subject of costuming in the months to come. Thank you for reading.

Tara - AKA The Costumer