going to LA means costumes galore!
Feb. 16th, 2007 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jainaI went up to LA last weekend to join ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
padawansguide and kay_dee70 at the FIDM Motion Picture Costume Exhibit and to volunteer at the California Science Center's Discovery Ball, their gala fundraising event celebrating the opening of the Star Wars: WSMI exhibit there.
FIDM:
I left home around 8 and had made it to FIDM by quarter of 10, in plenty of time for the museum opening. Maggie, Kathy, and Maggie's mom arrived shortly thereafter. We walked up to the first exhibit, the Marie Antoinette costumes, and promptly got stuck there for an hour and a half. And we only moved on because we realized we'd been there for an hour and a half, and we should probably move on if we wanted to see the rest of the exhibit at all! All three of us took copious notes and measurements (but very carefully didn't actually touch anything) and Maggie is posting the collected observations over at Costumer's Guide, so I won't repeat it here. I will say that we are TOTALLY having Marie Antoinette night at Dragon*Con, and I'm making one of her soft white chemise dresses. (If I say it enough, it'll come true, right?)
So, then. After MA, we looked a bit at the Perfume costumes, but the one Maggie really wanted to see wasn't there. Then Maggie and I hunkered down in front of the POTC wedding dress for, uh, awhile. That is a hella complicated dress, and I personally think that trying to recreate it faithfully would be a one-way ticket to crazyville. But hey, I would absolutely love to see it! Maggie and I debated about the straw work for awhile before finally deciding that it was probably raffia-- which, if we'd read the damn plaque for the costumes in the first place, we'd've known that. We r smrt. If memory serves, the plaque also tells us that Will's vest is made from an antique tablecloth! That wedding dress is in a sad state from being rained on-- all the hooks and eyes have rusted terribly. It's quite heartbreaking, really.
Let's see, then we looked at Superman Returns, because Maggie was taking notes on Lois's Pulitzer gown forferdalump. But the lighting in that room was terrible. Maggie's mom had to bust out the flashlight and shine it on the costume so Maggie could take notes (and ended up shining it in the eyes of a security guard when he came over to ask if she was holding a camera! too funny!). I was disappointed that the only costumes from Dreamgirls were their first white mermaid dresses, and the only ones from Idlewild were two of the showgirl outfits. And all of those outfits are white, so they were so much less impressive in the museum because, hello, they were designed to contrast with the skin of the actresses wearing them! Displaying them on pure white mannequins really took away from their effectiveness.
Other stuff-- we all fell in love with Lindsay Lohan's pastel-plaid dress from Bobby. It has the sweetest little pintucked and smocked bodice! And also, we looked up her skirt. Teehee. We took a look at Rachel Weisz's Queen Isabella dress from The Fountain, but on close inspection it was somewhat less impressive than it looked in pictures. Fabric paint and sloppy applique! Feh. Also, not that this is news, but actresses are *ridiculously* tiny. Lots of the dresses wouldn't even close on the mannequins!
Around 1:30 we were all starving, so we walked over to the Macy's plaza mall thingie and had lunch. We had met up withpeddler_creates by this time, and she got us visitor passes so we could go upstairs and see the really gorgeous 1860s dress on display up there. The guard who got us the passes totally recognized Maggie and Kathy from last year's Star Wars exhibit, it was really hilarious! Then we went back to the museum to take more notes, where we briefly saw miana_dude and also met up with Cat from the Alleycatscratch LOTR site. peddler_creates helped us out more with the POTC dress (she was actually the one who pointed out the plaque). We stayed until closing at 4 pm, when we said goodbye to Cat and Freya and got back in our cars to drive over to the Science Center.
Discovery Ball:
Wow, was this a huge event! There were something like 70 of us in costume there, but we were so spread out that it was hard to tell. And all the girls only had one teeny-tiny dressing room to share, so Maggie, Kathy, and I got ready in the bathroom. Let me just say that their costumes are SO incredibly beautiful in person! The pictures don't do them justice, y'all. Maggie was a total angel and helped me with my hair-- without her I'd never have gotten it done! I had also bought some new tape made specifically for holding clothing, which worked like a dream. It made it so much easier to wear my rainbow dress without worrying that I might flash someone if I moved too quickly. When we were done getting ready, we went back out to our dressing room only to find out everyone had already gone into the museum! But we found Obi-Shawn, who was coordinating the whole shebang, and he told us to head up to the exhibit, which was on the third floor, and mingle. Dinner was on the first floor, and there was a "cantina" on the second, but only "cantina-appropriate" characters got to hang out there.
I had seen the exhibit a whole bunch in Boston, so for me, it was mostly about seeing my fellow costumers. (The store was pretty awesome, though.) And they *still* haven't fixed the little plaque for Han's costume-- it still says ANH, not ROTJ. *shakes head* Anyway, we tried to "mingle," but mostly ended up talking to each other. *g* Victoria, dressed as Ewok Leia, arrived after a bit with her boyfriend General Grievous. He got a lot of attention! Victoria (who does a fantastic Jaina costume, and has a Jaina license plate, which was actually how we first met) and I had a great conversation about how every Jaina thinks she's the only Jaina, and how we're so proprietary in a way that Padmes and Leias aren't. "But I grew up along with Jaina! And I identfied with her! And I look like her!" "Well so do I!" "And so do I!" *giant hair-pulling fight breaks out* It was really funny. Oh, and Maggie, Kathy, and I got accosted by this rather tipsy woman, who walked up to me and was like "You must be Leia!" And I pointed to Maggie (Bespin Leia) and said that no, she was Leia. The woman looks Maggie up and down and says, "You can't be Leia! You don't have the *buns*!" which is totally my new catchphrase. (I didn't have buns either, so I don't know what the hell she was going on about.) I did have two people tell me I looked like Natalie Portman, which I don't see so much, but hey, thanks!
Anyway, after an hour or so, we were told to pass the word to the guests that dinner was ready, and sort of shepherded them downstairs. But we stayed up, looking down onto the first floor, because there was going to be a Rebel-Imperial firefight, and we could watch, but had to stay out of the way. Our Rebel trooper squad, plus Han and Leia, started sneaking out among the guests...and sneaking...and sneaking...and sneaking. Finally, the music cue started, and there followed the longest and most incompetent firefight ever, because despite two-and-a-half minutes of constant shooting, nobody actually hit anyone else. Anyway, the stormies rounded up the rebels and marched them off, and there was dinner.
And dinner for us, too! Maggie and Kathy changed into street clothes, but that's not really an option for me with the rainbow dress. So Rachel lent me her Rebel trooper vest, which had nice big armholes that I could at least get my lower arms through. I cracked up their entire table by doing my T-Rex Padme impression. (You have to imagine it with me saying "RAAAAAR!") We had very decent BBQ pork and chicken and rolls with butter. And delicious, delicious caffeine-filled soda. And then we kept talking about how we wanted a cookie or something, and I saw someone with a cookie, and I was like "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT" and they said "over there" and we TOTALLY bolted for the cookie table. Mmmmm.
We were off-duty until the guests were done with their dinner and auction, so we went back into the dressing room and hung out for awhile, which was fun. I got to meet Marie, who was ANH Leia, and talk more with Victoria and Christy (slave Leia). Overall, we had four Leias (ANH, Bespin, slave, Ewok) and two Padmes (rainbow, deleted family). When the guests were done with their dinner and auction, we went back up to the exhibit. We girls went on the Falcon together, which was a lot of fun, and took some pictures up in the exhibit. And we walked through the store, too. Eventually, we were allowed to go into the "Vader Room," the "nightclub" part of the event. They had a really good band and also chocolate fondue! And freezy pops! The sight of a dozen Star Wars characters on the dance floor is not to be missed, let me tell you. Both of our Anakins were squiring women around the floor, and the stormtroopers got up on stage to dance when the band played "Play that Funky Music, White Boy." And I evaded an overly-friendly drunk guest by introducing him to my very jealous husband Anakin, who had a lightsaber and might cut his arm off! Also, whoever decided that it would be a fantastic idea to give a lot of drunk people plastic lightsabers should be beaten severely about the head.
It was way lots of fun! I always love getting together with my costuming friends, and I usually only see them a couple times a year when we're doing events. Getting to seecolleency, and Shawn (who deserves heaps of praise for coordinating the event), and Lawrence, and Jon, and the people whose names I haven't quite gotten yet, and the new people I meet every time I go-- it's just a blast. I really need an easier costume to wear, though, cause the rainbow dress is a pain and a half, and it's also getting old. Anyway, Kathy and I left around midnight, and Maggie had left earlier because she was still on East Coast time. They were so sweet and let me crash on the floor of their hotel room, so I wouldn't have to drive two hours home that night. I was so, so glad to get to spend so much time with them, talking costuming and other random stuff, just hanging out. Every other time I've seen them it's been in the hurried confusion of a con or another event, which is just not the same.
And then I drove home Sunday morning and ended up sleeping for six hours when I got home! Guess I was a little tired from the day before. :) Great weekend!
padawansguide and kay_dee70 at the FIDM Motion Picture Costume Exhibit and to volunteer at the California Science Center's Discovery Ball, their gala fundraising event celebrating the opening of the Star Wars: WSMI exhibit there. FIDM:
I left home around 8 and had made it to FIDM by quarter of 10, in plenty of time for the museum opening. Maggie, Kathy, and Maggie's mom arrived shortly thereafter. We walked up to the first exhibit, the Marie Antoinette costumes, and promptly got stuck there for an hour and a half. And we only moved on because we realized we'd been there for an hour and a half, and we should probably move on if we wanted to see the rest of the exhibit at all! All three of us took copious notes and measurements (but very carefully didn't actually touch anything) and Maggie is posting the collected observations over at Costumer's Guide, so I won't repeat it here. I will say that we are TOTALLY having Marie Antoinette night at Dragon*Con, and I'm making one of her soft white chemise dresses. (If I say it enough, it'll come true, right?)
So, then. After MA, we looked a bit at the Perfume costumes, but the one Maggie really wanted to see wasn't there. Then Maggie and I hunkered down in front of the POTC wedding dress for, uh, awhile. That is a hella complicated dress, and I personally think that trying to recreate it faithfully would be a one-way ticket to crazyville. But hey, I would absolutely love to see it! Maggie and I debated about the straw work for awhile before finally deciding that it was probably raffia-- which, if we'd read the damn plaque for the costumes in the first place, we'd've known that. We r smrt. If memory serves, the plaque also tells us that Will's vest is made from an antique tablecloth! That wedding dress is in a sad state from being rained on-- all the hooks and eyes have rusted terribly. It's quite heartbreaking, really.
Let's see, then we looked at Superman Returns, because Maggie was taking notes on Lois's Pulitzer gown for
ferdalump. But the lighting in that room was terrible. Maggie's mom had to bust out the flashlight and shine it on the costume so Maggie could take notes (and ended up shining it in the eyes of a security guard when he came over to ask if she was holding a camera! too funny!). I was disappointed that the only costumes from Dreamgirls were their first white mermaid dresses, and the only ones from Idlewild were two of the showgirl outfits. And all of those outfits are white, so they were so much less impressive in the museum because, hello, they were designed to contrast with the skin of the actresses wearing them! Displaying them on pure white mannequins really took away from their effectiveness.Other stuff-- we all fell in love with Lindsay Lohan's pastel-plaid dress from Bobby. It has the sweetest little pintucked and smocked bodice! And also, we looked up her skirt. Teehee. We took a look at Rachel Weisz's Queen Isabella dress from The Fountain, but on close inspection it was somewhat less impressive than it looked in pictures. Fabric paint and sloppy applique! Feh. Also, not that this is news, but actresses are *ridiculously* tiny. Lots of the dresses wouldn't even close on the mannequins!
Around 1:30 we were all starving, so we walked over to the Macy's plaza mall thingie and had lunch. We had met up with
peddler_creates by this time, and she got us visitor passes so we could go upstairs and see the really gorgeous 1860s dress on display up there. The guard who got us the passes totally recognized Maggie and Kathy from last year's Star Wars exhibit, it was really hilarious! Then we went back to the museum to take more notes, where we briefly saw miana_dude and also met up with Cat from the Alleycatscratch LOTR site. peddler_creates helped us out more with the POTC dress (she was actually the one who pointed out the plaque). We stayed until closing at 4 pm, when we said goodbye to Cat and Freya and got back in our cars to drive over to the Science Center.Discovery Ball:
Wow, was this a huge event! There were something like 70 of us in costume there, but we were so spread out that it was hard to tell. And all the girls only had one teeny-tiny dressing room to share, so Maggie, Kathy, and I got ready in the bathroom. Let me just say that their costumes are SO incredibly beautiful in person! The pictures don't do them justice, y'all. Maggie was a total angel and helped me with my hair-- without her I'd never have gotten it done! I had also bought some new tape made specifically for holding clothing, which worked like a dream. It made it so much easier to wear my rainbow dress without worrying that I might flash someone if I moved too quickly. When we were done getting ready, we went back out to our dressing room only to find out everyone had already gone into the museum! But we found Obi-Shawn, who was coordinating the whole shebang, and he told us to head up to the exhibit, which was on the third floor, and mingle. Dinner was on the first floor, and there was a "cantina" on the second, but only "cantina-appropriate" characters got to hang out there.
I had seen the exhibit a whole bunch in Boston, so for me, it was mostly about seeing my fellow costumers. (The store was pretty awesome, though.) And they *still* haven't fixed the little plaque for Han's costume-- it still says ANH, not ROTJ. *shakes head* Anyway, we tried to "mingle," but mostly ended up talking to each other. *g* Victoria, dressed as Ewok Leia, arrived after a bit with her boyfriend General Grievous. He got a lot of attention! Victoria (who does a fantastic Jaina costume, and has a Jaina license plate, which was actually how we first met) and I had a great conversation about how every Jaina thinks she's the only Jaina, and how we're so proprietary in a way that Padmes and Leias aren't. "But I grew up along with Jaina! And I identfied with her! And I look like her!" "Well so do I!" "And so do I!" *giant hair-pulling fight breaks out* It was really funny. Oh, and Maggie, Kathy, and I got accosted by this rather tipsy woman, who walked up to me and was like "You must be Leia!" And I pointed to Maggie (Bespin Leia) and said that no, she was Leia. The woman looks Maggie up and down and says, "You can't be Leia! You don't have the *buns*!" which is totally my new catchphrase. (I didn't have buns either, so I don't know what the hell she was going on about.) I did have two people tell me I looked like Natalie Portman, which I don't see so much, but hey, thanks!
Anyway, after an hour or so, we were told to pass the word to the guests that dinner was ready, and sort of shepherded them downstairs. But we stayed up, looking down onto the first floor, because there was going to be a Rebel-Imperial firefight, and we could watch, but had to stay out of the way. Our Rebel trooper squad, plus Han and Leia, started sneaking out among the guests...and sneaking...and sneaking...and sneaking. Finally, the music cue started, and there followed the longest and most incompetent firefight ever, because despite two-and-a-half minutes of constant shooting, nobody actually hit anyone else. Anyway, the stormies rounded up the rebels and marched them off, and there was dinner.
And dinner for us, too! Maggie and Kathy changed into street clothes, but that's not really an option for me with the rainbow dress. So Rachel lent me her Rebel trooper vest, which had nice big armholes that I could at least get my lower arms through. I cracked up their entire table by doing my T-Rex Padme impression. (You have to imagine it with me saying "RAAAAAR!") We had very decent BBQ pork and chicken and rolls with butter. And delicious, delicious caffeine-filled soda. And then we kept talking about how we wanted a cookie or something, and I saw someone with a cookie, and I was like "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT" and they said "over there" and we TOTALLY bolted for the cookie table. Mmmmm.
We were off-duty until the guests were done with their dinner and auction, so we went back into the dressing room and hung out for awhile, which was fun. I got to meet Marie, who was ANH Leia, and talk more with Victoria and Christy (slave Leia). Overall, we had four Leias (ANH, Bespin, slave, Ewok) and two Padmes (rainbow, deleted family). When the guests were done with their dinner and auction, we went back up to the exhibit. We girls went on the Falcon together, which was a lot of fun, and took some pictures up in the exhibit. And we walked through the store, too. Eventually, we were allowed to go into the "Vader Room," the "nightclub" part of the event. They had a really good band and also chocolate fondue! And freezy pops! The sight of a dozen Star Wars characters on the dance floor is not to be missed, let me tell you. Both of our Anakins were squiring women around the floor, and the stormtroopers got up on stage to dance when the band played "Play that Funky Music, White Boy." And I evaded an overly-friendly drunk guest by introducing him to my very jealous husband Anakin, who had a lightsaber and might cut his arm off! Also, whoever decided that it would be a fantastic idea to give a lot of drunk people plastic lightsabers should be beaten severely about the head.
It was way lots of fun! I always love getting together with my costuming friends, and I usually only see them a couple times a year when we're doing events. Getting to see
colleency, and Shawn (who deserves heaps of praise for coordinating the event), and Lawrence, and Jon, and the people whose names I haven't quite gotten yet, and the new people I meet every time I go-- it's just a blast. I really need an easier costume to wear, though, cause the rainbow dress is a pain and a half, and it's also getting old. Anyway, Kathy and I left around midnight, and Maggie had left earlier because she was still on East Coast time. They were so sweet and let me crash on the floor of their hotel room, so I wouldn't have to drive two hours home that night. I was so, so glad to get to spend so much time with them, talking costuming and other random stuff, just hanging out. Every other time I've seen them it's been in the hurried confusion of a con or another event, which is just not the same.And then I drove home Sunday morning and ended up sleeping for six hours when I got home! Guess I was a little tired from the day before. :) Great weekend!
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 05:49 am (UTC)And LOL about my mom and the flashlight!
Oh, and you have to add the story about the woman asking where we got our costumes.
"We sewed them"
"Yeah, you were up all night sewing." And then she gives us a dirty look and walks away!
I need an icon that says "You don't have the buns to be Leia"! Must ad that to the to-do list!
I still need to write up the trip myself - I may have to plagiarize part of your writeup! :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:06 pm (UTC)I totally have to add that story to the entry! That was so weird-- where did she *think* we got the costumes? I mean, someone had to make them!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-19 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 05:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 06:14 am (UTC)Your recap is great, sounds like you all had a wonderful time. So YAY!!! :)
Are you really planning on doing Dragon Con this year? I would love to meet you. :)
and this Lindsay Lohan dress-- i am intrigued. Are there any pics of it?
no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:11 pm (UTC)I am really, really hoping to make it to D*C this year. We aren't doing GenCon, so really it all depends on where I'm working then, and if I can get the time off. (Last year I worked all of Labor Day weekend, because we were doing massive overtime for The Wiz, and there was just no way I could get the time off.)
Here's a still (http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/weinstein_company/bobby/_group_photos/elijah_wood1.jpg) from Bobby showing Lindsay's dress, and here's another (http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/medias/nmedia/18/36/31/27/18470657.jpg) with a slightly better bodice close-up. It's such an adorable dress!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 08:02 am (UTC)I've been so busy ever since I got back from LA, this is the first time I've even glanced at LJ (I didn't get home until Wednesday).
Well, maybe I don't need to do a write up now ;) I should though. There were a few other funny quotes I had from the evening.
Same tipsy man who cornered Caitlin then talked to me "Who are you dressed as?" "Padme" "Who?" "PADME" "Is that a character from Kill Bill?" "No, Star Wars!"
Oh, and did you mention how the guard remembered me from last year at FIDM! "She lives here" LOL! The reason we got away with measuring and shining lights on things is because the head guard told the other guards we were cool - we make really good costumes. Yay!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-19 02:04 am (UTC)We did look under the dress for the "fire crotch", LOL! ;-)
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Date: 2007-02-17 07:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 12:38 pm (UTC)Your comment on how tiny hollywood actresses are reminded me vividly of the CII exhibit! A "Teen" mannequin had to have the BOOBS SAWED OFF -and the Senate gown would still not fully hook in the back! Gah!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-18 08:13 pm (UTC)We were actually talking in the exhibit about them having to use the teeny mannequins for all the Padme costumes for the SW exhibit. Actually they had a Natalie costume there, the pink one from V for Vendetta, and what really stood out to me was that she was no smaller than the other tiny actresses!