Dress me up... LARP Costuming

[cristovau]

So, I do have a life outside LARPs, but these games do take up a lot of my social consciousness and thought processes. And I have a question for the masses; What do you use for you core costumes, and where do you get them?

It is always a tricky question for me. Certainly, I like having some major identifying signature items, but a multi-functional or replaceable core outfit is great, too. For Kristoff I played a sort of nifty trick in that I used some of my favorite renaissance shirts (which I could order online) and basic black jeans. That made up a great core outfit and I could get three of each, or replace them as needed. The signature items were my hat, a black suede vest, and a coat. For HAY! I used an inexpensive round collared shirt (period-oid) that I found on a reasonable online dealer, and then tan scrubs for pants. While this core is less versatile than basic black jeans, these were inexpensive and easy to replicate. For Ondrej, I have two old suit jackets, and he wears nice modern clothes - stuff I would enjoy wearing to formal events. That is not a problem at all and is perfectly reused.

Staring down at a 5th Gate campaign, and then Crossover, I am faced again with the challenge of buying a core outfit that is either inexpensive, or reusable mundanely or long term in the SCA and other games. Three outfits is tricky, especially as my 5th gate character may be wearing blue & silver, a combination I do not regularly wear.

What do you all do? Thoughts?

More anon...

Comments

[offside7.livejournal.com]

For Taz, I bought multiple identical shirts on sale, and also swapped out the warm inner layers. I don't think anything about Taz's costume was memorable; it was my first boffer campaign, and I just pulled whatever looked vaguely steampunk out of my closet, then bought the shirts. Except for her ears, one of which was a steampunk prosthetic.

For Sunshine, it was even easier, since it was a modern setting -- her core costume was jeans and cutesy pink t-shirts, and the details were flowers in her hair and the 8th Street bandanna. The t-shirts turned out to be the memorable part. People would say they could always spot Sunshine across a battlefield by her pink shirt, even in the dark. (I really liked her t-shirts. One was pink tye-dye with a peace sign, to reflect her hippy nature, and it happened to have the word Affliction across her back, which nicely reflected her disease magic. Another was a pink shirt with a Funshine the Carebear applique I ironed on.) Everything was reusable. I remember I showed up at Camelot in a pink t-shirt and jeans and someone blinked at me and sad, "...Sunshine?"

With Quill, I custom made the whole outer layer, and nothing has proven reusable outside of Cottington, but I don't care. Totally worth it. (The bloomers, oddly have gotten some use.) In fact, she has two very different outer costumes that don't get reused -- I haven't found any other uses for the components of the dolly outfit. Not very wise in terms of investment.

Her inner layers are all just black clothing, and I pack for a variety of weather options, from turtleneck sweaters to light t-shirts.

For Fifth Gate, I will probably be reusing one or two elements from Rabbit's costume, but I suspect I will be making the rest from scratch. The nice thing is that I can reuse the same kimono pattern to make a bunch of layers. I'd still like to come up with some kind of memorable accessory, but nothing yet springs to mind. It's hard when they're human!

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

My thoughts for Ren (5th Gate) may be more along your work for Quill, complete exterior or facades that can work alone in the heat, and the option of modern black layers underneath.

My main question to myself right now is do I bother with pants? I could easily see him in a long tunic and I have boots. Modern pants or sweats could easily cover thighs and calves without seeming out of place... except I will know.

As I go further on in campaigns, the need for complete character specific outfits is growing stronger and seems to match your pattern. It is a curiosity that makes sense. In the first game, you don't know if you will stick with it, so full on commitment is harder, and then you learn and decide to make progressively stronger commitments to character and campaigns.

I am looking forward to seeing what you put together for 5th Gate. Your costuming is superlative, and Rabbit was well done.

[offside7.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree about the need to make more specific costumes getting stronger. I wasn't really committed to either Taz or Sunshine when I put together their costumes. Also, to be fair, even though I haven't reused any of Quill's costuming for anything but CW, it still gets way more use than pretty much any other costuming by virtue of it being for a campaign.

The way I would approach the pants question is just to leave it for last. That way, if I'm not sick of sewing/shopping by the time I'm done with the important stuff, I can make it, but if I am, I have a backup. And I can always add more for the second event.

Also, thanks. ^_^ It's really nice to hear that.

[lisefrac.livejournal.com]

I think I've given up on making stuff that is reusable. I mean, I already have a ton of pieces that are unlikely to ever see the light of day again. When will I need a plush dinosaur tail, a dress made out of hospital gowns, or a bunch of green felt medallions with pentagrams on them?

Ianthe's cloak certainly isn't going to be reusable, since I made it to be unique to that character. But I'm okay with that!