I think I'm going to make another Pulp/Comic/Pin-Up 20th Century Future costume, ala the Astronettes. A girl should have more than one.

I also predict that the Steampunk movement is inching steadily forward in time into Dustpunk, Dieselpunk and Atomicpunk, or at least, while some remain in the adventurous Victorian/Edwardian era, the energy of the movement is starting to snowball through other eras. I like to be cutting edge.

I have vague notions of entering it in the local ComicExpo at the end of April, but I am hesitant to commit to the idea since they have Ed the Sock involved in some fashion with the contest. I don't know that I want to sign up to be publicly abused.

ETA: I emailed the contest organizer, who seems lovely, and she assured me that Ed himself won't be involved with the contest. It's his lady co-host, Lianne K, who loves costuming and last year wore a couple of her own, along with local improv/anime nice fella who will be MC'ing. She assures me it will be friendly, and I believe her.

At any rate, I have 3 candidates for the costume and I'd love your vote on which one would be best to go with: Gale Allen (and her Girl Squadron), Mysta of the Moon or Miss Planet Stories July 1952.

Not familiar with them? :-) I certainly wasn't until I started looking for pictures on the web, though Miss July 1952 has been in my LJ icons since my first days here. It's amazing what you learn from costuming. I'll post a teaser of her first, and you'll have to see Gale Allen and Mysta behind the cut.


Miss Planet Stories July 1952
Planet Stories is an SF pulp title, not a comic, so the only artwork is the cover. I haven't read nor seen this pulp in person but I gather the cover image doesn't directly relate to any of the interior stories. She really is just Miss July.

( All Girl Squadron! Click! )

Get outta my head, Black Phoenix Alchemy lab!!!

From http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/limited.html , scroll down a ways:

"In the spirit of Polynesian Pop and Tiki Culture, we present Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Atomic Luau Lounge: the Exotica Collection... Gah! Limited Edition!

I mean - not just a Tiki collection, but an Atomic Luau! They are either reading my mind or my blog.

And the goggleheads in the audience probably already know there's a Steampunk line coming, in follow-up to the "Mechanical Phoenix" limited edition scent.

What's next - A James Cagney puts on Brass Goggles and Dances with Ginger Rogers (who wears Kaylee's ballgown) to Busby Berkley tunes inside the ring of Stonehenge while Magpies string decorations made of shiny replicas of DNA helices interspersed with First Editions of Tolkien? Is that what's next Bpal?! Do yer worst!

We join our heroes after a night of music, revelry and terribly bad puns...

Wow! Return to the Forbidden Planet was a blast! Energetic, funny, and the costumes rocked ;-)

I'm so glad I had a chance to go out with Dr Smith, veritate, drhaggisand irob_m. It's like it was written for us or something: Shakespeare, ray guns, pop hits of the 50s and early 60s, robots.

My silver minidresses just loved being danced in! They looked great!



( Another picture and a VIDEO behind the cut! )

Come one, come all, see my silver minidresses in sublime action!

St Mary's University College Produces Return to the Forbidden Planet!
March 28, 29 and 30

Learn more about the craziness that is Return to the Forbidden Planet - a whirling dervish of music from the 50s and 60s, Shakespeare and SF movies:

http://www.rttfp.com/history.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_the_Forbidden_Planet

...dear LJ,

Your silence is deafening. You do know I still adore you, right? I was just joshing around?

And I wanted to share another 9 reasons why I haven't been around as much this week. 9 silver seductive ladies.... dresses made for the musical 'Return to the Forbidden Planet'! They are really simple. The other costumer is in charge of accessories, so they are rather plain here. But it was funny to have 9 of these dresses hanging around the house like some sort of alien fruit:

Gloves terrify me. They are right up there with corsets and men's jackets. And shoes. And hand-made wigs. And polyester chiffon.

Just call me a costuming version of Piglet.

But my personal costuming bible "The Costume Technician's Handbook" doesn't even bother mentioning making your own gloves, they are all about modifying gloves you find out there in thrift stores or men's work gloves - obviously depending on your needs. There are also some fantastic historical reenactment gloves out there, especially for the American Civil War, and I fell in love with falconry gloves while out there surfing.

I started answering sistersola's question about how I made the Down With Love Space girls' gloves in a comment, but when I started to get my camera out, I realised I had a tutorial coming on, so it got upgraded to a full-blown post. I'll include Lockhart's dueling glove and some information I gathered on actually making your own gloves, for those with more sewing cahones than I! ( Click here for more information on gloves! )