Home
sign up| features / column |
 content by: editor |
 webslinky: dressing up
This week, costume drama. Everyone likes dressing up. And with fancy dress season fast approaching, it’s easy to become consumed with panic trying to think of an original costume idea. Fret not: take a deep breath and consult the internet, where sites like Costumzee should provide inspiration for any occasion.Luckily, if you’re looking to make a bigger impact, experienced costume enthusiasts have gone to sometimes terrifying lengths to create extra special outfits, and documented the process online. Kevin Kelm, for example, has made a series of increasingly elaborate costumes over the last decade or so, culminating in this incredible MechaWolf robot body. Complete with electronic components it certainly means business – but in terms of sheer ingenuity, the creators of the (slightly more flimsy) Real Transformers must be applauded: as this video attests, they really do transform. Provided you're prepared to do your own plastic vacuum-forming, only slightly less effort is required to make a Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit, according to the comprehensive guide from Studio Creations. It's a complicated process, but it would fulfil one of life's ambitions for every male under 40. Dressing as a character from Star Wars is one thing, but how about an entire scene from the series? Not content with simply wearing a silly hat or a toga, Dave Smith has been attending appropriate social events dressed as scenes or locations from Hollywood blockbusters. You can find out why and see examples of his achievements in this interview. Many of the websites celebrating fancy dress are in fact showcasing costumes created for sci-fi conventions in America and, in Japan, cosplay events. Cosplay devotees take pains to make the most accurate costumes possible for subject matter (like videogames and popstars) that is rarely celebrated in such a manner in the West. A word of warning, however, if you’re thinking of meeting up with fellow cosplayers off the internet, and putting on a synchronised dance in the middle of a Japanese pedestrian area, it simply isn’t allowed. So don't even bother. Finally, you might be considering not just dressing up yourself, but putting a waistcoat on your tiny dog. Whether or not it's ethically correct to put costumes on animals is something of a quandary. Yes, it's almost always hilarious. But where is the dignity? Where, for instance, is Mr Winkle's dignity?
David Thair
 conversations
Read members' comments.
|
 |
related info
 useful linkswww.triggur.org/costume mechwolf costume stormtrooper outfit star wars scene costumes cosplay events mr winkle
note: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
see also
 webslinky #148island life  webslinky #149 embarrassment webslinky #148visualising data  webslinky #146creative commons  webslinky #146web tv  webslinkyarchive books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. art  art archive Watch artist interviews and see images from British exhibitions. |
send to a friend