Messages

YAY!!!! I'm so glad this is happening! For now please put me down as a maybe for Emeraldas (white pants version). Whether I can make it will all depend on what time the gathering is happening (*crosses fingers* please be afternoon) since I'm driving in from LA on Friday morning. I don't know if there has been talk of a time yet, but I vote afternoon, preferably after 3pm, so those of us arriving on Friday can get checked into our hotels :)

Thanks for putting this together

Woot! a Raven Dancer! That's awesome Kawshee!

So...it looks like the Masquerade is moving to Sunday night this year, but the Craftsmanship judging will still be on Saturday  with hour break in the judging schedule from noon to 1pm. Kiara, and any other peeps from potetial Masq groups, will Sat. still work for your group if we hold the gathering inbetween the craftsmanship judging time blocks?

Mi Feng change noted and updated on the 1st post.

Yura Kyo Aures we will miss you as Mr. Cat this year.

Everyone else:
It looks like we will definately be holding the gathering on Saturday. Times requested so far are in the 11am to noon range for the Masq peeps. Any other thoughts on times before a decision is made?

And I would like to hear any thoughts on location. Is everyone happy with the fountains or is there another location that's struck your fancy? Personally I adore the look of the fountains (very pretty back drop and max exposure to admirers  ;) ) but hate the bumpy pavement (hard to balance on and hard on ballet shoes).

1st post has been updated! Thanks for the more finalized list Kiara.

Alrighty, it's time to start discussing the day and time for this gathering.
For the past 2 years we've held it on Sat., last year around 10am, but that day/time combo has proven difficult for the masquerade groups to be able to attend. I would like to accommodate the masquerade people this year if possible. Kiara, you previously indicated to me that Sat. would still be best for your group just at a different time, is that still true? And if so do you know what time would definitely work around everyone's Masquerade schedule? 

Personally I would prefer to keep the gathering on Sat. but have no real time preference.
If anyone else has a day or time preference please post them here.

Monday sounds good to me :D

Where did the organizer go that was handling this thread? Please post in here soon so I don't have to lock it.
Thank you
B

Ack..sorry, please don't lock it. I'm here, just insanely busy. I'll be a bit sporadic at checking in for the rest of this month but then everything should settle and I promise to be a good organizer again >_<

[Would you ever buy cosplay? Why or why not? How much would you pay for a good ready-to-wear costume (as opposed to commissioned)?]

Would you ever buy cosplay? Why or why not? How much would you pay for a good ready-to-wear costume (as opposed to commissioned)?

I don't think I would ever buy a ready-to-wear costume. I really need to be able to try clothes on before purchase because I'm not a typical fit and I have an aversion to spending money on something I'm just going to have to alter a great deal anyway. Also, I'm a tad perfectionistic and always have my own ideas for how I want things to be/look which doesn't cater to RTW. If I couldn't make my own costume I would commission it from someone local so I could go in for fittings and such. Actually, I guess you could say I sort of have commissioned cosplay before, as my first several cosplays were mostly sewn by my mom in the process of teaching me. But probably the biggest reason is that I love making things. I love figuring out how to make things. That is half of the fun for me.

If there were any parts of a costume that you would much rather buy than make yourself, what would it be? Ex: shoes, accessories, props.

Definitely shoes. So far, the characters I've cosplayed either don't have any truly specific footwear or are a type that are readily available for purchase. I'd much rather spend my money on a nice pair of shoes that I can easily alter and possibly wear for more than just cosplay. At the very least I'd have to purchase a pair of shoes to harvest the soles anyway since I have no way of making those, so if there is a shoe on the market that works as is, I may as well purchase that.

Also, I'll often buy different objects to use as a base for props and what not. Altering and creative use of objects with wildly different original purposes is part of the fun!


If you make your own cosplay, why do you prefer making it over buying it? It might be an obvious answer to you, but I'm genuinely curious.

For all the above reasons of fit and my own brand of perfectionism and love of making things. Heck, I love sitting around puzzling over how to turn a 2D outfit into a real and functional piece of clothing just as much as I love the act of actually making it. It's a delightful challenge. Plus there are the warm fuzzies you get when you put in on and can say "I made this!"
For me, making my cospay is every bit as enjoyable as wearing it at a convention

Why is there such a stigma on eBay ready-made costumes? Is it because everyone uses the same photo and there's no good indication of the actual product, or is it because they're usually from China and China = cheap and bad?

Having never looked to buy RTW I don't know anything about the ebay market, and shall therefore refrain from sticking my foot in my mouth  ;)

I can understand the sense of achievement and pride when ones handiwork is praised, but if someone can't sew, is the next best thing for them to buy a costume, or to just not cosplay at all?

If you can't sew or find no enjoyment in sewing, but do find enjoyment in cosplay, then by all means purchase and cosplay that way! Ultimately cosplay is about having fun  ;D

I'm half-working on a Tochiro to bring next year (inspired by this year's fantastic Harlock and Mime)... ^_^ Tentatively count me in!

Oh sweet! Looking forward to seeing your Tochiro, after seeing Rakushun last year I know it will be amazingly well done!

I would disagree. Some of the costumes aren't very easy to get in and out of, and require lots of fashion tape -coghkrahecough- So I would think the best option is to hold it at around 11-12 am on saturday. That way it won't interfere with the masquerade times, but people won't have to change into the Princess Tutu costumes another day too.

hmmm...good to know. In the past couple years the Masq. peeps haven't been able to make it when we've held it around 10am on Sat. They've had masq. meetings or wanted the outfits to be a surprise or didn't want to get suited up until it was time for the masq, etc. I'd love to make it so they can join the gathering this next year, so if a time change would facilitate that better than a day change that sounds good to me. I've never participated in Masq. so I'm not sure want the Sat. schedule typically looks like for participants.

Last year, I think we missed the majority of the Leiji Matsumoto-verse characters (Harlock, Emeraldas, Yamato, etc). We kept hearing that people had dressed up in them on Friday or Saturday when we were walking around on Sunday in them. It's what we get for wanting to surprise the general public for Masquerade :(

So...that being said...if it looks like there could be enough folks, I'd love to see them get all in one place. I don't know whether I'd bring Miime or Emeraldas...and I might even go as far as to consider my jail-Kei as well (or maybe I could get a friend to wear her..).

While I was not cosplaying anything Leiji-verse last year, I too missed most of the Leiji-verse cosplayers and was very bummed about that. If there were to be a Leiji Matsumoto-verse gathering in 2011, aside from being very, very happy, I would pull my Emeraldas cosplay out of storage and fix it up. I'd also do my best to convince my friend to fix up her old Maetel cosplay. 

List updated  ;D

Also, since we seem to have lots of Tutu peeps in the Masquerade I'm thinking a Sunday gathering would work better for 2011. Thoughts? Objections?

And it begins, 2011 here we come!

Kiara:
Wow! I'm so excited to see such a big group planning to come to the gathering! *runs off to actually start the list *

Mi Feng:
Glad you found us! I'm going to list you as both for now ;)

I have added your links! Thank you for the contribution.
As a cosplayer I have found it frustrating to look for photos of my cosplay and find them years later. I wish someone had been kind enough to put it all in one locations so that is what I am attempting to do for all the cosplayers out there!

I actually had to revamp the thread because I could find the info, but I found out how much a fanime forum post could take and had to start something else :P. If this works out well I will update it after Fanime next year so that peeps can come here and post right after con and have that years info easy to find.

B

Yes, I know exactly what you mean! Thank you so much for putting this list together. It has made it much, much easier to find pictures!

Finally got my photos up online :) This seems like the place to post album links, apologies if I'm wrong.

Juuni Kokki/ 12 Kingdoms Gathering:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38922691@N03/sets/72157624274318274/

Random Fanime 2010:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38922691@N03/sets/72157624274109642/

Woot! finally got pictures up. Here's the link to the Juuni Kokki album

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38922691@N03/sets/72157624274318274/

Better late than never ;) I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for a wonderful gathering this year! It was very nice to see people again and to meet new Tutu cosplayers. Looking forward to Fanime2011 already ^_^

Such an awesome gathering! And so nice to meet everyone in person!
I'm still working on getting my pictures up. And thankyouthankyouthankyou *bows * to the person who took pictures with my camera and who's name I've forgotten ;_;

This Kirin will definately be back for next year! <3

Woot! excited for Fanime! But some sad news. Our Teiei has had a family emergency, she hasn't had time to get her cosplay wearable enough and may not make it to Fanime at all :(

Woot! Two or three days to Fanime depending on how you count! Gah, I can't wait, but costume wise it always seems to sneak up on me, I may not get the revised bodice completed for Fanime, but the bodice from last year will work :D

@Lord Mouf Mouf:
Oh, I'm with you on the hoping not to get sunburned this time, last year I forgot sunscreen >_< this year I've already packed my bottle of 85spf

@Yura Kyo Aures:
Welcome to Cali, glad you made it safe and sound! No worries about the costume being "a bit off" we're all just excited to see a Neko Sensei! (I've never seen anyone cosplay him before).

[Name of gathering/event:]

Name of gathering/event: Princess Tutu
Changes to gathering/event info: none
possible attendee count: 7 plus aprox. 6 maybes
gathering/event photography order: at the moment we're just winging it ;)