While I rarely, if ever, make elaborate new costumes for CoCo, I still have a blast attending for two reasons: I love teaching classes on some random costume topic that’s been rattling around in my head, and I love hanging out with my mostly online costuming pals face-to-face for a weekend in a hotel with air conditioning, room service, bartending, a Saturday night dance party, and an indoor pool. OK, yeah, it’s mostly the later.
Still, pix are obligatory! So here goes. This year’s CoCo had the theme of “Dressing the Royals,” so for the Thursday night pool party, a group of us dressed as different versions of Princess Diana. I found a cheap suit on eBay to go as ‘Engagement Portrait Di’ complete with fake sapphire ring, while Karen went all out turning a thrift-store wedding dress into a full-on ‘Wedding of the Century Di’ with precisely recreated bouquet and 12-foot train. Barbara did an adorable ‘Kindergarten Teacher Di’ with see-through skirt (no slip!), and Kendra and Jessica wore wacky ’80s gowns for different Diana fashion looks. We all had the same blonde wig!
Friday was my teaching day with two classes: Myths, Truths & Snark Surrounding Head Necklaces (because there’s only two time periods when a head necklace is historically accurate, TV and movies be damned! check my Pinterest board for more) and The Wardrobe of Mary, Queen of Scots Unlocked (focusing on the few authentic contemporary portraits of MQoS and the surviving wardrobe inventories). I kept it comfy yet blingy in my old gothic fitted gown and a little tiara action.
For the Friday night social, I just threw on the black sequined gown I bought for DragCon and then wore my fabulous new tiara bought at DragCon from Amped Accessories.
Saturday night was, as always, the Gala, which requires some dressing up. The pink Mary Queen of Scots gown I’d made earlier this year fit perfectly with the royal theme, and honestly, it’s not like I was going to make something new anyway.
Originally on Sunday night, a bunch of us were going to visit a Star Wars bar in LA called Scum & Villainy, and everyone was dressing up in something sci-fi-ish. But alas, the bar was having some dumb gamer event that was totally not our jam, so we just hung out at the hotel instead. I had already packed my outfit, but was too lazy to wear any of it. Except for the wig. Which would have looked better in a dark bar, but whatev.
Light-up wig, because.
Till next year!