Pretty long ago, one of my best friends asked if I wanted to go to the Renaissance Faire. I knew about Renaissance Faires but I didn’t know they existed. I swear I thought they were only in books I read and movies I saw. The storybook loving, nerdy queen of pretend in me was having her dream come true: to enter a world where you can wear the most beautiful costumes and be the characters one reads
and dreams about. My friend and I were also theater kids. So though we were stage managers, we loved to dress it up more than most people do. Honestly, I would sometimes audition for shows just to wear the costumes. (And frankly, we were imagination crazy.) Naturally I wanted to make costumes for me and my friends to wear on our adventure. However, I had never sewn anything in my life before then. I wanted those costumes so much. I did my research. I looked for patterns. I sought the advice of my best friend’s grandmother (a talented seamstress for many years who made my friend’s costumes since my friend was a child). And I taught myself how to sew. I got a sewing machine, too! Oddly enough, my parents had an unopened, unused sewing machine in the garage that they bought years ago that they were happy to let me have. Destiny? Coinkydink? Any way you slice it, there it was: my ticket to awesome. I worked hard on those first costumes, day and night. They turned out, well, less than perfect. (Actually, they were awful). Even so, I was hooked. I learned all I could about sewing from the simple basics of sewing a straight line to modifying and making patterns and everything in between. I was making all kinds of things after that: skirts, dresses, bodices, vests and hats. By the time next year rolled along, my friends and I were off to the faire in beautifully dressed Renaissance style. Soon, I became interested in other styles. Goth was a beautiful style with dark tones and longer flowing sleeves and skirts. Victorian was naturally a favorite. Of course I loved dressing like a proper lady and dressing men like proper gentleman. This also brought me to Steampunk. Being a properly, modestly, beautifully dressed captain of an airship? Yes please! And let’s not forget all the anime and manga in the world. Cosplay was yet another love had. I love that feeling of looking into a mirror and seeing that I look like someone who just stepped out of a storybook or a manga or a video game or my own head. I also love sharing that amazing feeling with other people. I have been making costume for years, for myself, for friends, for friends of friends and for people I have never met. Every single piece I made, I love to see people wear and enjoy them. I love the way people look in my pieces. I love to see the joy on people faces when they wear my pieces. (Although there are times when they are portraying characters that don’t show joy but I think you know what I am getting at.) I have never had a passion as strong as the passion I have for costuming.
