I came across this really interesting Instructable about how to make a Wireless Dance costume.
This looks really cool, and they’ve done a great job explaining how to make one. I’ll admit though, I’m still confused about what exactly a wireless dance costume is for. Hopefully someone can enlighten me in the comments below.
By running wires and pressure sensors throughout the costume, a computer can map the dancer’s movements. As we can see in the video, the dancer is able to generate sounds. I can hear a piano sound generated by the pressure sensor, and when she moves her arm she makes R2-D2ish noises.
So what is the point? To allow dancers to make their own “live” music while dancing? Based on what I’ve seen, I think a whole group of dancers wearing these sensors would sound very chaotic.
So please, Dear Readers, help me understand. Thank you.
Wow, this costume is totally amazing! Anyone know what it’s from? It sort of looks like a big spider-Jabba-the-Hutt-Frankenstein-thing. Very cool!
I spotted this costume on Marvel’s photo gallery of last weekend’s C2-E2 pop culture convention. They have lots of great photos from the Con, definitely worth checking out.
WHAT?!! A sexy dog costume? LOL, this is so wrong. Leg Avenue, known for its lingerie and exotic wear, has a line of costumes as well.
This is a sexy schoolgirl costume for dogs! And that pose is sooo on purpose. Who are they trying to entice with that? This isn’t Doggy Fashion, it’s more like… Doggy Style.
And now I’m wondering what my dogs do when I’m away from home.
These videos gave me a chuckle. I wish he/she had dared traffic for some real life Frogger. Now THAT would be cool.
That said, this frog is definitely good at jumping and splashing around in water.
Maybe someone can help me. Is this frog cosplay? A frog furry? Or is it just blatent commercial mascot hopping? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
I’m not sure what to make of this security video, which appears to be footage of a terrifying ghost. I suppose it could be an awesome ghost costume, but it sure looks real to me. How creepy!
I’ve recently come to the conclusion that Summer Glau has a magic belly button.
Her belly button changes in her various TV appearances, and I’m curious if the producers are using costume makeup, CGI, or maybe she had surgery?
And no, I’m not trying to mock her or objectify her body in typical Hollywood tabloid style. I’ve been a respectful fan of Summer Glau since 2002, when she starred on the beloved space western Firefly.
These days, she plays Cameron, the helpful, butt-kicking robot on the TV show Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. She’s a beautiful, sexy and talented actress AND ballet dancer. Summer Glau is totally amazing.
But… something is going on with her belly button! I think there’s a belly button conspiracy happening right under our noses, so I decided to post some comparison photos and try to get to the bottom of this navel mystery.
Click on a photo to view full-size.
As you can see, Summer has an Outie belly button, plain as day. No big deal, really. The photo above is from 2006, during her guest appearance on the TV show The Unit.
The thing is, during this scene her belly button changes.
Here’s a picture from the same scene, and when she walks over to the guy — suddenly her Outie is gone, and she has a belly piercing instead. WTF?
We get to see Summer’s Innie with Piercing again during a quick shot of her in a kiddie pool.
But during a longer shot of the same scene, her belly button is purposefully hidden behind a newspaper. Is it to cut down on the cost of makeup/CGI?
So there you have it, Folks. Her Outie belly button has been terminated.
But how? Was it through surgery? Makeup? CGI? And how do you explain her belly button changes that occur mid-scene on The Unit? Either there’s something fishy going on, or she has a magic belly button.
If anyone has any further insight into the greatest navel mystery in history, please do share in the comments below.
Admittedly, I’ve never seen a costume quite like this one before…kind of gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “rabbit hunter,” doesn’t it? I think it’s both cool and a little, um, disturbing. The only information I could seem to find about this costume was that the picture was posted on the internet in November of 2007 (maybe my internet research skills are rusty) but I’d sure like to know the story behind it (Elmer Fudd, beware)!
The popular online dating service eHarmony.com has published a troubling article about “Photos that Make you Look Undateable.” [link]
Their advice? If you want to find love:
1. Don’t post a picture of yourself in a bar.
2. Don’t post a picture with your Ex obviously cut out.
3. Don’t stand next to a celebrity or something expensive.
4. Don’t wear a costume.
Huh?
We get that some people really like to dress up in costumes even when it isn’t Halloween. However, while your friends may understand your penchant for dressing like the original Superman at Comic-Con, most people perusing your profile won’t.
Since when does a little cosplay interfere with finding love? And if someone is turned off by your cosplay, why would you want to date them anyway? Is the goal to get as many dates as possible, or to find someone compatible? I think we have a Quality vs. Quantity issue going on here.
eHarmony says, “When you’re putting yourself out there, it’s best to save the fun photos for later on down the road.”
So… the key to getting dates is to be fake and boring. Nice.
Funny enough, cosplay tends to be one of the more prominent subject matters here at MD. There seems to be a huge internet community that supports the practice. And, well.. since the Internet is so global the international popularity makes it much more significant.
Still, to this day cosplay is somewhat of an underground subculture that doesn’t see a lot of mainstream daylight. I’m immersed in costume information every day, so I can tend to get a fuzzy idealistic view of just how many people are interested in this sort of thing.
Today, I stumbled on the top 100 costumes as updated daily by Costumezee. Now, I’ve been told to not believe everything the intertubes pump out at me. Therefore I can be skeptical as to how Costumezee has decided these facts. But, what’s in it for them to lie on this matter? Maybe it’s true?
So why all the fuss? Well, as it turns out, “anime” costumes made the bottom of the list. I’m sure a likely explanation is the nature of cosplay, and that most good cosplay is homemade. If this list was truly accurate, the DIY stuff should go in there too. It does beg answers to some questions. How many people who are into cosplay actually make their own outfits? Is Anime and cosplay still too small to notice? Why did disco costumes make number 1!?!
I’d say, so far Anime has made leaps and bounds when it comes into crashing on the American market. Although it’s still a lesser appreciated form of entertainment in comparison to the prominence it retains in Japan, cosplay costumes should be a tad higher on the list, no? What do you think?
We talk a lot about DIY on the blog, and for good reason. Although you can find some great costumes to buy, it’s real satisfying to say you’ve made one from the ground up. After all, costumes are about getting attention and having fun. What better way to do it than by getting people curious about your sense of style and craftiness?
If you’re like most people, you don’t make anything too fancy. A lot of costume fans are intimidated by the intensity of work or creativity that goes into some of these home made outfits. So it begs the question, how worth it is it to go the extra mile and make a custom costume? In this first segment, we explore what it takes to get into DIY and feel ready to take on a big project.
Do I have the "know-how"?
A lot of people talk about costume making and how they don’t do it because they can’t sew, paint, draw, or whatever. These are legit concerns, as it seems that general creativity has to be supplemented by good craftsmanship. Ultimately, that is true but only to an extent.
A great costumer and artisan knows that thinking outside the box, using unique media, and being different from the norm are essential to making something that stands out. What do we mean? We mean, if you can’t do it one way, you can try another. Here are some tips.
Find your own creative ability and try to exploit it – Awhile ago we talked about a mechanically savvy individual who made a Ghostbusters pack out of metal and parts he put together. No sewing, painting, or anything like that required. In the end, it had to be one of the most unique DIY projects we’ve ever seen.
Enlist a group for brainstorming – It’s more than important to get minds rolling. Sometimes, creativity is spawned from some terribly uncreative ideas. People bouncing ideas off one another is a prime way to get this accomplished.
Enlist help for the things you don’t do well – Making it a group project is way more fun than a tub full of silly putty. Try bringing in the people you know who are good at what they do. Artists and craftsmen always love a good project, and you can learn a lot on the way.
Ultimately, you have to ask yourself what you can and can’t do. Once you know these things, you can begin the process.
Some of the best DIY costumes we have seen weren’t necessarily amazingly crafted. What makes a wonderful DIY costume is the faithful tribute it is to your imagination. Whether you’re recreating a classic costume with exactness, doing something so strange and so funny, it’s unmatched, or whether you are trying to make people gasp in disbelief, your final effect is where the masterful nature of your craft comes out.
In the next few segments, we’ll talk more about getting into DIY. We’ll explore the planning and preparation process, what sort of things to get involved for some attention once you’ve made a costume, and finally we’ll talk to some big DIY fanatics who are pros at their craft. Stick around for more if you’d like to set your heart on DIY costumes and crafts.
I grew up on old XTC records. A multilayered experience from every side, the music is about exploration and human creativity more than anything else. To be categorized would be limiting.
The chorus of “Garden of Earthly Delights”, one of my favorite songs:
Welcome to the garden of earthly delights.
Welcome to a billion arabian nights.
This is your life and you do what you want to do,
This is your life and you spend it all.
This is your life and you do what you want to do,
Just dont hurt nobody,
And the big rewards here,
In the garden of earthly delights.
My mind runs wild on those words. It invites you open your mind completely and explore your own interest. Explore your own imagination.
The point of dressing up in a costume is to indulge this idea. To become something out of the ordinary. “Dailyness” is the prime suspect in the suppression of our most creative concepts of who we are and who we could be. Joining in the fun of dressing up is primarily driven by the desire to enter into our own garden. The meaning is different to each of us.
Enter your own garden. Around every corner you see the products of your most vivid imagination. How do you see yourself? What are you wearing? What do you look like?
