PLAYING DRESS-UP
By Trish Milburn
Little girls often like playing dress-up, and I was no exception even though I was a tomboy. And here’s the thing – I still like playing dress-up, only now it’s called cosplay (costume play). I really only get to do this once a year, at the huge Dragon*Con conference in Atlanta every Labor Day weekend, but it’s a load of fun when I do. Imagine about 40,000-50,000 people milling around downtown Atlanta, a great many of them in costume.
Time Lords from Doctor Who.
To date, I’ve dressed up as Alice Cullen from the Twilight series, Kahlan Amnell from Legend of the Seeker, a waitress from True Blood’s Merlotte’s and the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who. And I’m already spinning ideas in my head of what I want to dress up as next year. It’s great fun meeting up with other people who are dressed as characters from the same fan universes. And that’s what it boils down to – we’re celebrating characters we love, shows and writing that have captured our imaginations. That’s no surprise for a writer who immerses herself in characters and writing on a daily basis.
Me as the Tenth Doctor in his blue suit taking on a Weeping Angel.
This year, I was all about Doctor Who since I had just raced through watching all of the episodes from six seasons of the rebooted show. Suddenly, as my friend Lara told me I would, an entirely different slice of Dragon*Con opened up to me. Because of my recent viewing and tremendous love for the show, I was able to pick out other Who-inspired costumes, even ones from secondary characters. It’s no surprise to see a zillion Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and even a couple of Ninth and previous incarnations, but it’s extra exciting when you see costumes depicting the Time Lords or Cassandra, the last human.
Me (next to the guy in the middle) as Kahlan Amnell, along with the rest of the Legend of the Seeker group in 2010.
That’s what I want to do for next year, come up with a Who costume that anyone would think is cool but only other Whovians will truly get. And hopefully I’ll be at my goal weight by then and perhaps be able to pull off a Selene from Underworld costume. I already have the totally awesome boots.
Me as the Tenth Doctor in his brown suit.
With Halloween just around the corner, lots of people will be attending Halloween parties or dressing up to greet trick-or-treaters. Are you one of them? If so, what are you dressing as? And would you ever consider cosplay? If so, what fictional characters would you want to inhabit?
Check out The Coven Series by Trish Milburn featured in USA Today!
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