Miccostumes Costume Review

EDIT: Discount code now available for all TCC readers \^_^/. Scroll down for it.

A parcel was delivered to my place last Saturday. Can you guess what it was?

No of course you can't guess it =.= .

Its a Lucky Star summer uniform costume!

  
Kindly sent to me for a review by miccostumes.com! Miccostumes is a china based costume shop that also serves the English speaking community. They have a wide array of cosplay and Halloween costumes online. Before I begin, I must disclaim that I am not paid for this. I was only given the costume for review.

 

First impression of the costume was how neat the sewing looked. Well, of course that's ignoring the wrinkles n,n;;

  
I like how the bias are sewed on neatly.

There is something special about the design of the skirt, it has an elastic band at one side of it. I guess this is a feature to help the skirt fit different users as much as it can.

It's a pretty cool design if you are afraid the skirt won't fit you. Though for me, the elastic just kept slipping up, making the short skirt even scandalously shorter.

  

The material used seemed to be some sort of cotton and polyester satin. It is light and thin and I guess that fits the summer theme. Though it can feel kinda chilly sometimes.

The size sent to me was a female S. The skirt fits me perfectly but as you can tell from the picture, the top is humongous on me. I guess this is expected from Bought-Off-The-Shelves costumes. When I took part in the TGX Shana competition last year and had to wear the costume provided by them, the top was way too big for all of us too. I guess this is due to the no zip or button design. 

If you’re concern about fitting issues, Miccostumes also provides customisation services =)

If you're new to cosplay and don't have any sewing experience or you're rushing to get a costume for Halloween, miccostumes.com is a website you can check out =)

Also, Miccostumes is giving all TCC readers a 5% discount. Quote "thecosplaychronicles" to get it while ordering =)

(omg wrong socks gomen ne T_T) 

And just to put my stand across clearly, I think Cosplay does not necessarily mean you have to make everything from scratch yourself. Personally, I think its more about having fun and paying tribute to the series you like. It’s the respect you pay towards the costume, the series and the effort you put in that counts. Of course making everything from scratch is definitely more admirable and fulfilling. But if one does not have the skill and time to make it work, getting a professional to help you with it shouldn’t be a capital crime as long as you’re honest about it.

 

Let’s bear in mind that Coplay IS A HOBBY. It’s meant to be enjoyed and not stress yourself over. At the end of the day, you answer to nobody but your own conscious =)

Anyway, I will probably give this costume out soon so stay tuned ^ ^!! I hope this review was helpful =)

Costume: Miccostumes.com
Photo Credit: Sour Cheese
Wig: Yuanie

.
.

Axis Power Hetalia Day + Cafe!!!

I’m sorry I’m one day late in pimping this. But was busy last night and erm today. Today was a pretty bad day and I haven’t felt so upset for some time. Oh wells…life’s like a box of chocolates yea =\ ? Anyway *palms forehead*, sorry I digressed =_=

APH Fans out there should already know this but YEAY APH Day is coming! And team Singapore have come up with one of the most moe-est (?!) way to celebrate!

World Hetalia Day Celebration 2010
Date: 23rd October 2010
Location: Yio Chu Kang Community Centre (nearest MRT Yio Chu Kang)
Time: 11am to 6pm
URL: http://aphsingapore.wordpress.com/

Photo credit: Songster69

“ Bianco Sweets Cafe you say?
Yes we have officially merged the Hetalia Cafe (that has been lurking around for a rather long time ahahaha) with APH Day this year so as a side attraction to the actual celebrations you’ll be able to sit down and have a leisure chat with the countries serving as waiters and waitresses OvO!
… of course, I’ll leave more details about the cafe to the Cosplayer Crew and the Cafe Team to disclose. C:

As for what’s going on for the day itself, it’s the usual mix-and-mingle for Hetalia fans with game booths and activities going round the whole day! Bring along a sketchbook and exchange books with fellow artists, come along in cosplay, sit around and contemplate the meaning of life (!?)…”

Remember to check out the official website to keep up with all the updates! Also check out Songster’s Behind-The-Scene writeup, its filled with lovely photos I know you’ll enjoy fufufufu.

Photo credit: Songster69

I’m not a APH fan but this event sure has given me some motivation and excuse to continue watching beyond 2 episode of APH! And I’m definitely going to the cafe to show my utmost support to the organiser, maid and butlers!

Anyone of you going ^_^?

Mecha Design House

So you guys already knew I was at the Mecha Design House's event last last weekend. And it was quite a blast for me. Don't ask me why this entry is so delayed again ToT

 

Joined the cosplay workshop on Saturday and learnt costuming tricks from the Japanese cosplayers; Takasou and Darknight. Just in case you don't know, they were one of the japanese team from 2007 world cosplay summit.

In the workshop, Takasou and Darknight san demonstrated the making of Lelouch's helmet. Which you see me wearing very enthusiastically below. Erm, okay, you can't tell that I'm enthu because you can't see my face xDD

 

I am not a mecha fan and the only mecha series I watched was Gwing. But even I got very excited when I saw the sheer awesomeness of their costumes! We even had the chance to wear shinji's plug suit!!

I've always dreamed of cosplaying Rei because of her cool and sexy image. But never got the guts and motivation to do it. I guess this helps make up for it xD It was a pity we didn't managed to get any hands on session due to some issues (SCC was afraid we might trigger the sprinklers ). But the main crux of the workshop was using heat and foam to sculpt the base then using a fabric cover on top. Won't go into the details here otherwise I'll be spoiling the market xD But I think its very obvious already @.@ If you want to learn more, send an email to SCC and get them to bring them back again xD

Sadly, I missed the session with Goldy where the participants actually had hand-on. But I guess there's always a next time =) Pimping some photo goodness for your guys to feel bad about not joining xD

Takasou san showing us her automail. Check out toe details omfggggg!!

 
Darknight san was really funny when he got into costume. For most part of the workshop, it was Takasou san speaking as her command of english was better. And darknight san just kept quiet and did his stuff. But when he got into his eva suit, he started playing with kids, fake drinking from bottles and just plain being funny.

 

Mechas need to drink too!

Maria and I gave them mooncakea and lanterns as a souvenir. Which they started sparring with, LOLZ. Oii, oii, that’s not how you use lanterns yo xD

 
We ended the evening by having dinner and then going to..... Night Safari homg! We chatted a lot about our views of cosplay, the difference in our cosplay cultures and many other things that only real cosplayers can talk about. It was really nice to be able to learn and interact so much with a cosplayer from another country. And we really appreciate the chance , much thanks to SCC for organising these workshops for free! I'm already looking forward to the next one ^_^!

Ending this entry with some photographs of the exhibits and other random stuffs I think you guys will like xD

 

 

The finger structure of the evangelion suit! Awesome work there. This design works so well he can hold things without much assistance.

 

Kawaii kids xD I think the grandfather had more fun than his grandchildren xD

Looking for Singaporean Cosplayers to be interviewed!

Hihi People! Are you a Singaporean Cosplayer? Wanna be part of a history in the making(xD) and earn some small bucks in the process?

Yock Sian from NTU is currently writing a thesis about Cosplay and would need willing cosplayers as interviewee! Continue reading below for the information.

“As I mentioned, I’m still looking for cosplayers to do interviews with for my masters’ thesis. The angle of my thesis is to examine cosplay as a fan activity, positioning it along other fan activities such as fanfiction writing or fanart etc.

Basically, each interview will probably be about 2 hours long, give or take a little. The time and date will be flexible depending on when the interviewee is free. I do need a quiet venue to audio-tape the interview though. As a small token of appreciation, I will be paying each interviewee $40 for their time. All information will be kept strictly confidential. I may require follow-up after the first interview but they will probably be short and only done via e-mail.

My only criteria for interviewees is that they must currently still cosplay. There is no age, race, gender or years of experience requirements. It also does not matter how frequently they cosplay either. If any of your friends might be interested or have questions about this, they can feel free to drop me an e-mail at teey0006[a] ntu.edu.sg or sms/call me on my mobile 9xxxxxxx (I’m masking her mobile number for privacy reason as this blog has higher traffic flow and might not be safe. If you really must have her mobile and can’t do with the email, let me know again =D). I’ll be happy to answer the questions.”

 

I’m busying preparing for my photoshoot later hence many apologies for the rushed entry! But go contact her if you’re keen =) She’s a nice person to talk to. And don’t worry, she’s an anime fan herself =) She won’t look at you with alien eyes :D

p/s: I ABSOLUTELY HATE ironing! Its the most hated household chore ever!!!

Baby Cosplays!

A very straight forward title. And no, I don’t mean noobs/newbies or whatever you call it. I mean REAL BABIES (or toddler/or kids) who COSPLAYS!

This is a uber cute entry for the feminine sector to "awwwww" over xD



Baby Gaara playing with sand. It's hard to believe he has a monster inside him xD

AWWWW Baby naruto drinking milk T_T And a naruto who's a natural BLONDE! Can I bring him home now ??????



Baby Itachi xD

Tifa and Baby Chocobo !!!!

 

 

And then we have the epic battle of the baby chocobo vs the giant chocobo. Which has your vote xD?

 

This one is damnnnnnnnnnnn cute T_T The tiny body, the hat and the playing with the fan while walking unsteadily >w<

And I found part 2! Or rather, another perspective xD

Commercialism + Blog ads + Giveaways!

This is such a complicated title lols.
And so, after endless self debate, self battering and procrastination... I have finally signed up for a Nuffnang account. In case you don't know, Nuffnang is a blog advertising middleman kinda company (who have proven to be longstanding and honest). And in case you don't understand, that means advertisements will start appearing on this very blog.

And why the long ramble about it? Because well, let's face it. Cosplayers hate commercialism and sell outs, or at least people with actions they feel are so.

Don't tell me that's not true because I've been in the hobby for 9 years and I think that makes me experienced enough to anticipate what cosplayers will be gossiping over their dinner gatherings. Its a risky decision because like I've discussed before, cosplayers can be one of the most elitist and anal bunch. And I seriously don’t want to get flamed/political/hated (omg…I think my last sentence just tripped it=_=). Of course there are also cosplayers who aren’t as volatile lah. But I’m just saying.

* Giveaways details at the end *

 

Honestly, I'm not even entirely sure if this is a good decision or whether I'll actually see any money. After all, more bloggers earn nothing from their blogs than bloggers who do. But I figured if I were to fulfill my dream of being a cosplay travel blogger then I'll have to work even harder to get enough money to go around. Money is forever an issue for a cosplayer, I’m sure every cosplayer will agree with me on that =(

And since I'm dedicating so much energy to this blog, it seemed only natural and gradual of a path to take. After all, so many anime and figurine bloggers have already done so! 

I don't know if this would work out because cosplay is such a  prime forte topic, it seemed almost impossible anyone would want to advertise in here except maybe costume merchandise and anime merchandise.

Sticking a lot of random pics to hopefully get you guys on my side =X.

 
     
But at least I tried. And I won’t have to live with that annoying regret of “What If?”
It would be good, to for once, feel materialistically appreciated for my hard work. Alright, sorry for the long rant. I just had to get it off my chest. Alright, change of topic, giveaways below!

Giveaway details below! 

Click on the image for a bigger picture

I've already mentioned before I'm giving this 2 set of stuffs away. If you're up for adopting them, just leave a comment below and say “ i can haz gundamz” ! I will subsidize up to SGD$5 for the shipping. But you will have to pull the rest out from your wallet. See what a nice person I am :D?


*Edit: Can't believe I left these info out! *palms forehead* But anyway, deadline for this is 5th October. I'll select the winner via random.org. I know you guys are definitely anxious for the gundamz but I will be going Korea (yays!) soon till 5th October. So please bear with the wait ^^;

 

The photos above are the mini gundam from the box with magenta text. I’m sure you can judge from the size of it compared to my hand that it’s pretty small.

 

And another box of a ship model. Which I have not opened yet so no photos ^^;;;

Btw, I won't be shipping them off with the paper boxes unless requested. The boxes are ridiculously big for something so small and I don’t want extra shipping to be charged for them!