cjsmith | Fantasy and craftsmanship

Sometimes, when I enjoy a science fiction or fantasy novel, I want to see the world the characters inhabit. I want to see the dilithium crystals, touch a wizard's robes, all that stuff. In particular, I am definitely not too old to want to play dress-up. I would love to have a replica of Talia's Whites or Rivakonneva's armor hanging in my closet right beside all the other specialty garments I never wear. I'd want them to feel and fit as much like the originals as I could imagine; a polyester-cloth version of boiled leather armor wouldn't cut it.

Childish, in a way, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Fifteen years ago, when I used to go to cons, some part of the dealers' room was usually dedicated to just this sort of fantasy... but it wasn't very good at satisfying any specific yearning. There were people selling generic chainmail, generic cloaks, plastic phasers, and poorly-crafted daggers. I wonder if it's changed much.

If it hasn't, I wonder if there's room for a craftswoman who replicates specific things. Someone who reads the book, researches its universe a little, and can put together an outfit and a bunch of accessories that lets the wearer pretend. Unfortunately, that's probably time-consuming and expensive, so it'd be marketed to the aging wannabes with careers (like me) and not really to the penniless college wannabes (like I used to be).

It does sound a bit too much like work though... especially having to re-fit any given design to a wide variety of sizes and imaginations ("Del's tunic does too have a sash to belt it!"). Maybe I should just whip up one or two for me, twirl around in them, and hang them in the closet next to everything else I never wear.

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It helps to have a universe where the outfits are described in great detail. Bujold's Vorkosigans (space opera - but with a huge range of cultures, the primary one is roughtly 18th century nobility, including family colors, but with "nearby" galactics that push the limits of cosmopolitan...) For that matter, CJ Cherryh's Invader et al are partially to blame for my growing my hair long enough to braid :)

Maybe this is something where Aging Fans can direct, harness, and fund the penniless Collage Fans. (There might be some lessons to take from SCA teaching and guild efforts, though they may just be "reasons why this is even harder than you imagine" :)

There are probably annoying IP issues for anything published by big houses (ie. selling Star Trek(tm) items for example) which is why making them for yourself is a lot safer...

_Mark_

It helps to have a universe where the outfits are described in great detail.

Definitely. At risk of sounding stereotypical, female writers seem to do this a bunch. I have a lot of those on my shelves, so I could get started with some of the easier cases. :-)

Maybe this is something where Aging Fans can direct, harness, and fund the penniless Collage Fans. (There might be some lessons to take from SCA teaching and guild efforts, though they may just be "reasons why this is even harder than you imagine" :)

Not sure I know what you're imagining here. I could create a trained cadre of mage-robe-seamstresses, you mean? Hmmm... ponder...

There are probably annoying IP issues for anything published by big houses

Come to think of it, this may be exactly why nothing of this sort has been done. A generic mage-cloak is salable, but a specific one may not be. Grr. Hadn't thought of that. I wonder who owns the rights to use characters' names -- the publisher, or the author? Either way, it sure isn't me. I bet this is a major sticking point.

Can we hear more about the 'specialty garments'?

I presume you don't mean the ballgown or the business suit or the gi.

They're just a leeeetle too tight. Black. Leather, some of them, and one's neoprene. And oh, the accessories... 8-}

What you would need to do is make ones that fit you perfectly, then go to the cons and model them, and take orders. Hand make them to fit specific customers. That would (1) provide you with your wardrobe *grin*, and (2) cut down on the time and cost of manufacturing, as you wouldn't need to manufacture items for whoever might stop by and be interested IN ADVANCE, but could make them after they'd placed an order and you'd taken their measurements. Not to mention (3), would let the customer make specific requests ("I'd always kind of imagined the jewels in the belt as sparkling green, rather than deep red").

And if you got really good, and really liked it, you could get on the set of plays and/or movies as costume designer when folks did adapted versions of the books. :)

What you would need to do is make ones that fit you perfectly, then go to the cons and model them, and take orders. Hand make them to fit specific customers.

Yes, I was coming to realize that each one would be a custom job. The inventory required to do any differently would cripple me.

And if you got really good, and really liked it, you could get on the set of plays and/or movies as costume designer when folks did adapted versions of the books. :)

In my dreams! (Costume designers get someone ELSE to do the grunt work.) But that'd be convenient -- keep from having to redo all the designs when the movie comes out. :-)

In my dreams!

Really? This is something you'd like to do? I say go for it, girl, at LEAST at an amateur level (I'm sure many smaller theatre companies would love you have your creativity ... then if you liked it, you could build from there .....)

I've done it at the amateur level, and unfortunately I don't think I need to do it again. I'm too old to pull that many all-nighters for shoddy results and no remuneration :-(. My dream is to have enough budget, time, and/or help to do a job I could be proud of... and getting paid would, sadly, be pretty much required. (Now if I were financially set to retire, that last part might be different.)

Have you ever been to a con that had a costume show? (AKA Masquerade). The costumer's guild is pretty good out in your part of the world, and they make the kind of high quality replica stuff you're thinking about.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it to you, but I've done a Count Piotr Vorkosigan uniform which won Best In Show the first time I entered it in competition. I think it'd be a fairly straightforward thing to make the Talia costume you mention, as an initial effort. (Then you'll discover that the true miracle of Heralds is that they can wear white without it becoming filthy in a matter of hours.) Boiled leather armor is do-able too. Check around the various SCA websites for instructions. You'll want to find a source of heavy harness leather to begin, and you'll need to make a mold of your body, but it's all a pretty well defined process. It's just time consuming.

Does anyone make and SELL it, as a business? People making it for themselves I'm familiar with.

Not in fandom, though I know that the SCA has some armorers who do custom armor. Some of the Trek fen may have costumers who cater to them, but I've never seen it.

Anything that involves uniforms can be done reasonably easily. If you want to do Valdemarian Herald uniforms, just order yourself a whole lot of white cotton or cotton/polyester blend. The basic cut of a herald's whites is very simple, as I recall.

You could do something similar with Dendarii Free Mercenary uniforms. Basic gray infantry battle dress, with low infantry boots. People could pin on the rank insignia of their choice, or you could use standard US Army pin-on insignia.

For dress uniforms that are more closely fitted, it gets trickier. I guess it depends on how much time you want to put into this, and how much someone would be willing to pay for - say - a complete Dorsai dress uniform.

Not in fandom, though I know that the SCA has some armorers who do custom armor.

That makes sense, given what little I know of the SCA (and that's really very little).

If you want to do Valdemarian Herald uniforms, just order yourself a whole lot of white cotton or cotton/polyester blend. The basic cut of a herald's whites is very simple, as I recall.

Not what I'd choose for the finished product, but excellent for playing around. Yes, simple... and never one hundred percent described, not that I found. I'd fiddle around a lot creating just the right pattern. Might actually use some of the cover art in this case.

For dress uniforms that are more closely fitted, it gets trickier.

Like your Count Piotr Vorkosigan. I believe I've seen photos. Now THAT's an achievement! :-)

The problem tends to be that sometimes, people have different ideas about what stuff "should" look like. I think you'd have to offer a wide variety of customized features, or basically a custom garment service, for some fantasy lines.

On the other hand, if you stuck to, say, Star Trek uniforms (pick your flavor) or something like that, you might find a market.

I do some very accurate reproduction Civil War uniforms, but the advantage to that is that, aside from nitpicking really esoteric details, there's very little argument as to what they looked like, and little room for imagination. It's just craftsmanship.

And I charge through the nose, and don't do many. :)

Fantasy and craftsmanship

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Forgive my 2 cents worth . . .