Since it’s Dragoncon season again, the question keeps coming up – “How do you wear so many costumes at a convention??”
I’ve answered the question here at my blog once before, but I thought I’d tackle it again, this time a little less tongue-in-cheek.
The amount of costumes I can take/wear depend on several factors.
1. On-site Hotel
Staying at the hotel where the convention is happening is a huge factor in being able to switch out costumes during the day. If I were having to trek 2-3 blocks just to change clothes, then I wouldn’t be doing it very much. Case-in-point – our last trip to SDCC, we were at the Marriott Gaslamp, which was about a 2 block walk away. As such, I only changed costumes 2-3 times during the day, by taking advantage of the times when my room-mates wanted to take a rest/drop items off at the room.
Being on-site and able to quickly get to my room and back down (only hampered by elevator wait times), means it only takes me 15-20 minutes, on average, to change costumes.
2. Driving vs Flying
In the early days of my convention-going, there wasn’t a lot of conventions we could drive to. We flew everywhere, even Dragoncon. That severely limits the amount of costumes I can take – for instance, in 2005 (the last year we flew to Dragoncon), I took 6 costumes. In 2006, the first year we drove, I took 12, because I was only held back by what I could shove into our car.
A good bit of my costumes fold up very small and are really easy to squeeze into one large bin. Last year, for Dragoncon, I took 12 costumes and they ALL fit in one large rubbermaid bin and a 16×16 box. It’ll probably be about the same this year.
For C2E2 earlier this year, we flew, and I only took 3 costumes – what I could fit in a carry-on bag. Very different circumstances.
3. Convention Span
A “regular” convention spans Friday-Sunday. That’s getting in Friday morning or Thursday night, and leaving Sunday at hotel check out (mid-day). That really only leaves 1.5 or 2 days to wear costumes. So, for instance, a Fri-Sun con like GMX last year, I wore 6 costumes.
Dragoncon is not a “regular” convention. For us, Dragoncon spans Thursday-Monday. We get in Wednesday night and stay til Tuesday. That leaves me five full days to wear costumes!
4. Amount of Stuff You want to Do
In my previous post about how I wear so many costumes at a con, the conclusion was the reason I CAN is because I don’t actually do anything at conventions. I don’t go to panels. I rarely go get autographs. Mostly we just wander around, people-watch, shop, and do photoshoots. That leaves the day wide open for multiple costume changes. I’m not having to get in line 4 hours early for a panel I want to see, or whatever. When you’re not actually doing anything at a convention, it makes it very easy to run up to your room and throw on something else.
Here is a list of reasons I will want to change costumes during the day at Dragoncon:
*I have a group photoshoot
*I saw a cool Batman and I want to get my picture with him
*I want to wear my new costume NOW
*There’s a dance and I want to wear something more fun to dance in
*It’s too crowded and this costume is going to get stepped on
*I need to change into something easier to eat in
*I’m going to meet a celebrity and I want to wear something appropriate
*This art on the wall would go good with that other costume, I should change and take pics in front of it
*My feet hurt
*This wig hurts
*I’m hot
*I’m cold
*I’m tired of wearing this
*I’m bored of wearing this
And I actually do still have time to wander around in “normal” clothes! I’ll throw on a t-shirt and shorts to hit the dealer’s room or to go eat dinner.
5. The amount of time you wear a single costume
This is an addendum to my original post, because it’s something I only recently considered.
I don’t wear my costumes for very long. 2-3 hours is generally tops for me. It used to be this way because I was just excited to wear my costumes, so I’d be rushing to go put something else on, but now it’s simply because I really can’t do it much longer than that. I’ll wear a costume for 2 hours and get completely worn out/aching/feet hurt/wig hurts/parts are digging into my side, and I have to get out of it. I do go put on a different costume – but it’s a different set of challenges.
For instance, I’ll wear something like Anne Boleyn for 2 hours, and by the end the shoes are rubbing my feet raw, I’m tired of keeping the skirts away from the crowd, the corset is making me ache, and the hood is giving me a headache… so I go change into Donna Noble which is jeans, boots and a top and jacket. I’ll wear that for a couple of hours before I’m ready to get into something crazy again. That’s the way I roll. So doing that, combined with everything above? I can very easily wear 6-8 costumes in a day if I feel like it.
(Also here’s a not-so-fun fact about me! I have super super sensitive ears. Not that I have good hearing, but the upper edge of my ear is extremely sensitive. My mom’s ears are the same way. Because of this, wigs and anything else near my ears can be absolutely torturous. If you ever see me fiddling with the side of my wig, it’s because I’m readjusting it AGAIN because my ears are hurting. And it’s one of the things that make me want to change sooner than normal.)
ANYWAY… despite all that, really the number one reason I take/wear so many costume to Dragoncon is that I get so intoxicated by the costumes around me that I want to be in costume all the time too!