This started going around facebook yesterday, and I thought it would be fun to make one, too. (And even though isn’t really an FAQ Friday, I’m using the FAQ Friday header.)
I ended up not uploading it to facebook though – because there were so many thoughts and caveats I had about it that I thought I’d just make it a blog post instead.
I had to pick fairly recent costumes, because anything much older than this year and I’d have had to do a LOT more guess-timating on prices. I’m already have to guess some of this, but not as bad as if I tried to tell you how much I spent on something in, say, 2004.
So, here’s my breakdown of my Anne costume. This was my “big” costume this year. But there’s a few notes I needed to add on this. First, I already had all the fabric and supplies for the new corset I made. The lining was leftover, the outside portion was leftover Haunted Mansion fabric, the edge binding I had already, the boning I had already (I buy it in continuous packs), the busk I stole out of my other Tudor corset. The only thing I had to actually go out and buy for it was the grommets.
I included these things on the cost break-down, however, because somebody else may not have those items – and I DID buy them at one point. Just not specifically for this costume.
The same goes for things like the faux pearls and jewels for the crown.
The fabric is another thing I wanted to note: I bought it all on coupons, and got a solid 8 yds damaged out because it was slightly dirty. It was a HUGE cost saver for me, and if I hadn’t been able to get that damaged cost plus using coupons, my fabric cost would have doubled. I used every bit, too – I only have a few scraps left. Maybe enough to make a french hood for the next time I wear it! I picked up the pearl trim for a song on ebay – with the shipping it was right at $25. (I couldn’t even find anywhere that had ENOUGH pearl trim for me to buy locally, so I’m glad I found it on ebay – plus, the seller was doing a sort of like a “garage sale” for Military families, so I’m glad my money went somewhere useful!)
I also already had the bum roll, petticoat, hoopskirt and shoes from my previous Anne Boleyn costume.
Johanna was a bit harder to estimate because I started buying stuff for this almost a year ago. I don’t actually remember how much chiffon I ended up with, because I bought it at separate times – 4 yards here, 5 yards there. And the worbla – I actually used leftover scraps from Glimmer.
The brass studs are funny – I actually only spent 99 cents on them this go round – found them on clearance at Hobby Lobby. But the larger ones I already had on hand, from Anna Valerious. So I dug up what a pack of those would have cost.
This costume was kind of a hodge-podge of stuff like that. For instance, all the leather for the shirt was leather scraps leftover from Wonder Woman. I already had all the paint. So nearly the entire shirt was stuff I already had.
Here’s an interesting one, this costume would have actually been a lot cheaper had I bought the right of amount of fabric. I had a TON leftover. I already had the sandals and pattern.
I threw my hair appointment in there because this was the only costume where I needed my hair to look good for Dragoncon, so I had to go get a good haircut right before 🙂
I did a few more but this’ll be the last one I’ll post today. I thought it would be interesting to estimate Marie Antoinette – a costume that took 3 wigs, a ton of fabric and has had 3 different variations that I’ve made new pieces for – the “normal” version and the 2 TARDIS versions. I also spent a crap ton on beads for this costume because they’re everywhere.
I thought about adding in my foot surgery. While making this I got a sewing needle stuck in my foot and had to have surgery to remove it. But I guess that’s actually a “time” cost and not a “material” cost LMAO
The sad thing about this costume is that I’ve spent so much money and time on it – and that’s the thing, there is no time estimated into any of these. I have no way of telling you how many hours I spent on them to even begin to guess at how much “time” I’d have to add in. But, like I started to say, the sad thing is, I don’t even know if I’d ever get back my material cost on these. They’re kinda poor investments in a way. The handful of things I’ve sold on etsy, I’ve sold WAY under what even the material cost was. Not including time. Because I know they wouldn’t sell if I actually tried to get my money back in most cases.
But, I do it because I enjoy it. Even though, looking at these numbers makes me a sad panda thinking about the amazing Disney vacations I could have taken….