Costume Comfort - Have you sacrificed for the look?

[tetsuyacasshern]

Just wondering what you guys would do. Would you sacrifice accuracy to make a costume more comfortable. The quality would stay the same but certian issues like boots, fabric weight, type of armor, that sort of thing.

Also how do you hide the fact of compromised accurcy due to comfort?

 

[steveo]

well, if you're going for accuracy, I think that doing it exactly as it was is the way to go, even with all its uncomfortableness.

 

[cayman shen]

I'd say avoid brutally uncomfy costumes in the first place. I was going to make a predator, but the idea of blowing hundreds of dollars making a suit that would make me sweat to the point of fainting gave me pause. I'm gonna go with a plain vanilla jedi this halloween. A bit blah, but at least I won't hate my costume all evening!

 

[Dougie Fett]

I couldn't get used to wearing TK armour so I got rid of it, comfort is important if you going to be trooping for a couple hours at a time.

 

[Robot Monster]

I have stayed in full head prostetic makeup for 16 hours at a time, and let me tell you. Go for the comfort.

 

[Crimson Phoenix]

I personally can't stand it if I can't walk or sit down. first time I wore a TK, I could barely sit down, which is better than not sitting down at all. So I didn't alter anything. Walking was a different issue. after getting my first beautiful armor kiss/blood blister on the back of my inner knee, I decided to cut it away. In my mind I knew that was unacceptable. So I experimented with different ways to work around cutting the suit.

The problem was on my left shin. Everyone knows how the left shin is actually a right shin mold, someone was just to lazy to make the left.:rolleyes

I shifted the left shin slightly to the left, so that the knee cap was facing off to the side. And no problems since. No modifications, no armor kisses, no one notices.

 

[ItsThatGuy]

Stormtrooper armor is only as comfortable as you make it. Meaning you have to make it to fit you!

There are times it's not very comfortable (armor pinches and what-not), but you get used to it. At CIV I spent about 8-12 hours a day wearing armor. My main issue was my feet were really sore from standing that much. Since it's very difficult to sit in armor.

 

[PadawanLearner]

I usually go for the idea first and then if it's uncomfortable I don't wear it again, heh. I'm personally never doing a TK because of the armor pinching.
I really want to do Oogy-boogy from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I'm positive will be terribly uncomfortable.
Oh, I'm also going to try the Emperor from Star Wars, being hunched over is probably going to require I take a number of breaks. But I'm generally willing to give it at least a go first.

 

[cayman shen]

I was going to be Yoda but I didn't feel like cutting off my legs!

 

[kelldar]

I couldn't get used to wearing TK armour so I got rid of it, comfort is important if you going to be trooping for a couple hours at a time.

Same here, I still have mine, but hardly ever wear it. I kept cutting it down but it still bites into the back of my knees everytime.

At Dragoncon I used what was supposed to be toupee tape to keep my Wonder Woman tiara in place. I don't know what that tape actually was (I threw it away after this experience!) but it ended up leaving a giant bruise across my forehead for the next week or so, LOL. That along with the very-heavy wig that was trying to pull my scalp off and the shoes that bruised my feet and left blisters was probably one of the most uncomfortable costuming experiences LOL

I have had a few instances where I've let accuracy slip in favor of comfort... usually with wigs, I'll usually go with something shorter so it's not so heavy/won't get tangled so easily. I've shortened dress hems so they won't get dirty as quickly, and I'll usually try to think of ways to make things cooler to wear (like leaving off layers most people won't notice, etc).

 

[BDA TK7503]

Best thing i did with the standard TK armor was raise the thigh pieces with an elastic belt for each thigh that crosses over the opposite shoulder. (Thanks Dana G :cool) Since doing that i can sit, kneel and go up and down stairs with ease.

J

 

[EchoSix]

Nothing's more uncomfortable than a full Batman costume, with rubber armor and of course the cowl.

I guess a foam latex Gamorrean Guard costume in the middle of the desert would be worse though. :lol

I've substituted metal armor plates for plastic, more for cost than anything, for my Assassin's Creed costume. And of course I refused to cut off my left ring finger, as would be accurate to the character.

I try and stay as accurate as I can possibly be for my costumes. But that's just me. I take my accuracy pretty seriously.

 

[cyberpred]

Depends what you are wearing it for. I have won thousands and a trip to Hawaii in predator. Robo is very uncomfortable but the attention you get is awesome.

C.

 

[Mados]

Yeah, I've sacrificed accuracy for comfort. Actually accuracy for the sake of being able to move, cut up the leg armor on my Batman suit. No one notices. But I am wearing neoprene, so thats sacrificing comfort to look better.

 

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

If there is any one character in which we are so obsessed with screen accuracy it would have to be Captain Jack Sparrow. I have gone as far as walking around in those CABoots for an entire day, substituded real brass buttons onto a fully lined frock coat in the middle of summer (frock coat weighs a ton now with the brass buttons), and added a total of 42 dreadlocks to my DMC/AWE wig. All this for the sake of SA!

Doing Cannibal Jack is the worst. The crown alone weighed almost 9 pounds when I frist made it becuase I had to finish it in a hurry. I have since substituted certain parts with styrofoam pieces to make the weight lighter.

If you are going for SA there are usually no shortcuts for comfort! You can try to take shortcuts on other simpler characters but for ones that have alot of detail I would think it would be difficult!

 

[Mr Fett]

I currently own 6 costumes that I wear for conventions. Not a single one of them is truly comfortable.

 

[Beeb89]

Wearing my Vader outfit (when I still had it) brought new meaning to suffering for your art. The fully lined wool cape I had with the fiberglass armor used to kill my collar bones when I wore it for a few hours. And wearing a quilted leather suit kept you nice and toasty too.

Still, I miss it.
-B89!

 

[bleyd]

I try to find a happy medium. For my kids jawa costumes I knew were going to be in San Diego during the summer so wool was out for them. I opted for a cotton fabric that looked good but comfortable enought to wear all day. I also did the one thing I rarely make acceptions for and that was their shoes. That one time I let them wear tennis shoes but again it was due to us being on the con floor all day long. I also make exceptions for things like Halloween parties. I did a TDK Joker costume that I wouild NEVER take to a con but happily wore at the party.
Things like makeup I really try not to skimp. Hate seeing a Klingon headpiece that does not match and they rarely do. A Darth Maul usung a bald cap is horrendous to me and I would never do it. Though I HAVE seen some pretty good ones out there I would never do it myself.

 

[vaderbreath]

Well, if you count being a skinny Santa then, yes, I have sacrificed accuracy for comfort. I've played Santa for years, and since last year when I lost about 80 lbs, I decided not to pad the suit (because of the extreme heat for hours...not unlike my Vader suit). This year I was Santa at a big mall, and I wasn't going to die of heat on the throne so I was skinny Santa. I just told people (mainly adults...kids rarely ever said anything) that Santa stays in good shape and then plumps up on Christmas Eve as he eats all the cookies.

By the way, I have to show off a little...I used to weigh about 300 lbs. and now this is how I look. See what I mean about the skinny Santa?

-Corey

 

[Newbie Doobie]

Nothing's more uncomfortable than a full Batman costume, with rubber armor and of course the cowl.

I guess a foam latex Gamorrean Guard costume in the middle of the desert would be worse though. :lol

I've substituted metal armor plates for plastic, more for cost than anything, for my Assassin's Creed costume. And of course I refused to cut off my left ring finger, as would be accurate to the character.

I try and stay as accurate as I can possibly be for my costumes. But that's just me. I take my accuracy pretty seriously.

Your avatar is cool! How did you make it? I went as skeletor,not much to worry about except the cod piece which I made smaller (of course)!