Too big for Darth Vader?

[Lear60man]

How important is body type to a costume? This is something that i have been kicking around in the back of my mind for a while. I have always thought that the body is the basic frame for an accurate costume. Im a little over 6 foot, height weight appropriate. I would never do a Vader, Wookie, Jawa etc because I am a perfectionist and the frame would be wrong. I also have a great appreciation for talent and give the effort higher marks over body type. With that said, what are you views on height weight for a costume? What if a chubby member starts a show off thread about his screen accurate Tron costume? Would you say "good job" or "spandex is not your friend."

 

[d_jedi1]

Re: Too fat for a Vader?

Well... if it makes them happy, why spoil it for them?

now behind their backs??? :lol
Take this for example... no idea where I found it

Personally, I'd say he is too fat for Vader. If I looked like him I would not wear THAT costume.

then too he might have JUST had a big bowl of chili the night before.

 

[darthgordon]

Re: Too fat for a Vader?

Well... I'm only five foot ten and now where near Prowse's size. Which is why I went for the little kid Episode III Vader. I put five inches in my boots and another two in my helmet. Still not accurate, but I figured it was close enough.

There's a lot of costumes out there you will not get perfect unless you are an exact clone or twin of the person portraying them. Especially when the it's something that you don't wear a mask or helmet for. So you get as close as you can.

If you're really crazy, you can try plastic surgery.

Now... if you look absolutely ridiculous or you're hurting my eyes because you're extremely overweight and wearing spandex... that's kind of a problem... even if that's the look you were going for... I don't need to see that.

 

[Lear60man]

I never did a Clonetrooper armor set because I felt that the leg armor could never bee screen accurate due to how thin-long your legs would have to be. The CG artists went a little Japanese Manga thus impossible for a normal human to pull it off.

 

[cayman shen]

If you're really overweight, maybe costuming isn't the hobby for you. Try, I dunno, jogging.

 

[DarthJ]

Well... if it makes them happy, why spoil it for them?

now behind their backs??? :lol
Take this for example... no idea where I found it

Personally, I'd say he is too fat for Vader. If I looked like him I would not wear THAT costume.

then too he might have JUST had a big bowl of chili the night before.

That guy was at CIV.. I was in my Vader as well and standing about 50 yds away from him. He was a LARGE MAN..:eek

 

[yodakiller1138]

Personally, I think it's NOT a good idea as you'll only look ridiculous and embarrass yourself as well as the sci fi community in General. Why do you think the general populous looks down on sci-fi fans as overweight losers that live in their parents basements. Other than that, whatever floats your boat.:lol

 

[cayman shen]

I just think: why would you idolize superheroes, men of action, etc., and not go to the gym? If you're such a huge fan that you want to dress like one of your idols, start with your physique. Dressing in a costume is alerady pretty sketchy, but starting with an inappropriately large body type makes it flat out ridiculous.

You really love Jedi? Practice self-control (in your diet) and discipline (in your exercise). Then prance around in the robes. You like stormtroopers? Put yourself through boot camp.

 

[Lear60man]

I have two trains of thought on this:

First, who cares, If you want to be a 7 foot 150 pound Hobbit....God loves you man!

Second, try to pick a costume that fits your body type.

I would be a little bummed if I found muffin top on my TE Stormtrooper thighs. But I was lucky to be the correct height for a clone. Vader/R2....not so much.

 

[Neon Sentry]

If you're really overweight, maybe costuming isn't the hobby for you. Try, I dunno, jogging.

Hahahahahahahaha, totally unexpected, and absolutely hilarious.

As much as I don't feel right dictating what others do, I must admit a level of discomfort when people's body types are so far away away from the ideal for that costume.

I'm Rorschach height so... I'm going to be Rorschach. Not Vader, not Spock, not a Xenomorph. I love Watchmen, but you don't think I'd love to be Nite Owl at a convention? I'm simply too short, though, so that's how it goes.

But I'm not going to make that same choice for others.

Go ahead and do whatever you want to, in the end it doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks.

 

[TMP]

I second all of the above said. Last time i said that the standards and look whould be nr 1 priority and that this was our idea for our new superhero forum i was slaughterd.

I also think its important for people to have a body proportion fitting a costume.

Wear something that will do the carracter and your self justice.

 

[Gigatron]

While, yes, he is too big to be Vader, let's look at the larger scope of things, here.

1) He's obviously happy with it, otherwise, he'd not have worn it in public.

and

2) To normal people, all costumers come off as sad, weird, little people who have problems dealing with reality.

Personally, I say if you're older than 7 and want to play dress up, go for it, enjoy, but don't think for a second - even if you're a dead ringer for whatever character - that the general population hasn't cast you in the same spotlight as Lard Vader, up there. So, while the "I spend hours a day in the gym, months sewing my costume and thousands of dollars to be accurate" guys may think they're better than our gravitationally enhanced friend, the rest of the world doesn't really see a difference.

Why playing dress up as a sports dork is any more acceptable than a outerspace dork, I don't know. They're both equally dorky.

-Fred

 

[seven]

Tech. it's more about weight then height. Personally, as long as your costume was made in proportion to your height, even a short Vader can and will look cool (i.e. little kids). A taller Vader, or Wookiee might even look cooler and more intimidating. It's all about proportion. So many people buy pre-made costume armor (ie. Vader, Fett, Trooper) that is built for a certain height and build. While it could be awesome armor, if it doesn't fit, it looks ridicules. So as long as the costume is 'scaled' to fit your height, and you are a similar build, the costume will look great regarless of height.

Weight however limits you more as far as 'looking-the-part'. While you can and probably will get looks and laughing behind your back (sometimes in front of your face), as long as you are comfortable and confident, don't let other's negativity prohibit you from doing what you want.

 

[LDM]

I echo what has been said previously. ANYONE wearing a costume will be looked at askance by the general public, so do what makes you comfortable and happy.

 

[Utinni]

Yeah I second the whole "in proportion" thing. I've seen Boba Fetts, who are... shall we say extra-large, using regular size Fett armor chest plates. It looked horrible and so out of place. The plates are meant to be ARMOR, so if you're bigger, build bigger plates! It looked too half-assed and for me fell into the "bed sheet/bath robe Jedi" group.

It takes balls to go out in public in a costume, so I give them that. But atleast go the whole distance and make sure it fits to your body proportions.

- Jeff

 

[Paracord Junky]

+2 on "in proportion."
Ther was an article in an old issue of Star Wars Insider about putting together a Vader, and the guy was something like 5'4", but made the outfit to fit HIM, and as a result it looked just as awesome as any other.

Personally, I HAVE to scale down any outfit i do because if i were to limit myself to characters i accurately match in physical build, the only thing i could do is Wolverine. I love that character, my favorite SH out of the whole lot of them, but that'd get boring.

 

[Cplbear]

Personally................... I am a BIG proponent of trying to choose a costume that fits your own personal size and shape . That Vader is MUCH too large [circumference wise] to make a great Vader . While all of the parts and components might be top notch and 100 %accurate.............He is just NOT a good representative of what we all know Vader looked like in the films size wise . Same holds for a skinny guy that is only 5 foot 6 doing a Vader . Just not going to do that character justice .


Now , This also holds true [and more so infact ] , for people that do Historical Recreations . Such As American Civil War recreation and such . Nothing pained me MORE when i was doing this , than seeing a 300 lb Rebel trying to do a Double quickstep march across a Battlefield . Have you EVER seen an actual photo from the Civil War of ANY soldier that didn't look like he weighed much over 200 lbs ? Nope ! So , i guess what this boils down to is this............IF all you want to do is assemble a costume for your own personal enjoyment , go for it ! But if you plan on taking it out into the public arenas for troops and such , be ready to get taken to task if you are too Large or tiny for some well known iconic Characters !

 

[Neon Sentry]

Dammit, I'm torn between standards and the belief in expressing oneself, and it's a difficult line to walk.

I'm going to have to somewhat alter my previous answer thanks to the post above mine... when under public scrutiny, definitely lean towards accuracy in both costume and costumer.

The entire point of costuming as opposed to props, in my eyes, is that while a prop (or a costume display) allows you to essentially own a piece of something you love, a costume lets you become that which you love.

You know the saying "If you love some(one/thing), let (them/it) go?" If you love something enough to be the embodiment of it, you've got to be prepared to leave it alone if it simply doesn't work.

I can't think of a single helmet/maskless character I want to do, simply because I'm Native American, and a short, long-haired dude doesn't really match much out there.

It's not like I can lose weight to fit into some badass costume. But if you can limit your diet and jog a bit to look like the character you're trying to become, then do it! I've heard of lots of costumers who used the opportunity to change the way they treated their bodies, and it's made many people happier for it.

We've already got an obesity problem in the western world, the fact that I have to buy clothing dating back to the '70s emphasizes that for me, if you've got any excuse to make yourself healthier then do it!

 

[ob1al]

It makes no difference unless you are a professional being paid for a job - if it's costuming for fun, do whatever makes you happy.

 

[troopermatthew]

Im lucky in that im 5" 9 and skinny so am tall enough to pull off alot of costumes, most without lifts and i can add padding to bulk up. Also alot of the characters i go for tend to be average height and skinny by chance anyway

BUT I think that if you truley love a character, if they mean that much to you then you wont insult them by making them look silly. I for example would love to do Rorschach but he is maximum 5" 5 and i know i would look rediculous in it. Contrasting is that i would love to do scores of superheros but i know im just not muscular enough and accept that.

Although i suppoise at the end of the day its up to the individuel