Design
Bags, geek fashion, cosplay, and costumes. Each design begins with enthusiasm for the property, then, after some sketches, it's off to the sewing machine!
bags & purses
A handbag can truly bring a look together.
chocolate bar purse
This chocolate bar purse was part of my Up inspired geek couture design for the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic Con.
My design is inspired by the characters Russell & Kevin the Bird from Pixar's Up and is a tribute to their friendship. Their adventure begins with Russell lures out Kevin with a chocolate bar, so I had to include the chocolate bar. A purse seemed like a fitting way to make this important story element fashion forward.
The front is embroidered with the chocolate name plus an additional detail of my last name as the chocolate company's name.
The purse lining is a silver lamé, which is the same fabric as the Kevin gown this bag accompanies. To create the illusion of an opened and eaten candy bar, the lining rolls back creating a 3D effect. The front wrapper opens to reveal a foam quilted chocolate bar that actually smells like chocolate. It has a hidden pocket, too. Perfect for stashing a snack.
Along the strap are merit badge buttons just like the ones Russell wears in Up. Each embroidered button cover has a unique design and story of an achievement I've made in my own adventures.
The interior of the bag is a custom designed lining of the ice creams Russell and Carl eat at the end of the movie.
Rice Krispie mickey
This purse was inspired by the thought "why doesn't Disneyland make purses of all their classic treats, like the M&Ms Rice Krispie?"
Then I discovered the Mickey ice cream bag and was like "whoever designed this gets me" 😂
Taking that same Mickey shaped bag concept, I created the Rice Krispie bag complete with 234 resin M&Ms. 😲
Every time I wear this I get TONS of compliments from people asking where I got it. When I tell them I made it they ask if they can order one 🥰.
So I've started looking into how to order these M&M candies in mass quantities and use fewer of them in the design. That way it keeps the cost low while still getting the idea across.
I definitely want to do the traditional rainbow color but a seasonal one with red, green and white would be fun for the holidays too. So many options! 😁.
Chopper Hip bag
A streetwear look inspired by Hera from Star Wars Rebels.
Hera wouldn't be complete without her astromech Chopper, but in hip bag form. His head lifts up to reveal a pouch for a phone and built in card slots. Wanting to include the flight suit straps in a more fashion forward way, webbing was attached to the hip bag with clips at the hips for a versatile variation without the leg straps.
wicket dog bag
I call it an "adventure bag". This hip bag was created using the Loungefly dog harness backpack.
All I had to do was remove the harness and swap the straps to make it functional as a hip bag. The fur slider was added for comfort and matching ears for cuteness.
Now to test this out on all the Disneyland rides. I'm a big believer that there should be more hip bags available. Millennials have back problems! 😂
Geek Fashion
Because nerds deserve to showcase their fandoms everyday.
her universe
As a finalist for the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic Con, I created a two part transformative geek couture look inspired by the friendship between Russell & Kevin the bird in Pixar's film Up.
The design showcases a dichotomy in each detail: matte vs shine, round silhouette vs sharp lines, and top heavy silhouette vs full bottom heavy silhouette. It also showcases the similarities between the characters with matching pockets, asymmetry, and a chocolate bar purse.
Darth vader
Each fall Disneyland hosts a day where guests are invited to dress dapper. This look is inspired by Darth Vader from Star Wars.
Bowler hat to mimic the silhouette of Vader's helmet, vertical gun metal bars to hint at his chest armor, a belt embellished with decorative beads to match his belt, and an umbrella cover in metallic stretch red fabric for his iconic lightsaber
Photos by Point Blankshot Photography
Black Widow
Bb-8 Bucket hat
I had a lot of fun designing and making this feminine fashion look inspired by Black Widow. Here's my thought process for each part of this look.
It's a dress😁! The skirt fabric has a print of Black Widow from the comics that inspired this look.
The top of the dress is a stretch pleather, similar to the catsuits she wears, with some built in bra pads to shape. We love built in bras.
The back has her iconic hourglass logo, but flipped sideways for a more functional fashion look.
The shoulder straps are oversized bows to add to the feminine flair of the design and to help balance the silhouette with the chunky boots. But, also, I love these "floppy bunny ears" as I called these bows and want them to be a trend.
The purse is inspired by her bracelets which I learned are called "bites". I felt like making bracelets were too on the nose for this. I used what I had, which were boba straws 😂, but I'd love to 3D print them. I made a cut out of her hourglass logo in the same fabric as the dress. It's lined with the same fabric from her skirt.
The belt is a fashion interpretation of her circular belt.
To the person who stopped me to say how much they loved this look and wished they could buy it at Hot Topic right now, thank you. That made my day 🥰.
This hat was created for a script reading night with my friends. We get together on Zoom to act out different movie scripts. Everyone dresses up and plays a different character. It's a lot of fun!
I've always loved BB-8 and chose to play the role, but didn't have anything to wear. After researching what companies had created, I realized there wasn't a bucket hat version of BB-8. This was a massive missed opportunity because his round shape is a perfect fit for a bucket hat.
The majority of the details are hand painted. The wire up top is a bobby pin opened (I liked how the bobby pin already had the crimp in it like BB-8 has in the film). The eyeball is made from half of a plastic Christmas ornament. The black trim is leather.
Cosplay Costumes
Conventions, festivals, and more
watermelon festival
Focusing on the Watermelon Festival theme of the 1980s, I transformed a red dress into a watermelon explosion.
The dress and hat had been plain red, but sequin trim was used EVERYWHERE and additional sparkles were added wherever there was an empty spot.
Black sequin trimmed pits, white ric rack trim, green ruffle glitter ribbon, and a matching watermelon bag, were all utilized to perfect the watermelon dress look.
sweater skirt
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a Katwise inspired summer dress?" I thought. So I made one.
Katwise is an incredible designer who makes gorgeous full length coats with fun long hoods using upcycled sweaters. Every time I saw them at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, I longed for one, but honestly knew I wouldn't be able to wear it in the southern California heat.
The skirt and corset top are separates. I drafted both patterns myself.
I love the idea of rescuing old sweaters and turning them into wearable art like this. Throughout the day at the Koronenburg Renaissance Faire I got a lot of compliments and each time someone asked where I got it, I proudly smiled and said "I made it!"
I'm going to make another one soon. The skirt was nice and cool, but the corset was quite warm so I'm going to try a lighter cotton next time. I also plan to make the corset a little longer for my long torso, but I'm keeping this corset pattern for those with shorter torsos, just in case anyone asks me to make one for them. It would be fun to see others wearing them at faires.
Agatha wandavision
2nd place winner in Masters division (highest level) at Los Angeles Comic Con. The top is composed of hundreds of hidden darts and hand gathered lines to create a flattering silhouette. The capes are cut on a taper to create the feeling of her hem melting away into the cloud of magic that surrounds her .
The skirt is layer upon layer of dynamic and dramatic fabrics that I gathered on my travels. Each one is chosen for reflecting a moment in Agatha's story.
The boot covers were designed with a corset hourglass shape to cinch the calves as a nod to the historical era her character comes from. Upon closer look, you'll see subtle purple stitching to evoke the smoke she creates when she walk.
In the show Wandavision there are no close ups of the pants, so I took this as an opportunity to add in an "easter egg". Agatha's magic is purple, so each of the purple details are different runes. On one leg the runes spell out "Agatha" and on the other leg are the runes used to create the spell in the show.
A "Dark Hold" book prop was my first full foam prop creation. A little engineering and out of the box thinking helped create a memorable moment on stage when the book floated like it does in the show.
Using the scraps from my creation, I sewed a mini Agatha for my friend Ellie so we could dress up and throw spells around together.
hera streetwear
A streetwear look inspired by Hera from Star Wars Rebels.
To create her iconic overalls look, the knit top was cut into a crop. Along the shoulders, a detail stitch was added to replicate her shoulder armor. Then I paired it with orange cargo pants, brown boots, and a brown top.
Following trends of rave and street wear, green extensions with a light green ribbon were braided then paired with a white headband to create her lekku.