More Steampunk Fashion in Comics/TV

The Previews of Warren Ellis' new series has hit his website, warrenellis.com and his hundred other blogs. Ignition City is set in sci-fi 1956 where personal space travel is becoming illegal all over the world (can you imagine?). Grounded space pilot Mary Raven has to journey to Earth's Ignition City to recover her dead father's effects; she discovers a settlement of outlaws and learns more details about her father's death at the wrong end of a ray gun! Can she find Rock Raven's killer before she's thrown into the recycling chipper?

Mary's look appears simple and classic in her pilot gear. She has her necessary personal protection gun (looks more like a 6-shooter than a blaster) and leather cap with goggles for flying; classic motorcycle riding black knee high boots as well; her flowing red hair makes her all the more fabulous (Warren seems to have a thing for redheads). The cover art is inspiring and makes me want to dress up right now!








Also from the Previews Catalog, Captain Jack's manipulator/sonic screwdriver thingiemajig will be available soon.

Amazingly Expensive: Spidey the Musical

According the website, Most-Expensive.net, the Spider-Man Musical is going to break the bank. Here's an excerpt of their article:

..."

The most expensive Broadway production in history will be “Spider-Man: The Musical,” directed by Julie Taymor. Taymor is no stranger to Broadway, having directed “The Lion King,” based on the Disney film of the same name, in 1997. Feature films under her belt include Shakespearian gore fest Titus (1999) and, most recently, Across the Universe (2007).

Taymor isn’t the only big name attached to this production, though. Scoring the musical will be U2’s Bono and The Edge...."

Source: http://most-expensive.net/broadway-musical

Toy Recalls

A lot of fans are avid collectors of action figures and other toys like bobble-heads and Marvel Mighty Muggs. Since I'm not one of them, I pay very little attention to that part of the industry. The only time I pick up an action figure is if I plan to make the costume and want reference. I was contacted by Parents.com and informed about their special section devoted to toy and product recalls: http://www.parents.com/product-recalls/

On a lark, I entered the search term "batman" and selected "toys & games" from the drop down list. I got a hit for a figure produced in 2007. That was enough to confirm for me that I should be passing along this information to my readers and other comic/cartoon fans.

Umbrella Academy - Tshirt surgery

I needed to make a new Umbrella Academy top for my Rumor costume. I took a UA tee and cut off the sleeves and added a zipper. My first attempt left me very frustrated with the zipper - to point where I got out the fabric glue and tried to get the darn thing to stay put that way (shown on the left). Tip: You can't sew through glue or your needle sticks and gets ripped out of the machine causing devastation. That was a few months ago so I just got a new tee and started again. I decided on a smaller size. I ripped out the seams of the sleeves rather than just cutting off the sleeves (I'm going to use them on another tee surgery). And I choose a separating zipper. This zipper has a benefit of making the shirt easier to get on but the invisible zipper didn't cut through the logo as much. (shown on the right) Using 1/8" doublestick tape from the fabric store, this zipper was more cooperative.

Smallville costume designs

I'm not a hardcore Smallville fan but this season has actually been better than previously (however, they seem to be bringing Lana back when the show excelled while she was gone). Nonetheless, the Lois & Clark love story was about to begin when it came crashing to a halt.

Moving on the fashion, a few members of the Legion of Superheroes from the 31st century had their debut in Smallville during the 21st century. From the comics and cartoons, they normally wore "typical" superhero garb with the spandex look and some with capes. The Smallville redesign modernized them into motorcycle leathers, much like they did with Green Arrow and what we saw with the X-Men movies. There was enough of the symbols and colors to make the characters easily identifiable. Saturn Girl wore red with a white t-shirt that had a Saturn image on it; Cosmic Boy was upgraded from pinkish-purple to black but his signature circle embellishments highlighted the jacket nicely; Lightning Lad resembled his cartoon style most closely with dark blue and accented with yellow bolts.

Images from the dj_capslock community of LiveJournal.

News this week from TVGuide.com says that the next guest star will be Zatanna the magician. Zatanna wears a tuxedo style leotard with fishnet stockings and a top hat. We, the fans can only hope that Z does not show up in motorcycle leathers or worse, a dominatrix outfit.

Image from Lazygirls.info
Image from ComicVine.com

Chanel Iman Covers Page Six

In this week’s Page Six Magazine – Named after legendary designer Coco Chanel, this hot young model is now blazing her own trail in the fashion world. Meet Chanel Iman, protégée of Tyra Banks and favorite of Galliano and McQueen, who is determined to shake things up with her vibrant personality, cheeky tattoos and modern attitude toward race. Here's some excerpts from her interview and below is some behind-the-scenes footage of her cover photo shoot...

On rumors she has been involved with Kanye West, rapper Tyga, and singer-producer Ryan Leslie: “I’m young and I’m dating. But I’m not gonna say any names. There are special people in my life but nothing serious. Just having a man in general is a job! I have one job; I can’t have a second. I’m the type of girl that if I have a man, I want to be a good girl-friend and be there for them and take care of them.”

On her close relationship with Tyra Banks: “She keeps it real. She tells it like it is. She’s really been a great mentor for me.”

On the rigors of working New York Fashion Week: “Honestly, I try to forget Fashion Week once it’s over. I just want to go home and rest and just forget I even did it. It could drive you crazy! It’s just show after show after show, and you’re missing your family and they feel really far away. You don’t go to sleep. You work for a month. You spend all this time trying on clothes… what drives me the most crazy is people touching me all the time. That does get weird.”

On how she ended up naming her Maltese “Louis Dior”: “I really loved working with [Dior designer] John Galliano—he’s so amazing. He actually let me name my dog Dior. I asked him! Right after I bought my puppy, I flew to Paris and John was the first designer that I saw. So I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t have a name for my puppy, so is it OK, John, if I name him Dior?’ He said, ‘It would be my honor.’ So I took a picture of me and my dog and sent it to him. He loved it.”

On her frustrations at the difficulties that models of color face in the industry: “It’s not just black girls. It’s ethnic girls in general: Brazilian girls, Hispanic. You really don’t see a lot of Asians either. A lot of designers think that if every girl on the runway looks exactly alike, then people will come to the shows and buy the clothes because they won’t be focusing on the models….It’s not even just runway either... us ethnic girls should be getting a lot of the covers too! I would love to be on half of the campaigns these [white] girls are booking, all looking exactly alike. It’s not right. It’s not fair.”

Response to my critics

DC costume decision

I'm taking votes on what to wear for my designated "DC Comics" day during Comic Con which is Feb 6-8 in NYC. To get a glimpse of the suits check out my video.

Keep it Under Wraps!

Meagan Good leaving Good Morning New York earlier this week.

Left to right: Black Fishbone Jumper by Manoush, $155.25, www.my-wardrobe.com; Charlene Sweater Coat, $59.50, www.delias.com; Shawl Collar Cardigans, $35, www.oldnavy.com; Lofty Knit Wrap, $129.99, www.frenchconnection.com

Left to right: Cable shrug cardigan by Vince, $295, www.net-a-porter.com; Knitted Chunky Jumper, $40, www.topshop.com; Mindi Hooded Sweater Cardigan, $27.80, www.forever21.com; Knitted Poncho, $90, www.topshop.com

Winter can be oh so depressing but a cute chunky knit can put a skip in your step. If you don't believe me check out Meagan Good above, her sweater dress has put some zing in her stride. Take a cue from her and find a stylish knit to cover up in this season. French Connection's web site has some really cute selections.

Rogue jacket; Steampunk goggles

I love bargains! I especially love bargains when I can apply them to my super costume wardrobe. Yesterday I found a fantastic jacket made of dark chocolate brown PVC at Burlington Coat Factory and for only $17! I couldn't resist. Slowly Rogue will be redesigned. It may take another two years but it'll get done eventually.

I also got my very first pair of goggles in the mail today. They are the German Goggles from Restoration Hardware and were on sale for $11.99! No idea what I'm going to do to them yet.