Guest Blogger Stephanie || Hartford Comic Con, And my first Cosplay Experience

I’m lucky that my job allows me to attend signings, events & conventions from time to time — however, I have never attended a comic con specific convention before. Last year for Halloween, my roommate, Daysi, and I decided to dress up as Tina & Louise from Bob’s Burgers. We started the search a few months early and were able to find a lot of the pieces for the costumes online.

At the time, we had only planned for this to be a quick Halloween costume for work. We had no intentions of actually cosplaying Tina & Louise. Not surprisingly, we found just about all the items we needed on Amazon. Daysi’s outfit was simple — lime green dress & pink bunny ear hat. For my Tina, I searched really simple terms like “Teal blue shirt” and “navy blue skort.” The socks proved to be harder to find. Why is it I remember seeing red striped knee socks everywhere until NOW that I actually needed them? I ended up buying a pair from a random Chinese shop on Amazon. I picked up the wig as a last ditch effort at a Spirit Halloween store, as opposed to cutting my hair. I have naturally chunky black framed glasses…. but they just weren’t PERFECT. It wasn’t until another friend sent me the perfect link to this huge chunky cartoon-y pair of black framed glasses that just SCREAMED “Tina!!!” With that, my costume was complete.

We worked together that day, as no Tina could be complete without her Louise… and surprisingly, our basic costumes were a hit. People were coming into our store specifically to take pictures with us. Another friend in another store was dressed as Bob and he’d come over and take group pictures with us. I went to Starbucks and the baristas gave me my drink for free purely because “Tina was their spirit animal”. We had planned to do Tina & Louise again for the next Halloween.

Then came Hartford Comic Con. Our store had a booth at the convention and while the rest of our team wore their regular street clothes… Daysi & I decided to bust out the Tina & Louise getups. We had never been to a convention like this before and were pretty overwhelmed with the amazing response. I don’t think I have ever had so many strangers ask to take my photo/take photos with me. As I learned over the past weekend in Con world, people wanting your picture is a cosplay success. Did I ever intend Tina & Louise to be an actual cosplay? No. Do I love it?? Yes. We’re addicted. We want to do more! We’ve added a Fart Gun to the overall display (One of the Despicable Me Minion fart guns. Perfect for Belcher children) and are working on convincing others to be more Belcher family members with us. I’ve convinced my mother to attend Rhode Island Comic Con with us under the guise of her meeting Hershel from the Walking Dead… under the condition she wears red framed glasses & a red sweater. She has no idea what she’s in for.

It was amazing to see a bunch of the same cosplayers all weekend in the same costumes that people recognize, and switching into new costumes as well. I am totally enchanted by the whole cosplay world and am now working on new costume ideas for future events!







Follow Stephanie:
Twitter - @omgstephanie
Instagram - @makeyourselfsic

Jordan's OOTW: June Dresses, Part Two - The Struggle is Real

I'm not going to lie - week two was hard. I started strong, even repeating a skirt to meet a friend. But as the week went on and my options dwindled because I'd had yet to do laundry and had already worn a lot of cute stuff, I was struggling. Struggling to put together outfits I felt worthy of the #junedresses instagram. 

So I skipped a few days of the selfies. Or rather, I didn't get a chance to take pictures those days but I didn't really care, either. I reveled in the freedom I'd given myself in being able to wear shorts at home. Sure, the weather is warm, but sometimes I miss the stability of my skinny jeans. I'm lucky, I have enough cute stuff to pull something like this off. I have enough friends that are vaguely the same size as me to donate clothes they don't want or can't wear anymore. So maybe this post will sound kind of bratty, but everyone struggles with challenges. That's why they're called challenges. And what would be the point of these posts if I couldn't talk about my struggles? 

Sometimes it's just plain hard. I don't feel cute in anything I wear. Even today's dress (which you'll see on next week's post if you don't follow me), I loved when I bought it, I'd been saving it for a day when I would be seen and felt maximum cute - I put it on, and a lot of things weren't working for me. That's okay. I expected that to happen. Again, I'm lucky that week one went as well as it did. Maybe it was boredom, as well, with my poses and the outfits. Either way, I didn't feel as great about myself as during week one. 

Style is a learning process, always trial and error. Learning your own personal style, while in the midst of changing it up, is hard and oftentimes difficult. I struggle with shorter skirts because I'm not super proud of my thighs, but knee length dresses are flattering. I love maxi skirts and dresses, but have to make sure they're not dragging on the floor. I have a short torso and while a great waist, it's not a great proportion sometimes. I have curves, and I love them most of the time, but sometimes you just wish you could pull off other things. You learn about your body, and yourself, when you put yourself in a different position and that goes with style as well. I love wearing skirts and dresses, but they're not part of my norm. So sometimes, I struggle. 

That's the whole point of the challenge, though. To help you feel amazing. To help accept your body and dress in a way that makes you feel beautiful. Something everyone can say they struggle with. So maybe last week was hard, but maybe this week will be better. After all, I get to see my mom for the first time since Christmas this weekend, and that alone will help me show off a couple dresses and feel good about myself - hopefully. 

It's a challenge, again, and one I'm happy to get through. I know I can get through it, I know I can do it. But everyone has their struggles along the way. It'd be called something nicer and easier than a challenge, if it were simple. 

Keep following me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of my outfits throughout the week. Let's support each other, alright? 

Guest Blogger Julie: Daryl Dixon Cosplay

 "I ain't nobodies bitch." - COSPLAY EDITION

- Julie ( @pandoricaa via Twitter )

When Ashley approached me to do a guest spot on her blog, I was like hey, cool! I've known Ashley for almost ten years now and she's pretty damn awesome. So why not do something for her awesome blog? I've been into cosplaying for quite some time but never actually took the initiative to go and do something. In September will be a year since I started and I've done a total of four separate outfits for cons. When I was asked to do the guest spot on Ashley's blog, I figured I'd need something more complete because a lot of my cosplays seemed to have something missing whether it be an article of clothing I couldn't find in my size or a hair situation. But I finally found a con where I had a complete cosplay and that would be the first annual Terror Con.

Terror Con to me is what dreams are made of. I'm a huge nerd for horror films. Favorite movie of all time is Nightmare on Elm Street. So I knew right away that I would feel right at home in this convention setting. The guest list was pretty much a who's who of horror, rock and wrestling. Names I remember watching and listening to. If I had robbed a bank? I'd have met more than just one person but my goal for the day was Lita Ford (spoiler alert: totally met her and she was awesome.)

Jordan's OOTW: June Dresses Edition, Part One

A couple of months ago, I bought into the maxi skirt trend. I'd avoided it for so long, convinced that a petite and curvy girl like me couldn't pull them off. Oh how wrong I was, though. Quickly, I became obsessed with the thing and wanted to wear it with everything, all the time, every day. 

That's when a friend of a friend told me about June Dresses. 

Guest Blogger Nequisha: Plus Size OOTN - When life throws you curves, learn how to use them

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Nequisha pronounced like Ne-key-sha, I am 27 years young and I live in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I have graduated from Bridgewater State University, with a degree in art for photography.  I met Ashley back in high school and have kept contact with her throughout the years and when she asked me to become a guest blogger on her website, I was super excited because we both have a love not only for Walking Dead but for comic book characters and  our fashion styles are similar yet different.

I have recently got into being comfortable and taking risks with fashion and been having fun with my ootds and ootns. Why you ask? Well throughout high school I was a thick yet an in shape girl that didn’t weight over 156 pounds, considering that I am 5’6 ½ in height I was thin. Then when I turned 20 my life turned upside down, with the death of my mother and then finding out that I had a thyroid condition, I ended up gaining a lot of weight. With the massive weight gain, I wasn’t comfortable in the clothes that I was wearing. So 2 years ago, I got sick of how I felt/looked so I decided to turn my life around by getting into boxing and embracing this gorgeous new curvaceous body of mine after losing weight.

I like to think of my style as fun, sassy, with a touch of va va voom lol…So lets break down my ootn.

Jordan's OOTD: It's not even Summer yet and it's hot here

Guest Blogger Jordan:

Summer is here! Sort of. It's hot and dry here in LA and thus has begun the season of forsaking pants for shorts, skirts, and dresses. I have a very love/hate relationship with the hotter months. I love sundresses, but hate the heat. Love hats and cool breezes, hate lathering on the sunscreen (I'm obviously a super pale girl and turn into a lobster with freckles if I'm out in the sun too long).

So sometimes, when the warmer months finally come around, I at least thank all the good graces that Los Angeles is a desert and therefore cools off in the shade and when the sun goes down. Also THANK GOD I CUT ALL MY HAIR OFF. The weather is definitely warming up here (the idea of putting pants on right now sends me into anxiety, no joke) so I figured it was high time to pull out my favorite summer dress. Also this was on Wear Pink Wednesday - aka the ten year anniversary of that classic movie Mean Girls - so what better time?

You've all seen some of the accessories before so I'm going to skip over them - chambray, gold watch, "Love you" bracelet, gold Texas necklace, yada yada yada. I am nothing if not predictable. Let's talk about the dress.

I love this dress. I love it. I got it from American Eagle two years ago and have not regretted it. I was going to Europe for the first time and was under the impression that the weather would be gorgeous enough to wear sundresses the entire time. Surprise, it wasn't, but that still didn't stop me from buying this dress. It's the perfect shade of hot pink to complement my skin tone, the flowers are delicate and not overbearing, and it has the nicest delicate spaghetti straps that cross in the back and then need to be tied. Oh, most of all, one little detail that makes it the holy grail of sundresses - POCKETS.

(Not to mention, it makes my boobs look amazing).

It's versatile too. I've worn it to Easter with the family and then Disneyland with my friends. I obviously wore it to work on Wednesday and then out for trivia night later. And of course, super comfy. The it's the perfect little fit and flare shape, and the skirt has enough movement to feel comfortable and light - although I did get soaked on a ride wearing it at Disneyland but it dried off pretty quick too! You can pair it with wedges, sandals, or even boots. I've worn it with my cowboy boots and it works just as well. I. Love. This. Dress.

I topped it off with a straw hat I bought at a little boutique here in Studio City, and my trusty Steve Madden gladiator sandals because it was too hot to rock the boots but maybe another day. So ladies, I think it's time to break out your favorite dresses!

Guest Blogger Jordan: OOTD - Cosplay Edition! "There's always a lighthouse..."

If you didn't notice, I like going to cons. I like them a lot and pretty recently I've gotten into cosplaying. This past weekend was Wondercon down in Anaheim, another all around comic book and pop culture con under the CCI umbrella. This year I actually had the time and money to put together a really awesome costume and I super excited about it - especially because I had a partner!

Guest Blogger Jordan: OOTD Thrilling Adventure Hour night!

Ever since I started doing these guest posts for the blog, I've been hyper-critical of all my outfits. Is this one worthy of a blog post? Is it nerdy enough? Is it cute enough? A needless to say it's been a little tough to come up with outfits worthy of posts, or vice versa. Like all of y'all, I have trouble finding ways to put together my nerdy pieces with cuter flair. So this post will be a little departure, because it's not quite nerdy but it's a damn cute outfit.

OOTW: We're all stories in the end… (COSPLAY EDITION!!)

Guest Blogger - Jordan (@jjkeebs via twitter)

Valentine's Day weekend here in LA meant one thing to me: Gallifrey One!

For those that don't know Gallifrey One is a Doctor Who convention here in LA. It's a great little convention that is super cosplay heavy. I went for the first time last year and decided that i would join the legions of people dressed up as variations of their favorite characters.

Thankfully, I have a friend who was more than willing to help me out with my quest. My friend Laura in Texas has almost every outfit from the Amy Pond years, as well as a complete female version of Matt Smith's season five costume (including a blazer I helped her find!). While I was visiting family over the Christmas holidays I was able to sneak over to her place and pick out an outfit of my own to borrow and bring back to the West Coast.

Unfortunately, due to my job and the kids being out of school on that friday, I was only able to attend Saturday and Sunday. I checked out their website and they had a nifty little schedule of cosplay meet ups for everyone dressing up and saw that they had a Doctors costly meet up on Saturday and then through the grapevine found out about an Amy Pond meet up on Sunday. So that planned out my weekend for me, thankfully!

OOTD: How Do you wear your Nerd Machine NES shirt?

Hello lovelies, today I have an awesome post for you. A few weeks ago Jordan and I were chit-chatting about her coming on as a regular for  all her cutest and nerdy OOTD because you guys loved her and well I loved having her be a guest blogger. After joking around and throwing out random ideas, it dawned on me, why don't we do a kind of "how do you wear your Nerd Machine NES shirt" OOTD.  I have been asked "Where did you get that shirt" every time I wear mine in a video, or on instagram, so I can finally answer that question, with a little help from Jordan.

It was perfect! We both have the same shirt, so why not show you guys the different ways to dress it up, how two different people from two different coasts would wear it.The idea was perfect, but put off because the east coast turned into Hoth for a few weeks. But after a few weeks and a lot of outfit changes, I am here to present you with our "How Do you wear your TNM NES shirt" OOTD, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do and remember if you want to follow jordan  all her info will be after her part of the post! Thanks for reading!


ONTO THE OUTFITS!

OOTD: Don't lady me son, I am an Avenger!

Guest Blogger: Jordan

Starting something new always requires a fair amount of psyching up - or out. A pep talk, an awesome song (or whole awesome mix), or some great, call-to-action type quotes. I'm not prepared with any of those things right now so I'm just going to jump right into it. 

Ashley and I have been friends, online, for a few years now. Through various different endeavors. She is my make up and hair guru, my go-to-goddess of all things cosmetic. And judging by her blog and YouTube account, I'm guessing she's that same goddess for a lot of other people, not just me. She helped save my hair when I bleached it for the first time in an effort to dye it peach and I missed a whole stripe around my head. I am constantly IMing her with hair dye questions and make up tips. I trust her implicitly when it comes to the girly stuff like that. 

So when she asked me to write a guest post on her blog, a Nerdy Outfit of the Day post even, I was floored. This woman, this amazing, gorgeous, and stylish girl wanted me to write a post talking about my own nerdy style for her blog. Needless to say, I couldn't say yes fast enough. 

I guess a little about me - My name is Jordan, or JJ, whichever you want. Much like Ashley, I'm a huge nerd. And we both believe really strongly that nerdy girls can be cute and fashionable too… but don't know how to approach it a lot of times. I've made a big effort in the past couple years to try and move past my jeans-and-a-tee formula, but it's also taken me that long to realize that I don't have to. Nerdy fashion is moving in such a way that you can be cute and keep your tees. Hell, fashion itself is nothing if not fun and comfortable. 

I live in an area where the sun is mostly shining and the temperatures stay mostly the same - yes, I live on the opposite coast, and that informs a lot of my fashion choices. I'm lucky, it's easy to plan outfits when your temperatures stay mostly in the same 30 degree range. I value comfort above all else, because if I'm not comfortable then I know I'm not looking my best. I love vintage inspirations and accessories. I love heels as well as flats (standing at 5'3" does that to you). I LOVE colors and think if you can't be brave with those, then where's the fun in dressing up? But I also love my staples. I will wear a cardigan or a chambray with almost anything. I will wear the same pair of jeans until they smell bad (NO SHAME). 

Yet, I think I could confidently call my style "nerdy hipster chic." I have way too many nerdy tee shirts than I know what to do with, so I'm constantly looking for ways to wear them, update them, and be on trend but comfortable and stylish at the same time. So with my posts (of which I hope there will be many more to come!) you might see some patterns, and some pieces getting reused. That's fine, you don't have to be constantly ON TREND to be fashionable. 

Fashion is what you make of it. 

So without much further ado, here is my outfit: