Costume Maker Magazine

Last summer (of 2009) I visited Taiwan with my family. Before going I searched around online to see if there were any cosplay shops there, since I’ve never encountered any on my previous trips. I was curious to see whether Taiwan’s proximity to Japan meant some of the anime costuming culture would seep over. We did manage to find a cosplay shop, so I thought I’d share some photos with you.

The store turned out to be in Xi Men Ding, an area I’ve heard described as Taiwan’s equivalent to Japan’s Harajuku. Below is a photo of one of the streets in Xi Men Ding so you can get an idea. :]

The shop is called Moe Point and is on the 3rd floor of a building called Moe Moe Center. It’s hard to tell there is a cosplay shop here since the first floor is a clothing shop. A bookstore (with a lot of manga) is on the second floor and a maid cafe is on the 3rd floor next to the actual cosplay shop. :p

The cosplay shop itself was pretty empty when I got there. They seemed to be in the midst of rearranging their inventory. I asked them about the shop and they told me it was one of two or three cosplay shops in Taiwan (I can’t say for sure since I lost my page of notes…).

There didn’t seem to be much else besides lolita clothing and accessories for sale, but it was exciting nonetheless since I’ve never been to any stores like this in the US. :]

I regret not asking what the setup in the corner of this next photo is for. I’m assuming it’s meant for dressing up and taking photos in.

And here’s a close-up of the glass case from the last photo, filled with mainly lolita accessories.

Overall the store was rather empty, but still had a large variety of dresses and styles. To me the prices were surprisingly high, but that may be because I usually shop in cheap clothing stores when I’m in Taiwan (you can’t beat a dress for less than 3 USD ;p ). Their prices were a little lower than what is charged when you purchase lolita clothing online from Japan, but not low enough to entice me to purchase anything.

Despite the prices, I’d still recommend visiting the store, if just to look around. The workers are friendly and informative and the clothing is super cute. :]

I really didn’t see that many cosplay related items while I was in Taiwan. There were the usual anime figurines, clothing, toys, etc but nothing particularly for cosplay. Mainly I only saw lolita clothing. It’s exciting to see how the fashion trend has spread. :] Here’s one last photo for you guys, of one of the few lolita shops I came across while I was in Taiwan.

Please let me know what you guys think of this post! Are you okay with it not being a How-to? Any questions, comments, or concerns are greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that Costume Maker Magazine’s website has been completely redone. Gone is the messy old site created with the content manager system Drupal. It has been replaced with a sparkling new, Wordpress-driven site!

The only downside is that the user accounts couldn’t transfer because of the database change. L I really apologize for the inconvenience, but hopefully the change will be worth it. :]

Here are just a few of the changes that you should check out:

People can now submit articles to the site’s blog!

Now people can submit content to the website as well as to the magazine. Articles, reviews, how-to’s, etc. are accepted and can be submitted with new forms found at this page, Submit Content. I’m also looking for content for Issue 3 of the magazine, so if you’re interested you can visit here or just email me. :]

More ways to advertise!

There are now more ways to spread the word about your shop or business. Not only have the kinks been worked out of the Costume and Supply Shops List (you can submit your shop through a simple form), but there are also ads available on the right-hand column of the website at very affordable prices. Advertising in the print magazine is also still available, and all ad related info can be found here.

I don’t want to bore you so I’ll leave it at that for now, but I hope you’ll have a chance to explore the new website!

Thanks for all your support,
Selina

Hi everyone!

After a lot of experimenting with galleries and some other user generated content, I’ve decided that it’s too much for me to manage at the moment. I can’t get the user galleries to be as refined as I’d like them and I think it would make the website feel a lot cleaner and smoother if I removed those parts of the site.

I’m going to be working on a new, more blog-like layout for costumemakermagazine.com. :] Hopefully all of the users registered will remain when I make the change. Some user information (such as age, location, etc.) will probably disappear. The galleries and all uploaded costumes will be gone for sure. I just wanted to warn anyone who may want to save their information before I change the website.

I’ve been really busy with college lately (this is my first year) and you may have noticed a decrease in organization of content for the third issue of the magazine. For everyone who is wondering, I am still continuing the magazine! I’m just trying to get everything organized in my own life first before I get everyone involved in the magazine. :] I do still answer emails almost every day and continue to sell the past two issues.

Thank you for your patience!

Challenge

Submit any type of costume (cosplay, historical, original) that goes along with the theme “The Sky’s the Limit”. There are many ways to do this, from displaying the theme in the colors you choose to depicting it in the subject matter of the costume. If you feel a need to explain how your costume fits the theme, please feel free to do so. :]

How to Enter

1. Send an email to submit@costumemakermagazine.com with:
-Your name (as much of it as you don’t mind being printed)
-Your Country and State (if it applies)
-Name of the Costume
-A short description about the costume(optional)
-(If it’s cosplay) The name of the character and series
-Name of person in picture
-The name of the photgrapher (if you feel it’s needed)
-Whether or not you agree to the Terms and Agreements and contest rules.
-The image attached (please no smaller than 300×400 pixels!)

Rules

1. The costume was made by you (meaning you made the majority of it).
2. The model in the picture must be informed of and okay with his/her picture appearing in the magazine.
3. You accept that your entry may be used both in the magazine and for promotional purposes as well.
4. If you are under 18, you must have parental permission to enter.
By entering, it means that you have read and agreed to the rules. These rules are subject to change, so make sure to check for updates. ^^

Deadline

December 31, 2009
Sorry, late entries will not be accepted (though the deadline may be extended if need be).

Prizes

If no prizes are donated, they will be as follows:
1st Place: Costume featured on the cover, $20 gift card to Jo-Ann Fabrics, & a copy of CMM Issue 3
2nd Place: $10 gift to Jo-Ann Fabrics & a copy of CMM Issue 3
3rd Place: A copy of CMM Issue 3

Spread the Word

We’d love it if you helped us to spread the word about the contest! By copying and pasting the code below, you’ll get a banner the looks like this and links back to this page:

<a href=”http://www.costumemakermagazine.com/?q=node/35″ mce_href=”http://www.szmoon.net/contribute/contest-entry”><img src=”http://www.costumemakermagazine.com/images/misc/contestbanner.gif” mce_src=”http://www.szmoon.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/contestbanner.gif”></a>

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m going to be in Taiwan from May 31 through June 11, so I won’t be around much online during that time. I’m also going to take away the paypal links on the page to purchase the magazine since I won’t be able to ship them out until after I get back. Thank you for your patience if you’re waiting to purchase one!

But here’s a secret I’ll share with you guys; I’m working on a completely new website this summer. I’ll be using Ruby on Rails (which I’m going to learn with the help of my (brother) instead of Drupal so that I can customize it to fit this site’s needs. It’s going to take me a while, but I hope that it will be muchmore organized and user friendly.

Hope everyone’s having a great summer!
~Selina

I was contacted by a Sandy Illian Bosh of The Doings who wanted to do a feature on Costume Maker Magazine. It’s an awesome article, and really great publicity for the magazine.

The article can be found here on their website: Link

I apologize that it looks like it’s painful for me to smile in the pictures. D; I think I’m really camera shy when it comes to taking pictures with strangers (when I’m not in costume xD).

~Selina

We now have a newly organized photo gallery for the website for photographs taken at conventions, fairs, etc!

The photos we took at Anime Central 2009 are the newest additions to it. They can be found at these two links:

If there is anyone interested in submitting photos to this gallery, feel free to contact me at lina@szmoon.net . Photos of any conventions, fairs, etc are accepted.

Convention Photos

Just send me an email if you want me to send the full-size file. :]

When I first picked up Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume, by Elizabeth Friendship, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Some clothing construction books are only useful once or twice; others are the kind you keep on your shelf as a source to be referenced over and over, and after reading through Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume, I could tell that it was this kind.

Unlike books that teach you step by step how to make specific projects, Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume instructs readers on various techniques of drafting patterns that can be used on any project. It goes through ways to expand, decrease, and otherwise alter patterns, and also provides basic patterns for period costume. All of these skills can then be used to adjust patterns to fit any body size and shape. Friendship teaches in the hope that the reader can utilize these techniques on his or her own projects.

Another highlight of the book is its clear instructions and the diagrams used when explaining the various pattern drafting techniques. Many charts of measurements and ratios are provided and are useful to refer back to.

Also provided are the histories of the different types of garments (breeches, shirts, coats, etc.) and how they changed and evolved over time, helping to place them in the correct historical context. The book covers the clothing of men between the 16th and 19th centuries, including different classes and both fashionable and unfashionable clothing.

However, this book wasn’t written for complete beginners to sewing and costuming. Friendship assumes prior knowledge to these fields, and some terms are therefore left undefined. Also a little untidy is the presence of a few grammatical errors, though they don’t interfere with the clearness of the instructions and will no doubt be corrected in future editions of the book.

It is clear that Elizabeth Friendship is highly qualified to instruct on the subject of pattern cutting. It’s shown not only by her detailed directions but also by her impressive resume; she was head of Theatre Design at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for 25 years and has worked in many different types of productions. This experience is readily noticeable in Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume, and makes it a handy addition to any costumer’s library.

Pattern Cutting for Men’s Costume
Elizabeth Friendship
2008; Methuen Drama
ISBN 978-1408100066

Reviewer: Selina Zawacki

Right now, if you order more than one printed copy of any issue, you can save on shipping. Regular shipping is $1.99 per issue.

The sale is as follows:
2 printed copies: $2.99 shipping (save $1)
3 printed copies: $3.99 shipping (save $2)
4 printed copies: $4.99 shipping (save $3)
5+ printed copies: $5.99 shipping

(The final sale prices are only applicable to shipping inside the United States. Other countries still get the same discounts however.)