This fall saw a couple of non-convention events which were cosplay-esque. In September I headed back to Oxford Ren Fest at their new location! I was hoping to have something new and appropriate to wear since Cersei was going to fit even worse this year than last, but the timing wasn't quite right. So I raided my closet and decided to go as a super half-assed Crow. Cosplay-fails aside, I had a good time hanging with friends and I'm looking forward to going again next year (with a better costume, of course). 

Shortly after the Ren-Fest was the big event of autumn: Ragz and Jonathan's wedding! Ragz asked me to be in his wedding party so of course I had to make an outfit, and with absolutely free rein other than the colour scheme, I went full fantasy (yes, this is what I was thinking about wearing to Oxford, but that was before I learned it was before the wedding). I'm calling this outfit "Butterfly Fae", and yes it's gotten it's own gallery page. Please enjoy a small selection of wedding photos <3
Some are mine, but mostly they're pro shots from Paul

October's main attraction is usually Halloween, though this year I double-dipped and added something new: The Oxford Renaissance Festival. I was mostly looking for a substitute event I could cosplay at since I was making a cosplay for my partner with the idea to dress up together for Youmacon as well as Halloween, but when the problems with this year's Youmacon surfaced I decided it wouldn't have been worth the trip. But the ren-fest ended up working out really well - not only would our Game of Thrones costumes be suitable, but we had friends who were already planning to go!

The prep work ended up being two-fold: I was making a basic Robert Baratheon cosplay for my partner (top and crown), as well as alterations on my Cersei (because sadly she no longer fits). My alterations worked out OK; the costume is less accurate now and does not fit well so much as it is wearable, but it is wearable. I made Robert's clothes in 2 garments: an undershirt made of faux leather sleeves stitched to a moisture wicking t-shirt, and a jerkin/tunic layer overtop. The aim was to make the whole thing as comfortable and easy to wear as possible. I purchased a belt to accessorize with, and the only finishing touch needed was the crown, because what is a king without his crown? It's all made of craft foam and if you ignore that I skipped some of the fine details I think it turned out quite well for a rush job! Post-Hallowen I have to replace a few of the gems but it held up well to some hard partying.

Clay's costume was missing all the little details when we went to the Oxford Renaissance Festival, but I did at least get one good photo from Halloween which shows most of the finished cosplay. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep wearing Cersei but I hope that we can maybe hit at least one con together next year.