Oh, you don't remember Wendy? The lifeguard? And basically ten year old me's dream for my future prospects. Spoiler alert: I did not in fact grow up to look like Wendy Peffercorn. But now that I'm older, wiser, and have mastered the art of red lipstick (sort of), I planned to use this opportunity to live out my dreams of being the prettiest girl in the neighborhood.
Editor's note: Common Novel will be taking a break from posting new content. Check back in May for some more celebrations of our favorite properties. When I realized I'd get to dress up as a character from The Sandlot, I knew exactly who would inspire my outfit: Wendy Peffercorn. Oh, you don't remember Wendy? The lifeguard? And basically ten year old me's dream for my future prospects. Spoiler alert: I did not in fact grow up to look like Wendy Peffercorn. But now that I'm older, wiser, and have mastered the art of red lipstick (sort of), I planned to use this opportunity to live out my dreams of being the prettiest girl in the neighborhood. Then life happened. And I dressed up like Benny 'the Jet' Rodriguez.
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![]() Superhero cosplay often involves a lot of things I don't have. Namely, a penis. Unfortunately, I'm also lacking in the spandex department, and my abs aren't particularly impressive either. While lady superheroes are becoming more well-known all the time, dude superheroes still dominate the pop-culture landscape, making any attempt to really cosplay a superhero slightly challenging for a lady. But that's sort of the great thing about everyday cosplay. I can draw inspiration from my favorite superheroes to create an outfit that's more flattering for more not so subtle lady parts. Because let's be real, have you seen Deadpool's ass in that spandex? There's no way I could ever live up to that. Plus, I can't very well waltz into my kid's daycare with Deadpool's cache of weapons. No, if I want to pull of a Merc with the Mouth inspired outfit, it has to be slightly more flattering and slightly more subtle. For Psych week, I'm dressing as one of my favorite characters in the series: the Blueberry. The Blueberry is Gus's car, and at first glance, it may appear as an odd choice. But the Blueberry is in almost every episode, and it's much beloved by the characters. I love the Blueberry so much that I bought a blue Honda Fit and called it Blueberry in homage (though I've also been asked if my car is Tardis Blue, so my car is pretty pleasing for all fandoms).
Also, as a lady, it's really hard for me to cosplay Shawn or Gus. Shawn looks like he walked straight out of an American Eagle ad, and Gus just wears men's business casual. Then there's Juliet, but she just wears suits everyday. And I don't have much use for suit wearing. I did consider cosplaying a pineapple, but finding a yellow dress in February is a Herculean task. So I landed squarely on the Blueberry, despite it being a car. I mean, this isn't unprecedented--there was that one time I dressed up as R2D2. And it turns out, pulling together a Blueberry cosplay is pretty damn easy. Wearable Cosplay Wednesday is a weekly series where we show you have to piece together outfits inspired by your favorite characters with items already located in your closet.
I'd describe Bianca Piper's look as 90's grunge mixed with modern hair and make-up sensibilities. There's a lot of overalls happening in her look--I mean, she has both pant and short overalls. There's also a lot of flannel. But, the good news is that you can easily look exactly like Bianca if you're willing to wear overalls and tie a flannel shirt around your waist. I'm not. ![]() Wearable Cosplay Wednesday is a weekly series where we guide you through a casual cosplay of one of your favorite characters. Harper Price has always been one of my favorite YA heroines. She's strong, smart, and type A, but she's also a total realist. I remember a part in the book where her mentor was like, "You may have to sacrifice yourself for someone else." Harper's response was basically, "Thanks, but no thanks." Plus, she's the protagonist and most recognizable character in Rebel Belle. So it was pretty clear to me my casual cosplay for this week would be Harper Price inspired. It's difficult to come up with a casual cosplay for a book character. It's not as if books come with a visual guide. So unless the book has been adapted into a movie or television show, you really have to piece together outfit clues from the book. Since Harper Price has never been adapted for the screen, I had my work cut out for me. Wearable Cosplay Wednesday is a weekly series where we walk you through a casual cosplay of your favorite character.
Once I decided I was taking on all things Rat Queens this week, I knew this was going to be my chance to casual cosplay Betty. Betty is a great choice for casual cosplay both because she's an awesome character and because her outfit is seemingly pretty easy to replicate. With the exception of her hood and crop top, she's basically already wearing my everyday clothes. So, how hard could it be? Wearable Cosplay Wednesday is a weekly series where we show you how to casually dress like your favorite characters. Like secret cosplay. Because sometimes we just want to look like a gd superhero without all the judgment, kay? But we don't just present you with a Polyvore Board--no, Rachel takes the plunge and actually shows you what the outfit looks like IRL.
The obvious choice for a Star Wars cosplay is Princess Leia. Long flowy white dress, white and silver belt, ridiculous bun hair, and maybe a blaster, and you're all done. Forget about casual cosplay--you could probably go full-on Princess Leia without even trying too hard. But, as much as I love Princess Leia, I wasn't feeling up to dressing up as one of the most badass female heroes in cinema on a day when I barely got five hours of sleep. Princess Leia is a take charge, kickass kind of lady; and today I wanted to blend in. I guess you could say, I didn't want to be the droid people were looking for. So today, I took the opportunity to play a quieter, yet still pivotal role in the world. The role of R2-D2. Wearable Cosplay Wednesday is a weekly series where we show you how to dress like your favorite characters without the militancy of regular cosplay. Because sometimes we just want to look like a gd superhero without all the judgment, kay? But we don't just present you with a Polyvore Board--no, Rachel takes the plunge for us and actually shows you what the outfit looks like IRL. Think of these as outfits you either a) already have all the pieces to in your closet or b) can easily pull together with some quick Target purchases.
So you woke up today and thought, "I want to be a superhero." I mean, I assume that's what you thought. It's what I think everyday, especially on days like today where I've got mountains of stuff to accomplish. But superheroes have a tendency to dress in ridiculous, often skin-tight, costumes. Now, I don't know what your situation is, but I do know that my kid's school would frown upon me coming in wearing what basically amounts to a bathing suit. So, for today, Wonder Woman was out. But, lucky for me, there's a new lady badass in town, and her name is Jessica Jones. |
About UsCommon Novel is a celebration of genre reading. It’s a celebration of the tattered paperback, of the third-time-through, and of the book that’s currently living in your purse. It’s a celebration of the genres themselves: romance, young adult, new adult, horror, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy. Archives
January 2016
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