2021 WonderCon Masquerade@Home - Victorian Poison Ivy
WonderCon Masquerade Contest: Catherine M. Fisher of Cat Designs Unlimited
Costume Name: Victorian Poison Ivy
Costume Description: My favorite character to cosplay all dressed up as a woman of class from the late 1800s!
I haven’t been costuming as much this year as I should be and while I was half expecting there to be a WonderCon Masquerade@home like last year’s Comic Con Masquerade@home, I was still taken by surprise to get the email on March 12 announcing we could submit WC Masquerade entries. Like last year for SDCC 2020@home, it took me a while to figure out what to make in such a short time that would still be Masquerade worthy. St. Patrick’s Day was coming up and I don’t know if all that green had anything to do with it, but the idea of a Victorian Poison Ivy popped into my head and I knew she was meant to be my entry this year! I’ve done many incarnations of Poison Ivy (my favorite villainess of all time), and Victorian Poison Ivy is definitely up there as one of my new favorites. I’m better known for my sexy leggy costumes, but after my first foray into period costuming thanks to Gaslight Gathering 2011, I developed a taste for the beautiful formal gowns of the Victorian era and knew one day I’d make a fancy formal version of everyone’s favorite redhead vamp, and this year’s WonderCon Masquerade@home was just the inspiration I needed to make it happen! I’m very pleased with how this turned out even if it’s a little different than I originally envisioned it to be. I had originally planned on glittering a TON of ivy leaves and trimming the gown with a variety of glittered leaves, but once it was made, I decided that in Victorian Poison Ivy’s case less is more, and chose to use a few leaves here and there as accents. Glitter is one of my favorite mediums, and no Poison Ivy costume is complete without a pair of glittered emerald slippers, so I got my glitter fix that way. There was a lot of fabric involved (9 yards for the gown and 6 yards of netting just for the bustle), a lot more hand sewing than I’d anticipated and in the end, it was 100% worth the extra effort bring Victorian Poison Ivy to life! I made this gown in about 24 hours over the course of two and a half days, and while she may not show as much skin as my other versions of Poison Ivy, I still feel incredibly sexy sashaying around as Victorian Poison Ivy – if you see her coming your way, you better watch out!!!
Bio: I’ve entered the SDCC Masquerade since my first year attending Comic Con (2005), and I entered WonderCon’s Masquerade from 2008 to 2013. I was planning on entering back in 2019, but some outside circumstances prevented me from attending that year, so I was hoping to get back into the swing of things this year, but sadly WonderCon was postponed yet again, so this was a great way to jump back into the WC Masquerade scene! I know this year’s entry isn’t as big or as fancy as some of my past entries, but I think she’s a great addition to an awesome array of entries this year, and as always, it’s an honor to be part of the Masquerade!
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