After thinking that we weren't going to be able to make it to GallifreyOne next month -- and after much sadness given the impressive guest list this year -- somehow the planets aligned and made it possible for me and Jack to actually be able to go! The host hotel sold out months ago, naturally, but we found a good room only about half a block away, so it shouldn't be too bad.
With only about a month left to go, I decided not to try to sew any new costumes last minute. I've got five Doctor Who cosplays that I'm really happy with -- MOTOE Clara Oswald, Oswin Oswald, River Song, the Moment, and Thirteenth Doctor wearing Twelve's suit -- which is plenty for Thursday evening through Sunday morning. They're all comfortable and con-tested at this point, so it'll be nice not to be stressing about making anything in the weeks leading up to Gally1.
It's been awhile since I've worn any of them, though, so i need to get them all out of storage and see if anything needs to be fixed or adjusted or washed or brushed or whatever. I've got wigs for all five, so I'll just keep my hair in french braided pigtails all weekend to make swapping wigs easier, I think.
I know I have a few small repairs and adjustments to do on Oswin's belt -- a magnetic closure that came unglued when I wore it last at Dragon Con 2023, and some other notes I jotted down about it when I wore then, which was the first time it left the house despite finishing it in 2020. Probably less than a day of work all told, based on my notes from '23, but I'll give it a good once-over along with the other costumes.
On that list of 'fix for next time' is a bullet point that just says 'watch?' The one piece of the Oswin Oswald costume I've never been able to source is her watch, which according to other people online who have done the research is a Storm Junior watch from 1991.
The originals come up on resale sites now and then, but tend to be rather expensive given that people want them for cosplay. My Oswin is pretty damn screen-accurate, but when it comes to little details I more go for the vibe than exact -- I wear red Converse high tops instead of wedge sneakers, just for comfort walking around at cons, for instance. So I'm not terribly interested in getting the screen-used model so much as I want to match the vibe of the watch -- which Oswin seems to use more like a tiny computer or a communicator than a watch, anyway:
I looked around at some options online and briefly considered an Edge Co Machine III Steampunk Cylinder Piston watch I found on eBay:
Which I do think would be a solid stand-in, with similar lines and the faceplate that lifts up and everything. But I wasn't sure if I liked how tall the faceplate was, and since it was on eBay I wouldn't be able to return it if it ended up being too big for me.
I did consider getting a cheap watch in roughly the right shape and then building out the faceplate with foam or something, but even just trying to figure out how to get that to attach and not look awful was daunting. And then I came across this completely ridiculous watch on Amazon. No hinged faceplate, but matches the futuristic vibes of Oswin's watch. I ran all three options past Jack, and he also picked the ridiculous Amazon one, so I went ahead and ordered it.
When it arrived today I had to set the time and date, and then remove like a third of the band so it would fit me, lol. But look at this thing. It's so silly. I love it.
Screen accurate? No. But it's a significant upgrade from the silver bracelet I wore with this costume before:
I also went ahead and ordered more letter beads for making bracelets -- GallifreyOne has always been big on badge ribbons, but at Dragon Con 2023 I made bracelets and gave them to people (there's one on my right wrist in the photo above) rather than ribbons, and I much preferred that. For my MOTOE Clara cosplay, I made one in black and silver that went with the rest of the costume jewelry for that outfit, that read 'Don't Stop Me Now' and giving it to the fellow Whovian who gasped and yelled "Clara!!" when she saw me was one of the highlights of that weekend. And at the airport heading home, some random Dragon Con attendee saw my Targaryen tank top and gave me a beaded bracelet that read 'Syrax' and it's my favorite thing I brought home from that con. If I can create moments like those at Gally1 by making themed bracelets instead of ribbons, it's worth the extra effort over just ordering ribbons.
I still have beads left over from '23, of course, but all in red, black, and silver, so I ordered some gold beads and a mixed color pack in warm tones, to go better with the Moment and River in particular. Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try to come up with quotes and phrases for each of my Doctor Who cosplays, as well as a few general Doctor Who and Gally1 phrases, so I'll have something to give out when ribbon exchanges happen. I might also experiment with a beaded thing that isn't a bracelet, like something that can be safety pinned to a lanyard or a badge ribbon, for those who would prefer that. I'll have to do some experimenting and see what works.
Doing any needed repairs and wig re-styling and making those beaded ribbon alternatives should give me a nice little pile of pre-con projects to help me get psyched up next month, while not having the pressure of actually trying to sew a whole new cosplay in that time. And hey, if I get a little of my everyday-wear sewing done in the next month too, all the better.
