Period Cosplayers Are My New Favorite Thing
If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time whatsoever, you know how much our family loves any excuse to dress up in costume. Renaissance faires, genre conventions, spirit weeks, and even DND sessions are the moments we live for. We even dress up for fandom-related TV shows and movie premieres – like the pineapple-themed attire we all wore to the “Psych” finale or the DHARMA Initiative coveralls I rocked for the “LOST” finale at Circle Cinema.
Since hubby is only a vicarious geek and tends to reserve the silliness for Halloween, I’ve been really grateful to have kids who love it just as much as I do. As Tara and Joss of Spaghetti on the Wall can attest to, there’s little that’s more fun than dressing up as a family. Over here in our Coffee Nebula, we’ve managed to collect a closet full of costume pieces through the years so we’re always ready for the next LARPing opportunity. And more recently, my chief cosplay partner-in-crime Lucy and I have stumbled onto a whole genre of social media influencers that we can’t get enough of – period cosplayers who incorporate their vintage, medieval, or fantasy aesthetic into their everyday lives.
To be fair, I’ve been following a handful of these folks for a couple of years. But it seems like more people than ever are embracing the whole period fantasy lifestyle, and in doing so they’re generating tons of gorgeous content to swoon over. And because I will never not be the nerdy girl who wanted to live in a fantasy book and canoodle with the Goblin King in dreamy, iridescent, puffy-sleeved dresses, I’m here for all of it.
If you’re as much of a Disney adult as I am or you just love the visual ASMR, I’m sharing a few of my favorites this week.
1. Rachel Maksy
Rachel is one of the cosplayers I’ve been following for a while now. I first stumbled onto her page while looking for an Arctic Fox haircolor recipe, but I was instantly engrossed in her world. Rachel lives in a dreamy old farmhouse where she creates a lot of vintage 20th century cosplays, most of them suitable for daily wear. Think autumn colors, a lot of cottagecore 1930s to 1950s fashions and a little bit of the Shire aesthetic. She recreates a lot of period patterns, and she’s a great resource for inspiration if the soundtrack of your life is “La Vie en Rose.”
2. Scarlett O’Hair (Molly Katherine)
I first found Molly’s page while searching for long hair inspo – starting to see a pattern here. After literally two decades of swearing off super-long hair because I was forced to wear it as a teenager, I realized that having long hair because I enjoy doing fun cosplay things with it is a completely empowering experience.
Molly has extremely long hair, and she uses it to pull off all kinds of amazing Lagertha-inspired looks. But she also integrates fantasy wear into her daily attire in simple, remarkable ways, pulling pieces from artists, reworking thrifted elements, and even creating her own. If you’ve ever contemplated whether you could pull off integrating a medieval cloak into your grocery shopping look, this is a good creator to follow.
3. Duchess Milianda
I wasn’t searching for hair anything when I came across Duchess Milianda, but I have to admit it was her tutorial on Gibson Girl hair that drew me in – I’ve loved Gibson Girl hair ever since I watched “Anne of Avonlea” as a kid. And yes, I’ve already tried the tutorial on myself.
Milianda is a mostly 18th and 19th century cosplayer who creates and sells amazing clothing that makes my little inner goth girl’s heart sing. She recreates a lot of historical clothing, tries out period makeup and hair looks, and basically lives in attire that all of my Jane Austen-loving college friends dream of.
4. Trina Ericzon
If you’re looking for ideas on how to rock a casual corset, this Norwegian costumer has you covered. Besides incredible cosplays, Trina’s Insta is full of retro hair waves and Gunne Sax dresses to make your heart skip a beat.
5. Sew Rena
Rena is a seamstress and crafter with a special interest in mid-century fashions – especially the gorgeous, together looks you’d see in a show like “Mad Men.” If you’ve ever wondered how your grandma or great-grandparent looked so together in all of her photos, Rena is the living embodiment of that aesthetic. Here, you’ll find loads of super fluffy 1950s skirts and slick vintage looks you’d wear to a retrofuturist cocktail party.
Do you have a favorite larp or historical costumer? Let me know in the comments, and have a beautiful week in your little nebula!
