How To: Fashionably Dress for a Convention

This is a question I get asked quite frequently, actually: If you're not cosplaying, how do you dress comfortably AND fashionably for a convention? After nearly 200 conventions under my belt, I've perfected it down to an art form - after a LOT of trial and error.  Here's the things I've learned!

Comfortable Shoes

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Comfortable shoes are the number one most important thing for walking a convention floor. Not only will you probably be walking from the shuttle stop/your hotel to the convention center, but you're going to be spending HOURS on your feet on oftentimes horribly uncomfortable concrete floors. As I am a serial "giant stompy heels" wearer, I sometimes don't take my own advice - and regret it terribly as I lose all feeling in my pinky toe for two weeks straight (yay nerve damage!). I usually save my heels wearing for the after parties or dinners, and stick to trendy yet comfortable shoes for the convention floor. I've found things with big soles really help absorb the pain of being on your feet for 8+ hours. 

Airy, Moveable Dresses

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My go to Convention uniform is usually a dress, comfortable shoes, and a cardigan or light jacket (not anything too heavy, so I can carry it in my bag if I get overheated). I'm not a pants wearer, but I also at times enjoy just a simple long tanktop with some geeky leggings. I like airy, comfortable clothes for geeking out all day in. Above are some of my favorite dress picks!

A Big Huge Bag

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A big huge bag that is comfortable to wear is absolutely CRUCIAL (further down I'll add a bonus checklist of the Convention bag essentials!). Not only do you need your "essentials", you also need something to throw all of the stuff you buy into. I prefer to just have one big bag that does all the work rather than carrying around a bunch from the Vendors (though We Love Fine DOES have the cutest bags ever). I like a big huge side sling purse as it's easily accessible, but a backpack with big straps is also a viable option.

ESSENTIALS

These are THE ESSENTIALS - make sure to always have these with you at a convention! Convention Center food is always ridiculously overpriced ($10 Nachos?! NO THANKS!) so I always carry snacks and water with me. Painkillers, deodorant, travel perfume, lipstick, and concealer also never leave my bag... and of course a camera, sharpies (for getting/giving autographs), and BUSINESS CARDS (cons are the best place to Network EVER!).

What about you guys? What are your convention essentials?

Convention Style: Aki-con 2013

Galaxy Skirt: Romwe // Tanktop: Thrifted // Hat: H&M // Jacket: Love Culture // Boots: JustFab // Jewelry: eBay

Yet another backlogged convention style outfit post. This outfit is from my time at Aki-con a couple of weekends ago. Things are FINALLY kind of calming down in my life - next weekend I have a wedding to attend in Idaho (one of my dearest friends is getting married!) and the weekend after that I decided to run off to Austin for fun and sunshine and good food. However, now that things are calming down I'm feeling really... confused and anxious about my future.

I thought that Fangasm would open all of these doors for me. I suppose that was just wishful thinking on my part - Reality TV rarely gets Jersey Shore huge. I wouldn't take the experience back for the world, but I'm still working my soul sucking day job and now I don't know where I'm going from here. I'm sure I'll figure it out, but lately I've just felt anxious and uncertain!

I do know some things: I won't stop until I get what I want (ultimate goal: Have my own Geek-centric Sitcom!). I have been talking to Kristin about potential awesome things we are doing in the future. I am booking cons for 2014 appearances, so at least I'll be out and about signing autographs and saying hello to all of you. And... I'm trying really hard to move to Los Angeles, because I think that's where I need to be right now. But everything is just so uncertain, argh!

Enough bitching. I love this outfit: it's comfy and cute. I also may own too many galaxy printed things. I may have a problem. I JUST WANT TO BE THE COSMOS SO CARL SAGAN WILL LOVE ME.

PS: Like those ridiculous outtakes? I have a hard time taking most things seriously.

Aki-con 2013: Snapshots

I'm going to admit something here: Sometimes I'm not as strong as I make myself out to be on the internet. Sure, I'm strong, and I have a thick skin, but over the course of Fangasm being on TV and all of the hatred I received there were some moments where I just wanted to hide under my blankets and cry. I had kind of isolated myself from all of my friends because I've been so busy lately, so I was living on the internet and despite myself I was falling prey to some of the cruelty that has been thrown my way for being an outspoken feminist on television.

Aki-con is a small convention here in Seattle, down at a hotel in Seatac. This year they were kind enough to invite me as a guest, so I did a lot of signings and Q&As. I got a hotel room with some of my closest Seattle friends and the entire thing was just so, so good for my soul. I went from feeling lonely and sad to feeling completely fulfilled and happy.

I'm so lucky to be surrounded by strong, outspoken, brilliant women who aren't catty and are a great support network for one another. I feel like sometimes I forget that I have that and start feeling sorry for myself, and this weekend reminded me to suck it up and be super thankful for what I have. It's amazing what good company, good conversation, and an overload of geekiness can do for a girl!

I also made some great new friends, like that brunette babe covered in geeky ink in the above photographs. She's an extremely talented cosplayer known as Feoranna. She and I are getting married, just fyi. And I also spent some time with amazing voice actor David Vincent, who is a truly genuine individual and gave me some really good advice on my career.

Basically, Aki-con was everything I needed... and now I'm super energized and ready for Stan Lee's Comikaze next week where I get to re-unite with all of the Fangasm crew since we filmed our promos back in July! YAY!

NYCC 2013: Snapshots

These are the peeks into my life during my time at New York Comic-con 2013 last week. It was full of booze, friends, love, and singing souls. I cannot express how much I needed this weekend - to explore New York City, to meet amazing people who filled my heart with hopefulness, to surround myself with all that I love and forget the negativity and loneliness that at times pervades my life. I don't really know what I would do without my geeky family.

NYCC 2013: Cosplay

This year at New York Comic-con I took a surprisingly lack of cosplay pics. For a girl who generally amasses nearly 500 photographs a convention, my SD card was shockingly sparse by the end of this weekend. However, there's some reasons for that.

1. The red carpet that Reed Pop just LOVES TO USE makes everything look terrible. TERRIBLE, I TELLS YA.
2. I was walking around with 3 of the other Fangasm cast. We were being stopped for photos constantly. It was hard to take photographs of my own!

However, I did the best I could and here are the snaps of some of my favorite cosplay that I saw. There were a few I REALLY wanted to photograph (like the Breaking Bad cosplay!!), but they were surrounded by too many people or I didn't have time to stop.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my snapshots from my nightlife and NYC adventures.

What about you guys? What was your favorite NYCC cosplay you saw, in person or online?