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sartorial geek

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Photo by Sana Sadiq Photography

It’s 75F with about 80 percent humidity. I am sticky, sunburnt, every muscle hurts and my lungs threaten to picket in search of more airtime. My hand hurts from holding my broom and I have several bruises already forming. A finger on my other hand got squished in the battle for a bludger.

I hear cheers behind me, and thank goodness, we caught the snitch. This game is over and we’re victorious. I high five my teammates and after our discussion, race to the shade where I feel like melting into the blanket.

Welcome to Texas, where football may be #1, but quidditch rules in other circles.

That’s “quidditch”, with a small q, defined by Oxford Dictionary as a noun.

Warning: May Contain Spoilers For The Last Jedi

I, like many other geeks out there, have been blown away by the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi. Seriously, my jaw dropped half way through the movie, and I could not pick it back up again.  

As a long-time fan of the Star Wars universe, from my undying love of the original trilogy, my shameless defense of the prequels, and my almost endless consumption of the books, TV series, and spin off movies, I can say that The Last Jedi might be my new favorite.

London has been a destination city for people from around the world for literally centuries, and it’s certainly no different today. The city is steeped in history, is a melting pot of culture, and is home to some of the most notable works of art and familiar architectural landmarks in the world. To us, it’s also home to many of our favourite shows and films, from Sherlock to Notting Hill and everything in between. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up Harry Potter.

“What age should my son be before I show him to Doctor Who?”  “My daughter is 6, she’s ready for Harry Potter, right?”

I’ve attended and participated in numerous  “Introducing Kids to Fandom” & “Parenting Geeks” panels at conventions that have featured child psychologists, educators, religious figures, writers, and other stay-at-home parents. The one definitive thing I’ve learned is that everyone has an equally strong, but wildly varying opinion on these types of questions.

Whether you’re a writer, a painter, a sculptor, a cosplayer, or any of the other was you can express yourself creatively, you are sure to have one thing in common with your fellow creators: doubt. Doubt, and big nasty burning hills of it. It comes with the territory.

“Am I really talented?” “Am I just ripping off the creators I like?” “Are my friends just saying they like my work because they’re my friends?” “Why do people only like my work when I copy current trends?” All things we will ask ourselves at least once a week, no matter how well we’re doing or how polished our work is. And then every few months, we hit a spiral. You know the one: where you don’t want to lift your pen or sit at your computer, where nothing seems right, where you cannot convince yourself you have anything good to give.

URAHARA sympathizes, too. And it’s here to tell you you’re not alone – and that your hard work is worth it.

I’ve never had exceptionally high hopes for spin-offs, but when it was announced Freeform picked up grown-ish, a series about black-ish oldest daughter Zoey Johnson going off to college, I was intrigued.

So, I came for my love of Black-ish. I stayed because, in just one episode, Grown-ish proved to be the most arguably fashionable show currently on the air. And along the way, I fell in love with every single one of these insanely talented kids and their stories, living through each of them as someone who didn’t have a traditional college freshman experience (fashion school in the middle of the city with a 90% female population. None of that last 10% was as dreamy as Luka Sabbat.)

Hello fellow fashionable geeks! My name is Kate, and I’m going to be kicking off a series of posts on cosplay and fandom fashion with a beginner’s tutorial on how to cosplay as Rey, complete with handy-dandy links and everything you need to become everyone’s favorite Jedi heroine!

The first time I wore it out to a convention, I had butterflies the entire Lyft ride there. What would people think of my outfit? Was I just a big faker who couldn’t keep up with those really talented cosplayers? Should I have just worn real people clothes and not put myself out there?

Unless every red carpet from now on serves looks as iconic as those that graced the purple carpet at the Black Panther premier, I don’t want to hear about it. The film’s Monday night premier called for “regal attire” fit for Wakandan royalty. Surprising nobody, everyone showed up and showed out.

And because of this, all other red carpets have been ruined for me.

Here are some of my favorites: