Review – Philadelphia City Paper
Published February 12 – February 18, 1999
Dress-Up Day
Pardon Me, is that a light saber, or are you just happy to see me?
By Megan W. Fraser
“I’m driven to it, it’s my main outlet,” says Lisa Ashton, a 42-year-old physician’s assistant from Baltimore who, as a hobby, likes to dress up in fantasy costume. Ashton and partner Ming Diaz cleaned up at last year’s Science Fiction fest — Phil-Con ’98 — winning “Best Workmanship,” “Best in Class” and “Best in Show” for their portrayals of Merlin and Morgaine. They’ll be the ones to watch at this year’s Costume-Con XVII — the annual conference for science fiction, fantasy and historical costume freaks, held for the first time in the Philadelphia area (Cherry Hill).
Hosted by the Lunatic Phrynge, Philadelphia’s local chapter of the International Costumers Guild, Costume-Con is the mother of all masquerade events, where characters from Star Wars, Knights of the Round Table and Transylvania are the reigning couture. The conference offers numerous programs, ranging from “how to make costumes from Goodwill” to tips on researching historical dress to, of course, how to make your own chain mail. But the climax is the masquerade competitions in which participants show off their feathers, sequins, plastic, leather and fur on stage. This year’s conference will have the standard contests: fantasy/science fiction; future fashion (now including a bra contest — Madonna, eat your heart out — that was started in reaction to last year’s “cod piece” contest); and historical fashion, and will also feature a competition in which people dress up dolls.
Last year’s Phil-Con provided a preview of what kind of costumes and people to expect: a Titanic victim played by a 27-year-old software developer, Thomas Jefferson’s wife Martha, in real life a lawyer from Jenkintown; a 20-something Teletubby, cigarette and drink in hand; a Star Wars Imperial Storm Trooper created by a 51-year-old tax auditor from New Jersey; and a 23-year-old Ewok from Canada.
Wander the halls, take some workshops — but at the least, go to one of the masquerades. According to Pat Ritter, the corpse of the unsinkable ship at Phil-Con ’98 and an organizer of Costume-Con XVII, you’ll have to pick up your jaw off the floor.
