Debbie already had her “Oz-girl” costume from a previous event, as did Mia. Kathe had her Glinda costume as well. We needed to add Elphaba, The Wizard, Dorothy and Prince Fiero, for our version of The Dating Game.

The musical Wicked used a lot of asymmetry in the costumes.  So I went to my Professor McGonnigall costume to see if it would work.  I thought that the black top was a bit too plain for this, so made the same top in a stretch lace and just put a black t-shirt under it.  This, of course, meant that not only did I need makeup on my face, but also on my hands and forearms.  I asked folks about brands of makeup that worked well.   I opted for the Ben Nye in part because it was easy to get, and used the CL-3 Green with some CL-2 Forest Green for contours/low-lights.  I also found a green eyeliner and a green glitter nail polish.

The hat needed a bit of work, as the brim in the show has a defined shape.  I added bias tape to the edge after finally attaching the millinery wire to the edge of the brim.  And then realized that since I was wearing a wig, the hat wouldn’t stay on without a pair of really big hat pins.

2011 was an unusual year for the Oscars party.

My mother-in-law had been ill and wasn’t allowed to travel to altitude.  So we got to host the party.  We thought that doing characters from Toy Story 3 would be fun and easy, and most importantly for us as hosts, comfortable to run around in.

I found the cow-print fabric on-line.  It has a bit of a nap like a real hide might, although it’s washable.  I used the Tandy Leather chaps pattern, and lined them with denim.  The typical last minute costume work was actually cutting the fringe while the caterers were setting up.  I cut up an old shirt of Stephen’s to make the vest pattern.

I used some yellow fabric to create the contrasting yoke which I just sewed on top of the shirt, and then some red ribbon to make the pattern.  I never did make cuffs.  Both shirts were purchased from a western-wear e-store.

Even more important than the cow-print fabric was the red hat for Jessie.  Once I found that, at a local western store, I knew the costume set was a go.

We also had Mr & Mrs Potatohead as guests at the party. We were all bummed that Toy Story 3 didn’t win anything.