COSTUMES 2010: Lieutenant Commander Tzirphun H'nahh* (Star Trek Science Officer)

On my planet "to rest" is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass using energy instead of saving it. --Spock in Shore Leave

My oldest daughter has always been into make-believe and drawing since she could start changing clothes and hold a crayon.

self-portrait at 2.5 years old

And when she was accepted into an art school at 7th grade, she found others who shared the same interest.  Can you imagine going to school in cosplay* whenever you want, and no one would give you weird looks or laugh at you? She once said, "Mom, it's an art school.  Everyone's quirky." (That would've been the perfect place for me!)

Throughout the whole school year, they would ALL pretend to be on board a starship.  Don't worry, they all do their studies well.  They snap out of it once they're in class.  But during breaks or in the hallway, they would address each other with their science fiction names.  Ahh...to be young & silly.

For her going away present to her classmates, she illustrated her crew in their "uniforms" (see below). And for her costume last month, she requested to be the character she's developed and have been writing about, Tzirphun H'nahh.  I confidently responded, "I thought you'd never asked. No problem."

Or so I thought.  Blue shirt, that's easy.  Went to Old Navy.  Got one.  Went to Target.  Got another one (just in case). Came home. Guess what?  Too dark!  Too bright!  Went to return both, and got the perfect shade sweater. Came home.  Too loose!  Too sweatery! And if I have to alter, it would take as much time as to sew it.  So I decided to chuck that idea, and went to JoAnn's and picked up the right material and shade of blue which I should've done in the first place.  

A week before the festivals, she asked, "Uhh Mom, when are you going to start my costume?"  I told her not to worry.  It'll be done before she knows it.

Or so I thought.  Again!  Yikes!  Time is a-ticking, and really it was an easy shirt to make.  But I've never done the sleeves correctly before.  I always wonder why they ruffled by the shoulders, and it never bothered me before.  This time it did so I spent the whole night reading up online how to make the sleeves not ruffled!  I know what you're thinking..."what of it!?"  But I was determined to do this. And I did it!  Yes, what a life!  Simple!  I love it!

It was all downhill from there.  The neckline was easy. I simply cut it off from a gently-used black t-shirt and attached it to the now-almost-done shirt. I made the rest of the t-shirt into a skirt for my other daughter's costume so nothing was wasted.

I have several trimmings from my "I could use these someday" batch.  For the logo, I have plenty of felt for it.  I think I could've done better but it worked well.  She was pleased.  That's all that matters at this time.

As for those Vulcan-Elvish ears. Well, the ears are the most expensive.  They cost about $10-12 a pair plus shipping & handling. But we had a better solution: Band-Aid.  Yup.  It costs us zip-nada-nil.  You have to use opaque, not clear, ones to make it work.  

I didn't take a photo of her ears.  I'll do that later.  I wanted to share this post before it's too late.  Enjoy.

*cosplay = costume wear

*Please don't ask me how to pronounce it.