A heart’s a heavy burden
Many years ago, I watched Hayao Miyazaki’s film “Howl’s Moving Castle”. The music and animation were wonderful with many memorable characters. I found out after that it was based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones. Only a few months ago I read the book the movie was based on. The characters were just as memorable and imaginative. I decided after reading it that I wanted to create a costume for at least one character. Almost as if by magic (pun intended), I came across an amazing illustration by artist Sakimichan on DeviantArt. Her illustration displayed the main characters but gender bent. For those who don’t know, it’s pretty common for fans to gender bend or crossplay their favorite characters. This artist changed the genders for multiple well-known tales, but this one stuck out to me. Maybe because my hair is blonde, or perhaps I was feeling particularly magical.
Whatever the case, I decided to go for it! The costume was not as difficult to put together as I thought it would be. I used a white button up and high waist black pants as the base. I also found some black boots at the thrift store and a pink blazer. The pink blazer was the real find because it makes Howl’s costume eccentric, just like him. I ended up painting on the blazer to get the pattern on his jacket, as well as making his jewelry. The final step was a pair of bright blue contacts to compliment his blonde hair.
May all your bacon burn…
And of course, the costume wouldn’t be complete without Howl’s fire demon, Calcifer. Too bad I didn’t have a fire demon to use for the shoot! Good thing photoshop exists. And I suppose it was good practice for my acting skills to interact with something that wasn’t there.
The hardest part of this costume was having patience while making the pattern on the coat. I also was drawing the pattern free-hand, so it didn’t always line up, but again, my patience was running thin. Especially waiting for the paint to dry before moving to the next set.
I think we ought to live happily ever after
If you are looking for an interesting animation to watch, I highly suggest any of Miyazaki’s films. And if you are interested in seeing some of your favorite villains as a different gender, check out Sakimichan’s work at https://sakimichan.deviantart.com/art/Howl-s-morning-Breeze-493174186
Only a few more days until Halloween! Any guesses on the last costume for this year’s Month Of Masquerades?
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