Confessions of a Seamstress: The Once Upon a Time Fan Meetup and Cosplay Photoshoot at CONvergence 2015 (Guest Post)

I'm delighted to introduce a guest post by Melissa Adorn! Melissa and I have frequented the same convention before (I actually photographed her Arwen costume once!) and she contacted me earlier this year to attend a OUAT fan meet-up at CONvergence this past summer. I was unable to attend, but was excited to see the photos Melissa shared with me. I also appreciated her writing style and initiative, so I asked if she'd write a post about her experience with the meet-up and OUAT costuming, and she graciously agreed! I hope you enjoy her thoughts as much as I did!

I’m super excited to be writing a guest post for Confessions of a Seamstress; as a cosplayer and a Once Upon a Time fan, I just love what Elizabeth does on here.

The Once Upon a Time meetup at CONvergence was kind of my fault. I had been planning to make Belle’s gold ball gown for the convention anyway (I have a fondness for ball gowns and for Rumplestiltskin—it seemed the most appropriate choice, considering).

My finished Belle dress (photo by Nude Carbon Studios)

I had a couple friends who were also planning OUAT costumes, and I came across other cosplayers in the months before with the same idea, so I figured, why not make it an official get-together? With the encouragement and help of friends, I made a Facebook event, posted it in the CONvergence group, and invited everyone to invite anyone who might be interested. We wound up with a turnout better than I think any of us expected.

(Note from Elizabeth - this is the only time I've seen another cosplayer do Regina's blue riding coat! Cool!)

Group photos from the beginning and end of the meetup, as people came and went (photos by YGK)

About 25 people came along for part of the fun, and a few stuck around for everything. Not only was there a fantastic group of cosplayers, but lots of other Oncers came along to watch, hang out, think up with photo ideas, and take pictures. Meeting everyone and being able to geek out together was really exciting (nothing tops cosplaying with people from the same fandom, to my mind). We also had two of the kindest cosplay photographers ever join us to help get great pictures; Chase from Nude Carbon Studios and Kai from YGK.

The Three Faces of Regina (YGK)

After meeting in the convention we trooped outside (picture a OUAT parade through the parking lot) and took lots of photos, sorting by characters, ships, and whatever else we could think of. There was lots of goofing off and general OUAT nerdery.

Mother and Daughter (NCS)

Pretty much everyone had made or scrounged up their own cosplays. The attention to detail and craftsmanship was impressive. The silver shoes that Belle crafted, all the grommets (and makeup!) on Rumplestiltskin, Emma’s handmade badge, Gold not cutting his hair for months, two sets of full pirate gear, epic Regina coats….I wish that I’d had more of a chance to learn about all the effort these incredible cosplayers put in.

CaptainSwan vs. Rumbelle (YGK)

After an hour or so outside a group of us went over to DQ to eat and pretend it was Granny’s. After that it was back to the convention to watch Art of the Dress (Costume and Couture Show) and change into Cinderella for the Disney meetup (that’s what I did, anyway!).

Rumbelle hamburger date (YGK)

We’re hoping to do another OUAT meetup at CONvergence this July, but I think we’ll keep it inside more of the time for the comfort of the cosplayers in heavy leather coats! As of writing this, I’m not sure what I’ll cosplay yet (there’s just so many incredible outfits!)…but if you’re curious what I come up with, want to see next year’s pictures, or want to join us next year, keep tabs on Adorn Cosplay on Facebook. If you’re anywhere nearby, I hope you can come along for more OUAT meetup adventures!

Here’s a few more favorite moments: