 KING KANDY Candyland |
| Costume Stats: |
|
Costume Completed: 2010 Debut: Dragon*Con 2010 |
| Convention History: |
|
Dragon*Con 2010 Dragon*Con 2011 Katsucon 2014 Dragon*Con 2014 |
| Photo Castmates: |
|
Queen Frostine: Shiva Princess Lolly: Majodere Grandma Nutt: EllyStar and Scarlet Jolly: Jamila Sisco Mint: Chinako |
| Photo Credits: |
|
Ellystar Shiva Christa Newman Photography |
Construction Notes:
When Shiva suggested this costume to me for a Candyland group she was doing, it looked like a challenge, and I am always intrigued by a challenge. This costume turned out to be quite an adventure in the creative use of materials, from discussing candy cane tights in the plumbing aisle of Home Depot to getting high off of ping pong ball fumes while cutting an entire tub of them in half. It was also a huge case of trial and error, with things being tweaked and redone almost every time I wore this. To start, I began with the cape since that was seemingly the most straightforward piece; I used bedsheets since they were easier to find in the correct colors and were cheaper than buying the yardage of fabric necessary to make such a large cape. The scallop shell collar, however, turned out to be the most challenging part of the costume, with a new method of attempting to make it stand each time I wore this. The top was made from a store-bought raspberry colored shirt with brown craft foam cut into individual "gingerbread" pieces sewn on and red glass beads glued on for cherries. The infamous ping-pong balls were used for the gumball sleeves after being painted a raspberry color; attaching them was another painstaking challenge. Pipe insulation covered in tape to create the candy cane pattern served its purpose for the shoulders and belt, while the kilt was made from vinyl and accented with furnishing rope and glass gems. The wig, mustache and beard were all white and Sharpie-dyed raspberry pink.
Both the crown and staff were made mainly from expanding spray foam to create the muffin-top shape; for the crown it was attached to a plastic bucket base wrapped in craft foam before being painted and accented with wooden beads, a glass Christmas ornament, Crayola modeling clay, and taped pipe insulation. The staff muffin was attached to a half sphere of floral foam and mounted on PVC. pipe wrapped in electrical tape. While this costume was uncomfortable to wear, it was always fun to see the reaction it got and we were always mobbed wearing these. When I first agreed to do this I did not realize the childhood love so many people have for these characters and now I love cosplaying this. After ten years of fixes, however, this costume was falling apart and I finally threw it out in 2019; I hope to remake this using modern materials to be easier to store, transport, and wear.
Photoshoot Pics:
