Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: aggravated
  • Music: Glee, "Pretty/Unpretty."

Being a girl is expensive: getting ready for the Hugos.

It's Hugo-prep time over here in Casa de Seanan, which means lots of flailing and frantic attempts to herd cats into something resembling order. And is always the case when I have to prep for a major event where appearance matters, I am reminded that it is expensive being a girl, especially being a plus-sized girl who actually wants to look, you know, nice.

To start with, you need a dress. Not just any dress: a dress which is appropriate and flattering and doesn't make you look like a manatee. I wound up going with a really lovely black and red ballgown from Sydney's Closet, a vendor that specializes in plus-size formal wear. I hugely recommend them, they're wonderful to work with. The dress fit almost perfectly, and Meg is doing some minor alterations. I should get it back tonight, just in time for...

Shoes and lingerie! I need shoes. I may also need a new strapless bra, since we can't tell exactly where the neckline will fall until Meg has everything stitched into position. Either way, I'm going to be tromping around the mall for a few hours. Nothing says "it's time for Worldcon" like a trip to the mall in a ballgown. Seriously. Nothing.

I have an appointment at my sister's school for Saturday morning, to have my hair done, and an appointment at Benefit Cosmetics for Saturday afternoon, to have my tan done. (Yes, I know, spray-tanning is horrible and will kill me and boo. But my tan lines are severe enough that I'm essentially calico right now, and that won't look good with my dress. As long as I'm not orange, I'm good. And really, this is me: if I were orange, I'd probably be pretty blissful about it.) My sister will also be doing my nails, before I fly to Chicago, and helping me set up my makeup bag. I don't know yet whether my foundation needs replacement. I guess we'll find out!

Jewelry, I have earrings already, and a few necklace prospects, although I may wind up buying something at the con from Spring.

So yeah. Being a girl? Is expensive as shit, and I am hugely envious of anyone who can just rent a tuxedo and be done. But I am going to look lovely, and get my picture taken with all my favorite people. I didn't go to my high school prom.

This will do.
Tags: con prep, shopping, so the marilyn
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  • 137 comments

ladymondegreen

August 16 2012, 16:54:09 UTC 4 years ago

It turns out Sephora now has (at specific locations) a little scanner that can scan your skin tone and tell you which foundation is perfect for your skin tone. I'm temped to go to the one in Times Square and get this done, because no matter what I do, I always wind up looking orange (see also the video of our concert in England). There might be a Sephora near you that does this too.

And boy do I hear you about the expensive part. I've been recruited to be a Hugo carrier and there's a dress code. :)

vettecat

August 16 2012, 17:27:01 UTC 4 years ago

Very cool! I hope we get a picture of you carrying a Hugo. :-)

seanan_mcguire

August 16 2012, 18:07:20 UTC 4 years ago

Benefit Cosmetics. They are my salvation.

tikiera

August 16 2012, 18:23:01 UTC 4 years ago

Seriously? I am very pale, and every foundation that a saleswomen has ever tried to sell me makes me look _paler_. LIke I am dead and seriously not pretty levels of pale.

So, now I need to go to Sephora and see if the foundation is really supposed to be paler than my skin.

mbarr

August 16 2012, 20:30:32 UTC 4 years ago

Well.. I've been recruited to be a Hugo table carrier :)

And I'm wondering if I escort the ladies on stage, since my wife is escorting & carrying the hugo's too.


And yes, the dress code applies to guys too.

For what it's worth : Tux's aren't actually cheap to rent. Thankfully, people don't mind if you wear the same one event after event, and they really don't go out of style the same way. (especially if you get a fairly standard model :)

You buy it, and you keep it for years...

thedragonweaver

August 17 2012, 03:13:01 UTC 4 years ago

I got recruited on-site to be one of the Vannas. All I had was a simple white lace dress so I got a pashmina shawl to go with it from the merch room. Turned out okay in spite of the fact that I forgot my curling iron and all I had for shoes were (black!) ballet slippers, because the pretty sandals I had been going to bring broke before I left, and my ankle was just enough off that I couldn't buy the high-heeled sandals that were actually in my size at Payless.

Oh, and getting to hold Stephen Moffat's Hugo wasn't such a bad thing, either. Even with only a 50% chance.

(And you have to love the instructions. "Do not hold the rocket. Do not touch the rocket. And if you *do* touch the rocket, for the love of Ghu, don't polish it while on stage. Everyone has cameras and you don't want to be a meme.")

jacylrin

August 17 2012, 15:20:39 UTC 4 years ago

One of the considerations is that stage makeup is different from regular makeup--some things look fine in normal life and lighting, but under stage lights just look wrong. Plus there's the need to exaggerate features a bit more on stage--what is suitable and subtle for regular wear means one looks like one has a featureless blob instead of a face when on stage. Of course, with things like awards you need to be presentable both on stage AND up close, and that's the biggest pain in the tail to pull off, especially with so many high megapixel cameras in the world :-P

ladymondegreen

August 17 2012, 17:46:06 UTC 4 years ago

To say nothing of "looking nice at the reception" vs. "looking nice for the cameras" vs. "having a mouth the people in back can distinguish from your nose."