My confidence has wavered a lot through the years. Being in a dance academy at a young age may have been one of the biggest contributors, but it has always been a struggle for me. I have always loved being on stage because it allowed me to be someone else. I was even in the acting business for over 10 years before I married and started a family. So why was it so hard to walk down a red carpet in front of strangers?
Our introduction to Comic Cons.
We started attending Comic Cons because of my daughter who thought doing cosplay would be a lot of fun! The deal was, everyone had to make or buy their own costumes. As a home-schooling mom, I like to find opportunities to teach my kids life lessons in a way they enjoy. My kids (13 and 11 at the time) learned budgeting, sewing, prop making, makeup, wig styling and confidence skills. My kids knew who they wanted to be right away, but who was I going to be?
Choosing a Cosplay that would exude confidence.
I chose Alina Starkov from Shadow and Bone, a new Netflix series we had just started to watch. I absolutely loved the Kefta’s that they wore and I wanted one! Here was the perfect opportunity for me to get one. I started looking online to see how much one would cost. First of all, they couldn’t be bought yet in any costume or clothing store online. Second of all, the ones you could buy from Etsy were way out of our budget. So, in line with the guidelines we set out for our kids, I would have to make my own.
With the help of couple of You-Tube Cosplayers I started on my journey for my own Kefta:
- Making Alina Starkov’s Black Kefta by Forge.of.Asteria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbV44XCCDD4&pp=ygUTYWxpbmEgc3RhcmtvdiBrZWZ0YQ%3D%3D
- Alina Starkov’s Black Kefta from Netflix’s Shadow and Bone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UEOOZbcXN0&pp=ygUTYWxpbmEgc3RhcmtvdiBrZWZ0YQ%3D%3D
Putting my Kefta together:
I was blessed to find a coat at Value Village, that with a few alterations, would be the basis for the coat. Then I ordered gold appliques from Etsy that I hand trimmed and stitched onto the coat. I added faux fur around the collar and cuffs, new buttons and loops down the front. From start to finish I spent 80 hours altering and stitching on the appliques. The appliques for the arms weren’t what I needed, so I left them off as the 2022 Calgary Expo was quickly approaching. We ordered a wig, and my daughter helped me style it. We added a necklace to the wig to finish the look.
Putting my confidence to the test.
We went to the Calgary Expo with me as Alina Starkov, but I didn’t have the confidence to do the red carpet at either of them. I took videos of my daughter and cheered her on instead. I did have a few people ask if I’d be willing to make a Kefta for them, but since I’m not a professional seamstress, I declined.
Calgary Expo 2023
This year as my daughter started working on her new cosplay idea, I decided to order more appliques and finish the arms the way I had wanted to. I also added 6 more buttons down the front for a total of 15. Thankfully my husband is only too happy to help when it’s time to do up all those buttons! With another 16 hours of stitching, the Kefta was finally finished. While I was working on my kefta, I decided that this year I would do the red carpet no matter what.
The response to my Kefta.
I was very pleased with the response my kefta received at the 2023 Calgary Expo over the last weekend in April. I had to psych myself up the whole time waiting in line for the red carpet, but in the end, I did it! Now of course it seems like no big deal, and I wonder why I didn’t do it the year before! There could be many reasons I didn’t want to do it, I was tired, I didn’t want people to laugh at me, I wish I was slimmer, I wanted to enjoy my daughter walking the carpet with her friends…in the end they were all excuses.
What does this have to do with confidence?
This year I wanted to show my daughter and myself that I could do hard things. It didn’t matter what anyone said, I worked hard on the Kefta, and I wanted to show it off! This was my first big attempt as sewing my own costume, and I proved to myself that I could design, modify, and sew my own clothing! I proved that I could step out of my comfort zone and walk around a crowded building with my head held high. I’m not great with crowds, so this in itself was a huge accomplishment! We have both started making our own clothing and letting our creativity out.
The best thing about the day, was that we had fun as a family. It was fun to get out of the house, out of our regular routine, and be someone else for the day! Being surrounded by others that enjoyed cosplay was so refreshing. It was like a breath of fresh air to see everyone having fun, enjoying the event in their favorite outfits. Not everyone dressed up, but I was so glad that I did. I’m not sure who I will be next year, but I know we will be there showing of our latest creations and having a blast!
One-on-one coaching is a great way to start building your confidence, and improve your health! I offer confidence coaching, health & lifestyle coaching, and exercise coaching. Click here for an application form and I would be happy to help you in your journey. You can also contact me at acgamero16@gmail.com or check out my website: www.nopainallgain.ca
