Fanime 2012

For most Americans, Memorial Day weekend is for family, barbeques, and remembering those we've lost at war. For me and many others though, it's mainly associated with the long-held tradition of geeking out about our favorite fandoms by dressing up as our favorite characters and fraternizing with like-minded people at Fanime.

Fanime is a fan-organized anime convention held at the San Jose convention center every Memorial Day weekend. I have been going to Fanime ever since I moves to Santa Cruz four years ago, and for me, it's an un-missable event. It's not just about anime for me anymore. Not only are lots of other non-animated and non-Japanese shows represented alongside my favorite animes, but it's also a warm reunion between me and my friends that I don't get to see very often for many reasons. Fanime for me is about letting my geek-flag fly and catching up with my friends.

And this year, Fanime held a partner Steampunk convention called Clockwork Alchemy at a nearby hotel, which made it even better. Of course, I made a bunch of items, not knowing what I would feel like wearing, and only managed to wear a fraction of it, but for now, here are some notable outfits I wore:

Day One: Steampunk Lolita.

Day Two: Captain America Lolita

 

 

 

 

 

Day Three: Steampunk Lolita

What a whirlwind! And now, back to reality, sadly. I wanted to point out that I made that last skirt with fabric from Rouge Aerie Designs. I got a million compliments on it, but all the hard work was done by the talented Kate, who designed the fabric. Sadly, the fabric is no longer available, but Kate's making a line with it that is just stunningly gorgeous. And if you go like her facebook page and help her reach 1,000 likes, she'll be doing a give-away that will be drool-inducing for sure.