Cosplay Is Not Consent: Convention Harassment Policies
A costume is a display of craft, not an invitation. Here is how harassment and consent are defined by recognized authorities and how conventions build anti-harassment policies around them.
Cosplay Is Not Consent: Convention Harassment Policies
A costume is a display of craft, not an invitation. Here is how harassment and consent are defined by recognized authorities and how conventions build anti-harassment policies around them.
Civil War Reenactment Clothing: Accuracy and Sources
The difference between a Civil War costume and a credible impression starts with wool and with sourcing each garment from the records that document what soldiers actually carried.
Trick or Treat Safety After Dark: What Research Shows
Research on Halloween pedestrian risk points to concrete, low-cost habits for trick-or-treating after dark: adult supervision, visibility, and safe crossing.
The Day of the Dead and Its Costumes: A Cultural Primer
Skull face paint and marigolds belong to a remembrance holiday, not a fright night. A primer on what Dia de los Muertos means and how to dress for it respectfully.
Fog, Haze and Smoke at Costume Events: What to Know
Fog and haze machines at costume events produce a glycol or mineral oil aerosol you breathe for the length of your visit. Here is what the research and workplace rules actually say.
Do Adult Costumes Follow the Same Safety Rules as Children’s?
Adult and children’s costumes share the general flammability standard, but several child-specific safety rules apply only to items made for children.
Jack o’ Lanterns: The Folklore Behind the Carved Pumpkin
The carved pumpkin on the porch descends from an Irish legend about Stingy Jack and from lanterns cut into turnips, not pumpkins. Here is the folklore and how pumpkins took over.
Prop Weapon Policies at Conventions and the Law
Convention weapon policies treat a foam sword, a resin blaster and a wooden staff very differently, and those rules trace back to real firearm-marking law. Here is the legal backdrop.
1920s Flapper Style: The History Behind the Costume
The fringed flapper dress was a social statement before it was a costume. Here is the real history behind the 1920s silhouette, bob, and dropped waist.
Regency Era Fashion and the Jane Austen Look
The high-waisted Regency silhouette is easy to recognize and easy to get wrong. Here is what shaped the Jane Austen look, and what popular dramas distort.
