Day 636: Once Is Frozen

Does it really surprise you that this post is about Once Upon A Time? Because it shouldn't. I've been waiting for this day for literally 140 days. Over FOUR MONTHS. It's been a journey, but I've been in it for the long haul. Am I right, Oncers?

Anyway, the new episode comes with a lot of hype. I have to say that I've been watching this show since the beginning. That was THREE years ago, back in 2011. I remember watching it in my bedroom, the location where I would watch many of the episodes to come. Seasons one and two were watched at home, and then all of Season three began a new journey with my college friends. I'm extremely thankful for Once Upon A Time because I can literally say it brought my dorm room together. The three wonderful ladies I now room with all watched Once with me last year (including Megan, who I converted into the Once Fandom at the beginning of season 2). It's funny actually because we're sitting here talking about how Once really brought us together. It's literally the reason I am rooming with the people I am, and I am so happy about that. They not only listen to my ridiculous Once rants (not that my roommate last year, Megan, didn't! I miss our random musical singing!), but they participate in them and let me freak out and scream with me when a Once cast member tweets me back or something.

That's the thing about television shows like Once Upon A Time. It's a fandom, for sure, but we all have this incredible chance to get to know so many people, and I'm very lucky that it's an extension of my original and home fandom, Disney. Once Upon A Time is leading me into a life filled with fairy tales, literally, as it's definitely my primary focus in English. I buy up every fairy tale book I can and read as many as I have time for, all because I want to better understand how these tales impact our lives, and that includes Once.

So here's a shoutout to the entire cast and crew of Once Upon A Time. Thanks for bringing my roommates and I together in a room filled with magic, where every Sunday night we invite all our Once friends in to watch the new episode. And that's for my extended Once family, with all the people who I know and love from Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and just about everyone else. I don't know what I would do without any of you!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I am doing character inspired outfits for Season Four! This first one is a serious mix of cosplay and Disneybound, but it will also be doubling as my Halloween costume in a few weeks, when my friends and I embark on yet another great adventure.

That second collection of pictures is what my friends call "The Evening of Elsa." I absolutely love this dress (and am still wearing it) and know that the two months of work to perfect this one for the premiere was SOOOO worth it. I've gotten many wonderful compliments already on it and thank you all for those gracious comments! I can't wait for the upcoming weeks! 

Oh...and aren't you all proud of me? I went through this whole post without mentioning Hook or Colin...until now of course. Bloody hell. 

Have a magical day!

Day 573: The Difference

Disneybounding is a thing. I talk about it all the time, especially during Once Season or when I'm at Disney, but there's this interesting line between the art of Disneybounding and Cosplay. Leo here does a great job of defining the difference:

Now here's a few of my Disneybounds from my trip in June, when I tried really hard to Disneybound with each and every outfit. It actually worked, and I Disneybounded every day, posting them on Instagram as I went: 

The Genie one was definitely my favorite of all of them, and then I actually had a sixth for the final day at Animal Kingdom and Epcot, which was Snow White, but I never got around to posting pictures of that one. 

Either way, when I'm in the parks I love to Disneybound, and I am super excited for January when I can use my winter closet in addition to my summer closet to create some new Disneybounds that I haven't been able to do because of the hot weather. Cold means scarves! 

When I get into Once season however, the lines between the two blur for me a little bit. It's not really Disneybound or Cosplay, but rather somewhere in the middle. I often times do go out in public on the day of the episode in my full outfit or with the hair still in the style, but occasionally when you put it together things get a bit weird. You'll see in my first outfit for Season 4 that the points are more on the cosplay side than on the Disneybound side, but mostly because I don't generally go out wearing a floor length dress that someone probably initially bought for prom before bringing it to Goodwill where I picked it up. And it really depends on the character. 

For instance, as we look through the following six Disneybounds, you'll see two totally different edges of the spectrum. With Rumple, it was looser, and although my hair was done and the nails were done and I was wearing one of the strangest pairs of pants I own (although I love them!), I'd most certainly where this on an everyday basis. But with Killian Jones, you aren't going to see me walking around with white pants all the time. However, I do wear all the other elements of the outfit often. Not necessarily together, but I'm pretty sure I could throw together a Killian Jones Disneybound that's less Cosplay and most Disneybound.

Cora was one of my absolute favorites simply because I ADORE the dress. I think I had a "yes-no" argument with myself for ages about it because it was more than I wanted to spend on a dress, but it's absolutely beautiful and I wear it all the time now. But obviously it looks nothing like the real dress Cora is wearing in the episode. It's just inspired by her character. Emma Swan on the other hand was a full out one for me, although this is where it gets tricky because I DO wear this in everyday life. My red leather jacket is just about my favorite piece of clothing and I wear it as often as possible, and it turns out that my wardrobe is quite similar to Emma Swan's. Oops. 

And finally, we have Robin Hood and Henry. I don't actually know much about archery, other than the fact that I'm bloody terrible at it, and I certainly don't have a full Robin Hood costume, but this Disneybound certainly plays well to his character, with the ring and the scarf and so on and so forth. When I did Henry though, I had my mom make me a scarf to match his, used a plaid shirt I had, my black peacoat and the shoes that I have that basically match a pair he wears, giving off what amounts to be a cosplay vibe. It really looks like his outfit. But I wear this in public too. 

I do like to mix the lines between Cosplay and Disneybound, keeping as true to the character, especially with once, while still using what I have in my closet or what I can find at Goodwill and other reused clothing stores. It helps keep the price of everything down. Plus, I have to make an agreement with myself. If I know I'll wear the piece of clothing for at least two Disneybounds, or have one very specific one in mind that it's a key for, I'll get it. If not, it stays on the rack unless I come up with another use. Occasionally, things like the red dress do get bought even with just one Disneybound, but that's ok. I wear it all the time anyways. 

Am I excited for more Disneybounds? You bet I am. I can't wait to do new ones in a month for Once, and I'm quite excited for a few of the characters I have planed for this upcoming season! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 28).