Bodacious Babes - Costuming for the Luxury Sized

Those Fabulous Feet

The Importance of Footwear	Where Do I Find Shoes?
But I Have Bad Feet!	Make Your Own

The Importance of Footwear

The hardest part of any costume is the footwear. What shoes look good? Where do you find them? What if you have foot problems and need special shoes? What if you have really big feet?

No matter how lovely your costume, or how coordinated your look, if your shoes don't match, it throws off the whole look. In street clothes, you may not care. I usually wear black lace-up Skechers, regardless of what I'm wearing that day, because my feet are so bad, and I need the comfortable sole and support. When I dress up, though, it's a different story!

Historical accuracy is important in the SCA, but for most of us, something that "looks cool" is probably sufficient. It's actually a lot easier to get footwear to coordinate with your clothes than people seem to think.

Some basic footwear advice:

Invest in a good pair of generic costume shoes
I have one good pair of black boots that will go with most things I wear at cons, from costumes to sexy velvet and lace outfits. Spend more than $19.95, be sure they fit very well, add padded insoles, and you will be very happy with them. Whether you choose black or brown, boots or shoes, pick something that coordinates with your tastes and buy a good quality pair. If you choose slippers, buy a pair with leather soles and good construction. Even high-quality slippers are usually under $20.
Avoid tennis shoes
Unless you're in street clothes or have some really really funky nifty tennis shoes, avoid them with costumes. Lace-up shoes in general don't work well with costumes, unless they are medieval-style lace up shoes or sandals. There's no faster way to be labeled a "dork" by the Fashion Police than to wear tennis shoes with a dress!
Wear proper socks
Even good shoes fit funny if you're wearing the wrong kind of socks. Your feet will also look wrong if you are wearing a lovely coordinated outfit, nice shoes, and white athletic socks. But do wear socks or stockings of some kind, and be sure they are not too big! Your feet will thank you.

Where Do I Find Costume Footwear?

This is an easier question to answer if you have average-sized feet that don't require special care.
Ballet style slippers in plain black or white look fine with most outfits, and are cheap and usually easy to find, at dance stores or even in the slipper section of department stores. They are easy to decorate with ribbon, buttons, and trim to match your outfit, or just leave them plain so they match more clothes. They're fantastic for dancing.
Plain black or brown boots work as well, for the more dashing sword-play or ranger-type outfit.
You can also find some nifty shoes at just about any shoe store, which may not be "period", but if they look cool, who cares?

If you do a search online for "renaissance boots", "celtic boots", or "custom footwear", you can come up with quite a few neat sources for shoes. Again, these probably will work best for your if your feet are not too big or too small, and if you don't have any special foot requirements. If you can generally walk into any shoe store and pick a pair that fits, you're probably good to buy shoes off the 'net.

If you are on a budget, try the Goodwill or other thrift stores. You can sometimes find some incredibly funky stuff there. There's also eBay, which is a little harder to search, and you have to break the cardinal rule of Try It On First, but at least you can get some good deals. You can always post it back for sale if it doesn't work out for you, or indulge in a clothing swap with some of your friends!

Check out the links page for more ideas on where to purchase the perfect shoes.

But I Have Really Really Bad Feet!

Welcome to the club. My feet are so flat my podiatrist took one look and exclaimed, "My goodness, you have really flat feet!" And this is a man who looks at feet all day long. Fortunately, my condition is such that I can wear virtually any shoes for a short period of time, and can wear most good shoes or flat shoes for a long time. But what if you need more than that?

Following are some suggestions for those of us who need a little more care when dealing with our feet. This is often the case for Luxury Sized women, who may be carrying more weight than their feet were designed for, or who may have other health issues concerning their feet, like diabetes. Some of these are more trouble than others, but try a few and see if they will work for you.

Invest in higher-quality shoes
Expense is a consideration, of course, but if you invest in one pair of good quality, semi-generic costume boots or shoes, you are set for a variety of costumes. Black or brown boots, or plain black or brown flats are good options. Find something with the type of insole you need, and break them in well before wearing them to an all-day event like a Con or a Faire.
Consider wearing slippers
Ballet style slippers look good with just about any skirt or dress costume from any time period. If you are more comfortable barefoot than in shoes, or have a hard time getting shoes to fit well, this option may work. You can get thick lycra slippers with soft leather soles from most department stores or large variety stores. Isotoners is one brand. You can also get actual dance slippers from dance supply stores. You can sew or glue matching trim to your slippers and create quite a nice pair of matching shoes for most styles of costumes.
Add orthotics or insoles
There's no reason you can't use orthotics or special insoles in costume shoes as well as in your street shoes! If you have ones given to you by your doctor, use those. If not, there are a huge variety of athletic and work insoles you can buy. These range in price from a few dollars to $20 or more, and can be found in sporting goods stores and drug stores. A nice cushy insole can make a world of difference!
Make spats
If all else fails, and you're stuck with shoes that don't look very attractive, try making yourself some spats! What's a spat? Picture one of those early 1900's gentlemen in a top hat and tails, white gloves, and wearing little white button-down covers over his shoes. Those button-down covers are called spats. There are a couple of ways to make these:
- Find shoes you like that are bigger than yours and slice off the sole. Put these sole-free shoes on first, then put on your normal shoes, and push the covers down over the top of your shoes. An elastic band across the bottom can help hold the covers down where they belong.
- Get some fabric that matches your costume, or even just some plain black felt. Lay your foot down on its side on the fabric, and trace around your foot and up your ankle. Add 1" on all sides. Cut out four pieces of fabric of this shape, and sew two together for each spat. Turn inside out so that the seam is on the inside. Decorate! Add an elastic band to the bottom to help hold the spat down. (For more detailed directions on essentially the same process, see the next section on making your own shoes).
- Purchase ready-made costume spats. These can be found in many costume stores and theatre supply stores.

Make Your Own Shoes!

Sound impossible? Not at all! This works particularly well if you want thigh-high boots or high shoes. The shoes you get from this method are not especially sturdy, but they are more than adequate for a costume. And for those of you who can't sew...hot glue will work almost as well!

(If you want to get REALLY fancy, and have time, patience, and some manual dexterity, there are detailed instructions at Footwear of the Middle Ages. It's a very impressive site with great instructions that I hope to try someday.)

You Will Need:

One pair of leather-soled slippers, your size
Color is more or less irrelevant, but black or white work well. Isotoners sells these for about $19 a pair, but they can often be had for $10 a pair on sale. You can also substitute a piece of thin leather or even felt, but the bottom of your shoes won't be nearly as sturdy.
Sturdy fabric
If you are a novice tailor, I highly recommend felt. It doesn't fray, it's fairly sturdy, it wears well, it's easy to cut, and comes in a variety of bright colors. Vinyl, denim, or heavy cotton canvas work well too. Fake fur can look terrific, but is a real pain to work with.
Sewing needle, thread, scissors
Thread to match the color of your fabric is good, or you can pick clear filment thread. Filament is a little harder to work with, so if your threshold of frustration is low, choose plain thread.
Hot glue
If you prefer to sew, that's fine. You'll wind up with a sturdier product, and don't have to worry about getting glue on the wrong spots. However, if you don't sew, never fear! A low-temp hotglue gun works almost as well. I once made some thigh-high boots for a Rogue/X-men costume using nothing but hot glue, and they held up so well I recycled them into another costume later.
Trims and accessories
Ribbons, interesting buttons, fringe, whatever you want.
Permanent marker or fabric pen, straight pins, tape measure

How To Make Your Shoes

* Consider making a mockup first *

1) Lay the fabric out on the floor, wrong-side up. If you have a lineoleum, concrete, or hardwood floor, that's the best. If all you have to work on is carpeting, find something hard that will let you draw on the fabric better and slide it under the fabric.
2) Sit on the floor by your fabric. Stretch out your leg so it's laying on its side on the fabric. If there is a pattern to the fabric, be sure that it's pointed the way you want in relation to your leg. If you cannot lay your leg out like this, skip to 3a).
3) Trace around your leg with a marker or fabric pen. Be sure the marker doesn't bleed through to the right side of the fabric! Trace up as high on your leg as you want the boot or shoe to go.

3a)

right

actually

(If you are going to be using a slipper, skip to 10)

10)

If you are sewing: Sew around the edges. If you're using a slipper, sew as close to the sole of the shoe as you can. Be sure that you are sewing the RIGHT side of the shoe fabric to the edge of the slipper or sole.
If you're using hot glue: Place the glue as close to the edge of the sole as possible, on the side where your foot will be placed (wrong side of the sole, OR on the edge of the slipper where it meets the sole). Slip the sole down just inside the sole part of the shoe, and press the RIGHT side of the shoe fabric into the glue. You will be walking on this glued-down fabric inside your shoe, so you may want to consider buying some insoles to cover that up.

11)

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