Uptown Cosplay

Please welcome one of our costume contest judges and best master winner from last year, Uptown Cosplay! @uptowncosplay.bsky.social

Grell Photographer: Honey and Heather Photo
Kairos Photographer: Mahou Photo
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#direbrook #darkfantasy #pdxevents #convention #portlandevents #costumecontest #cosplay

Makeup at cons was so different! In ye olden days when I first started, it was most common to either do almost no makeup or slap on some winged eyeliner and call it a day. Cosplay makeup has evolved so much and become such an art form! The creativity has really blossomed.

It took a HOT MINUTE to edit all this down but my vlog for #Tekko2025 is up on my YouTube! This was such an unforgettable weekend… with quite a few unexpected twists.

youtu.be/wDVEvDUKNro?...

I debuted Merlin at #Tekko2025 and I’m super happy with how it turned out! Got to have an even better time because @simplytavaroo.bsky.social redid his old Arthur cosplay so we could frolic together.
#merthur even in 2025 and I make no apologies.

I leave for #Tekko in just a few days, so here’s my lineup and updated event schedule! Excited to debut Merlin and my revamp of Death the Kid I just finished. Come visit me at my table or my panels and I hope to meet lots of people this weekend!
#tekko2025 #tekkocon #cosplaylineup

Thank you so much!! It was a great project to do a lot of fun flat-felled and French seams, so no fears about fraying! 💪🏻

Made #BBCMerlin’s iconic red scarf with some sneaky snap attachments at the back to get the twisted look from the show, and with that… Merlin is DONE! He was a super fun project and a labor of love, and I’m so excited to wear him for the first time very soon~

Next hurdle was Merlin’s shirt! Traced a shirt I already owned for a base pattern and made some changes after a mock-up. I made a ton of my own bias tape and the lacing out of my leftover fabric so I could get clean finishes and have no raw edges! I’m super proud of how polished this came out.

Pants finished! Tapered the legs a bit and dyed them darker. My first dye attempt on these thrifted pants did NOT go to plan, so I switched to #iDyePoly and did a partial-portion of black dye to get them darker once and for all. Worked great!

Finishing touch was painting all the raw pleather edges. Also ended up painting this belt I thrifted to be a more complimentary shade of brown and changed the buckle from gold to silver with #RubnBuff. Reference images were inconclusive on the color so I decided to match other hardware Merlin has.

While finicky, making additions to these boots was SO MUCH FUN! Making all these straps myself (using pleather from my stash, yay) and seeing everything come together was incredibly satisfying. These boots might be my favorite part of the costume so far!

I found some excellent base boots off Poshmark and found some fabric in my stash to make his socks! I’m having fun making use of materials I’ve had for ages but only now can actually FIND after organizing all my supplies. It’s making this project much more cost-effective, and no complaints there!

I also finished Merlin’s wig! It felt so nice to make use of this wig I’ve held onto for years. Dyed it darker with #RITDyemore and tried to find a nice blend of screen accurate/a bit longer length to flatter my face/giving certain areas more defined curl for “cutesy” factor. Very important.

After continuing to work on this jacket, the TLDR is that none of the recommended weathering methods worked… at all. So, naturally, I did the only logical thing left: weather the whole thing by hand using #Jacquard #TextileColor. I do love the end result, though!

I am in LOVE with this!! I’m so glad such a work of art was spawned from the cursed chat of tonight’s stream 😂💜

Cursed micro bang+mullet Sebastian doodle from @uptowncosplay.bsky.social 's stream.

Yesterday for Day 3 I attached the hem piece to finish off the construction portion of the jacket! Then it was a lot… LOT of hand sewing to add the handmade stitching details.
I also started the weathering process to get the suede to look older, which I’m continuing today!

Today I got the sleeves figured out and attached, facings and collar done, and got the last piece—the hem—ready to be sewn tomorrow! Also dyed an old wig of mine darker to suit Merlin’s natural color better ✨

I found some faux suede that was the perfect color! By the end of yesterday I got the jacket shell mostly together. Once everything is all in one piece, I’ll be weathering the living heck out of it to soften it up and make it look more aged and worn.

Yesterday was Day 1 of working on the jacket. After fiddling with the base pattern and mock up a couple times, Merlin’s deceptively simply jacket was ready to cut out of fabric.

My next project is Merlin from that good old BBC show! Am I late to the bandwagon? Yes. Will that stop me? Absolutely not 💪🏻 I’ve finally got most of my fabrics together so it’s go time!
#CosplayBuildLog #wip

I’m a happy (and hopeful) cat dad today, as my youngest did very well at his vet appointment today~ He’s back up to date on his shots and I got him some meds that I’m hoping will help with his severe mood swings 🙏🏻
My baby boy’s got some mental illness and I love him all the same <3

I will be a guest and performance judge at Tekko 2025 this summer! ☀️ Can’t wait to meet you guys over in Pittsburg!
I’ll be talking about this a bit more in a new video coming to my YouTube this Friday at 9am PST, so stay tuned 💜

(Original post from @teamtekko.bsky.social ‘s Instagram @ teamtekko)

I have a website now! I’ve been working on this for a while and am so glad I can finally share it.
This is meant to be the everything-in-one-place site to learn about what I do and contact me for event bookings. So if there’s a con you’d like to see me at, send them to www.uptowncosplay.com !

Aw you’re so sweet! My current favorite cosplay is definitely Grell, and I would love to see your fan art!! If we cross paths I’m absolutely down for a picture 😁

yodels into the sun 🥹 Such a sweet compliment, thank you!!

Cue me absolutely yeLLING over these photos I’m getting back from my shoot with @honeyheather.bsky.social !! I have never felt so bonita and I cannot wait to share more 🔥

@mommasammu.bsky.social Reliving the hosting bits as these two has me giggling and kicking my feet. This was so unhinged and too fun 😂

New lip sync (and lots of goofy improv bits from hosting) finally going up on YouTube tomorrow at noon PST! Will I see you over there?
Photo by Brianna Shade

I’m open for 2025 convention bookings!

I’ve started adding cons to my schedule, and I’d love to visit a con near you!
As always, the best way to see creators at cons is to reach out to the convention and suggest them as guests. That’s how the magic starts!

Hope to meet some new faces! 💜