Imagine you’re walking through the bustling halls of your local comic convention, if you turn around and find yourself face to face with the most stunning Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (it won’t matter if you’re not used to the character, you’ll know her when you see her) you’ll have just met Kit Quinn. From Queen Gorgo to Snow White, and from Harley Quinn to Siren, she’s one of the most approachable cosplayers around. We caught up with her as she was still going on about the incredible time she had at her first Dragon*Con last year.
Q: How long have you been into cosplay?
I started in 2007, so I guess I’ve been doing it for about 5 years.
Q: How did you first get into cosplay (did you go to a convention/event initially out of costume then get into it later, or did you burst onto the scene fully costumed and ready to roll)
I busted into this scene fully costumed! Tallest Silver (my best friend) had been going for years before I was finally able to go, so I just followed her lead and cracked out a different costume for every day of the con! I had three brand spankin’ new costumes that year: Snow White, Sailor Mars, and the Cheshire Cat. Tallest is the reason I got into this crazy fun scene.
Q: Are you a fan of comics/film/TV as well, or was it the costuming that first attracted you towards being a cosplayer?
For me the source material inspires the costume, not the other way around. If you see me in a costume a lot it’s because I love the comic/film/TV show it came from. I also just feel silly walking around in a character I don’t know.
Q: Do you have a particular character or type of character that you like to play? Is it an appeal of their costume to you, or to the character itself?
I’d say there’s a type I’m generally drawn too. Especially if you look at my early set of costumes, I tend to do the supporting type character. And even now the characters I mainly run around as are the helper types. Harley and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are both there to support the main villain. I also like villains, they’re just more fun to run around as, and if I’m in a bad mood, it’s perfectly in character!!! It doesn’t generally start from a costume perspective. I mean for Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, I was originally going to do her Dr. Girlfriend persona, but then a friend told me she was doing it…so Dr. Mrs. It was! The costume ended up being a great challenge for me and I’m glad it’s the route I went, but that character started from the character and love of the show not the costume.
Q: Do you tend to roleplay in costume to some extent, or are you your normal self in the costume?
To some extent yes, I don’t do it as much anymore but I think that’s because a lot of times people come up to me and say hey, KIT QUINN, can I have a photo. Instead of hey, HARLEY QUINN, can I have a photo. When I’m addressed by my name it feels a little weird to respond in any other persona then myself. But I do play around with other cosplayers all the time at cons.
Q: Do you create your own costumes? If so, what was the biggest challenge of getting into costuming. Did you have any help/resources, or did you just grab a sewing machine and glue gun and go for it?
I do create all my costumes. (Well except Metal Bikini Leia, for that I have to shout out to Mike S and DragonFyre Designs!) I think I’m up to somewhere around two dozen homemade costumes of varying level of difficulty. It wasn’t too hard to get started. I did have a great mentor in Miko LuckinSpades. That first year, I was at her house every week working on stuff. She’d tell me what to do, I’d try to go do it, mess it up, she’d tell me again, and then I’d get something close! After that I was pretty good on my own, just trying new stuff and adding to my skillset with each costume I made. Miko was always there if I needed help, and as the years went on I found more friends who could teach me new techniques and my ability to costume keeps growing.
Q: What kind of advice would you give to others who are getting into costuming, or thinking about making their first outfits.
The internet knows pretty much all. There’s a tutorial for just about anything you’d need to learn. I personally just kind of, went at it and guessed until I got it right. I would take a dress I knew fit, trace it out and try to make it again. I did stuff like that all the time to learn how to make patterns, because I can’t read one of those things to save my life!
Q: What do you think about kids at conventions who come up to you thinking you’re actually the character (or does that happen as often as it seems)
I think it’s the sweetest cutest thing ever! It happens to me most as Snow White because I think there’s a built in Disney brain washing that these characters exist in real life, you just have to go to the park to see them! So at conventions I have a lot of fun talking to the little kids abut whatever it is they want to talk about. It’s kind of refreshing to get to do that every once in a while because those kids enjoy the character, they could care less what you look like in the costume, they just want to talk to Wonder Woman.
Q: Do you have any stories that you’d like to share from conventions
Oh man there’s a million stories and plenty of weird things that happen to me and my friends. I feel like I’ve told the Anthony Michael Hall story too much, so I’ll go with a sweeter story. So I love a kid in costume, (chicken baby I’m looking at you) but there was a little Thor who stole my heart last Anaheim Wizard World. I was going around with Comic Impact doing interviews asking people about Thor when I came up on a little boy in a very nice Thor costume. So I asked to interview him and this kid new everything!!! He was so darling, and in his little four year old voice said the entire encryption on his hammer to me. I was dying! It’s one of the most adorable things I’ve ever had happen at a con. (Didn’t hurt that his little brother was Loki and was sound asleep in his stroller)
Q: What kind of advice would you give to someone who’s about to go to their first convention in costume (for either guys, gals, or both)
You are among friends, being in costume is one of the best ways to meet new people and instantly bond. Half my friends I met in costume and some it was because we were in costumes. So jump right in, take pictures with new folks, and just relax. This isn’t a competition; you’re in it for fun and the love of the character, so just run around and meet people who are of the same mind set. But on a more practical note, bring band aids, safety pins, and tape. Costumes break, and you gotta be ready to keep it together! And if you haven’t abused your feet for years doing this, you’re going to get blisters and you’ll need band aids. I also recommend mole skin, I just discovered it, and it’s the best in helping prevent blisters!
Q: What are your thoughts on the current state of cosplay at conventions? Is the demographic changing, are the costumes improving or declining, are there more people into it or fewer, and just on the events themselves – are they more cosplayer friendly or less these days?
When I first started all conventions felt kind of the same with Comic Con being the most awesome. Everyone enjoyed the costumes, there weren’t a ton of people dressed, but enough that made it fun, and plenty of great costumers I strived to be like. Currently I feel Comic Con has fewer costumers and I attribute that to how poorly we’re treated at that con. For the first time ever I didn’t dress for a day of Comic Con because I just didn’t want to deal with being harassed by security everywhere I went. But I went to DragonCon for the first time this year and had a blast! Everyone was in costume, everyone appreciated the costuming craft, and everyone was a total nerd. It was amazing! So really the state of cosplay depends where you are. The smaller shows are nice, you have a smaller number of costumers and an even smaller number of hard core costumers, but the con is smaller too. Those cons tend to treat costumers just like normal con goers, and sometimes even better. The disparity is interesting.
As far as the costumers themselves, I do feel like there are now more out there, and I do feel like the quality is going up. It’s become a pretty intense hobby for some people. And due to that competitiveness that has sadly seeped in there are a few bad apples, and there are some people who are just there for attention and the chance at internet stardom! Which hey, to each their own, but it does taint cosplayers when people like that are trying to represent us. Especially since many cosplayers could care less for attention or the perceived competition, they’re in it for the love of the craft and to show how much they love a character/comic/cartoon/film/anime/game/the list goes on.
Q: What’s your favorite event of your annual calendar and why?
Oh goodness don’t make me choose! I love them all for different reasons. DragonCon is my new favorite because I never felt pressure to perform there like I do at Comic Con. It was totally all about loving the medium, it wasn’t a spectator sport. Now that doesn’t mean I hate Comic Con, it has changed, and not necessarily for the better, but it will always have myheart since it’s where I started going to conventions, it’s were I’ve meet some of the most amazing people in my life, and it’s were a lot of fun can be had in different ways.
[nggallery id=4]
To keep up with Kit and her friends, you can catch her on Facebook and on deviant art and twitter.
http://miss-kitty-j.deviantart.com
http://twitter.com/MissKitQuinn
