Tom Wright

If movies were written by our children… We asked a bunch of kids to act out the famous Cantina scene from Star Wars. This is what they came up with and it’s priceless!

Source: YouTube

Tell us about your most commonly argued topic onFacebook.

Find out how dark is your dark side, and which villain is waiting for you on the other side of the mirror…

You can wear your favorite heroes with these great leggings. There’s a choice of either Spider-Man in a bright red with black desgins or a multi-character design with Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America. They’re a 97/3 polyester/spandex blend so you can be sure of a snug and comfortable fit.

Product Page Marvel/Spidey ($25)

Cosplayed by Zee and Evey Dantes.

(via Reddit)

Spider-Man’s costume has been through a lot of changes over the years and cosplayers often have a certain genre or time period they’re looking to create.

I’m not sure if that’s why HalloweenCostumes.com asked writer and graphic designer Kate Willaert to put together this infographic showing the evolution of his costume, but it’s really cool either way.

See the full image after the break.

(via Comics Beat)

This beautiful Smaug cosplay was captured by photographer Brian Schultz at this year’s C2E2. It features cosplayer Alyson Grauer in a costume she designed that won the con’s amateur costume contest.

Thanks to Brian S. for the tip! Send yours to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

Belle from The Beauty and the Beast

Cosplayer: Ryoko Demon [TW / DA / FB]
Photographer: Kifir [FL / DA]

Since dragons are fictional creatures, it’s hard to say what realistic sculptures of them would look like, but it’s what comes to mind when I see Sarah M.’s dragon masks. They look like they’re right out of a storybook. She’s been drawing all her life and eventually turned her skills to crafting masks from leather.

She kept working and incorporating more pieces of leather until she was able to make a mask like the one you see in the above photo. The scales are individually tooled into the leather and stitched on, and she says, “Each mask takes a ridiculously long time.” The finished product is proof of all the time and effort – her masks are absolutely stunning. And yes, it seems that she does take commissions.

See more examples of her work after the break.

(TDD via TMS)

These yoga pants will add a little nerd flair to your workout. There are four styles so you can choose between Unicorn Rainbow, Heart Health Bar, Carnivorous Plant, or Dice. Each has a fold down waist with the design running down the outside of the left leg.. They’re made of a stretchy 95% cotton/ 5% Spandex blend so they’ll be super comfortable, too.

See all the styles after the break…

Product Page ($29.99)

Cosplay just got incredibly easy. Just take this Jedi sleeved blanket to bed with you, wake up the next morning, put your arms through the holes, and tada! You’re ready to head out into the world and share your knowledge with Padawans. Don’t worry if you look tired and grizzled, it just makes you appear to be more wise.

This cozy wrap has a hood, pockets, and is made from polyester. At 62-inches wide and 68-inches tall, you’ll have plenty of room to get snuggly.

Product Page ($24.99)

This is often a function of losing the grocery list somewhere between the house and the grocery store.  Share your thoughts here.

Get ready for the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 this Friday by watching what seems like a real life superhero perform parkour in Provo, Utah. Athlete Ronnie Shalvis dons the Spidey suit and shows how Peter Parker might get around if he ran out of web fluid. It’s nothing short of incredible to watch him flip and jump around city buildings. I can’t even imagine what kind of shape you would need to be in to accomplish feats like these.

Check out the action in the video after the break.

Behind the scenes:

Thanks for the tip, Kyle! Send your tips to tips@nerdapproved.com.

Like it or not, we live in a world where toys for girls and toys for boys and pink and blue sections at the toy store exist. Though some companies around the world are making strides to market toys to kids instead of splitting it by gender, not enough manufacturers and stores are stepping up. I've seen a few examples of gender based marketing recently that make me wonder how we can ever fix the problem with so many companies perpetuating it as being the right way to do things.

Back in February, Hasbro and Disney announced new toys for Star Wars Rebels. Their press release regarding those toys as well as new Marvel figures, had this headline:
Disney Consumer Products Ready to Capture Boys’ Imaginations and Dominate Toy Aisles in 2014

The content of the press release does eventually mention "we know these innovative products will resonate with kids and fans who want to create their own heroic stories." But, why not state that in the title? The title of the press release tells me, as a girl, that you don't think I'll be interested in playing with Star Wars and Marvel toys.

Look, I  know there is research proving that boys and girls play differently. I'm pretty sure that research doesn't state all girls automatically only like toys with pink labels and boys only prefer toys with blue labels. And if kids do have those tendencies, how much of them are there because of the way they see toys marketed in commercials and ads? It's a chicken vs. egg situation, and it's a cycle that needs to break and companies who put these toys out in the world have the power to do it. Disney in particular should be bold and make waves in this department because their products are going to sell, they have money - why not take a risk?



I came across another situation earlier this month when I discovered Nerd Block, Jr. Nerd Block is a mystery box subscription that puts together a box of geeky goodies and ships them once a month, and they have special boxes for kids. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a great idea. Then I clicked over to their website. They have two different boxes labeled thusly: "Epic Toys for Boys" and "Epic Toys for Girls." It gets better. The boys' box is is in a blue area of the website with brands such as J!nx, Marvel, DC Comics, Nintendo, and Star Wars. The girls' box is in a lavender section of the website with brands such as Barbie, Furby, Monster High, My Little Pony, and Hello Kitty.

Seriously?

I'm a girl who likes Hello Kitty and Star Wars. I know little boys who adore My Little Pony as well as Marvel. Why the hell are they making these gender assumptions? Why not offer a single box? Or keep two boxes, call them options 1 and 2 instead of toys for boys and toys for girls, and offer a mix of all the brands in each box. Because the way it's described now, I would have to subscribe to a boys' box to get more of the toys I want. I can wrap my head around that. But imagine trying to explain the reasoning to a little girl asking, "Why do I have to order the boys' box, aren't I supposed to like these things?" "Well, honey, toy companies don't think you should but it's really okay."

I talked about my frustration on Twitter and someone shared a dialogue she had with Nerd Block about this topic in February. I encourage you to read the entire exchange, but the gist is that Nerd Block says their initial decision was to have a unisex Block, but the audience outcry was to have them divided between boys and girls. I understand listening to your customers, but why not stand up and be different in the toy market instead of joining the rest of the drones who say sci-fi and superhero stuff is for boys and dolls and fluffy things are for girls.

One more example of screwed up gendered marketing. I bring you the case of McDonald's and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 toys.


So, let me applaud the positive side of these offerings first. McDonald's is offering Spider-Man items to both boys and girls in Happy Meals. A more typical situation at the fast food franchise is something like Spider-Man toys for the boys while girls can get Littlest Pet Shop toys. But, wow, McDonald's sure did it wrong.

Look at the top half of the above image with Spidey offerings for boys. Now examine the bottom half with Spider-Man options for girls. There is a world of difference. All the girls' items are pink or purple. Many of them feature hearts, and on more than one item, the heart is around Spider-Man's face or symbol. Boys get a mask so they can become Spider-Man. Girls get a headband so they can show their feelings for Spider-Man. Like Tor.com says, this is essentially the equivalent of giving little girls shirts that say "I want to date a superhero" instead of "I want to be a superhero." And yes, those shirts exist.

Do I like pink and purple and hearts? Heck, yes I do. But that's not all I like. I want to play dress up and pretend to be a superhero, too. All of the items in the girls' section show an incredible misunderstanding of how to reach fangirls and future fangirls. Why not just have toys in happy meals and make things more universal?

And that's the bigger question. How do we ditch these labels and colors? How do we leave pink and blue behind? I don't know the answers, but I want to figure it out.

(via DPAF)

I'd like to think we've come a long way since 1977. Our clothes are more fashionable, our cars are smaller, and we've made progress with equality for all. It's no longer a world where people can brush off something like only having a single female character in a cast of males as being a product of the time - that's often the reasoning about Princess Leia being the only leading woman in the original Star Wars trilogy. But over 35 years later, are we really back in the same boat? From the Star Wars: Episode VII casting announcement today, it looks like we may be.


The line-up, according to StarWars.com is as follows: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.

I'm not the sort to complain all the time. I love the Star Wars universe and defend parts of it that others like to pick on. And, yes, I'm still excited about Episode VII and the cast members they have in place and the remainder of the sequel trilogy. However, my second reaction after exclaiming over the fact that there was finally news about Episode VII, was a mix of frustration, anger, and sadness. Of all the new cast members, there was one woman. One.

What. the...

Now, Daisy Ridley could be the star of the movie. That would help, but the problem remains that in this group of seven new cast members who are presumably the leads of Episode VII that will carry on the Star Wars torch, only one of them is a female. I keep getting hung up on that number. One out of seven. Yes, more women may appear in the supporting cast - dear goodness, I hope so - but why aren't there more at the helm of the movie? I'm confused for a few reasons.

Firstly, Star Wars seemed to be handling diversity across not only gender but race better. They were making slow progress, but it was progress. You can see evidence in the Expanded Universe, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, Barriss Offee), and in the upcoming series Star Wars Rebels (Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren). Though the original and prequel trilogies and Clone Wars may have followed a formula where only one woman was really a lead character, Star Wars Rebels set a different example. It gave me hope for the sequel trilogy.

Secondly, well written female characters make money. No one in Hollywood can fail to see the success of movies like Catching Fire and Frozen. And Disney has no freaking excuse after the way Frozen busted box office records. One small but meaningful example is a comparison of wait times at Disneyland to meet Thor or Captain America vs. the wait time to meet Anna and Elsa. As of earlier today, the Thor and Cap lines were at 70 minutes. The line for Anna and Elsa was at 160. Go ahead, check a wait time app at multiple times during the day. Children - boys and girls - are waiting hours in line to meet two female characters.

Finally, they can do better. Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams are smart people. They wouldn't be where they are otherwise. They have to be aware of the notes I just listed and of the fact that many Star Wars fans are concerned about diversity. We're not exactly quiet about it. I'm not saying they have to listen to our demands for more female characters or anything else, but I'd be curious to know what sort of conversations were had about creating characters for Episode VII. Could it improve in the rest of the trilogy? Sure, and I'll be happy if that's the case, but it doesn't erase the fact that as of right now, Episode VII has one woman in its lead cast.

And in case you're thinking it, yes, it does matter. Star Wars is more than a just an action movie and bigger than a franchise. It's seeped into our culture in a way that not many other stories have managed to do. If Star Wars isn't considering greater diversity and equality in casts, it's bad news for everyone.

It’s almost summertime and whether you’re headed to an exotic island or kicking back by a friend’s pool, you deserve a new swimsuit. Superhero Stuff has plenty of options for you, including these Batman and Wonder Woman versions. Thankfully both one-piece swimsuits. There’s nothing wrong with bikinis, but I don’t see enough one-piece designs.

Their Batman swimsuit features the hero surrounded by sound effects while their Wonder Woman design features Diana facing off against Cheetah.

See the Batman print after the break.

Product Pages: Batman ($47.99), Wonder Woman ($54.99)

Some companies capture geek chic so perfectly that I wish they could bottle it and sell it to the rest of the world. Geeky U is one of those companies. We’ve seen their adorably styled bags before, but they also create apparel and this TARDIS dress is just a taste of what they can do. The garment is fashioned from fabric covered in blue squares, and then they added panes and signage from Doctor Who’s blue box. I love the cut and design.

The spaceship dress is made to order, and you’re looking at a 2-3 week turnaround.

See the back of the dress after the break.

Product Page ($299 via WGW)

Last month when I heard McDonald's was including some new Ninja Turtle toys with their Happy Meals, I decided to swing by with John to pick one up. 

"Would you like a girl's toy or a boy's toy?" asked the bored voice through the drive-though speaker.

John gave me a wry look, and answered, "The Ninja Turtle, please."

As we drove home with my new toy, I mentioned (ok, griped) to John that I was surprised McDonald's was still using "girl" and "boy" labels. Here in my lovely online bubble of geeky acceptance at Epbot, it's easy to forget the "real" world is still catching up to the fact that girls can love Ninja Turtles and boys can love My Little Pony.

Happily one young girl did more than gripe, though: Antonia Ayres-Brown was 11 years old when she first wrote to McDonald's CEO back in 2008, asking him to change his company's policy. And when she got a canned customer service response claiming her experience "was not the norm," Antonia proceeded to conduct a series of her own studies, visiting dozens of local McDonald's with her father and documenting the results.

If you don't think McDonald's gender labels on toys are that big a deal, then head over to Antonia's article to see the resistance she and other kids in her study met when trying to get the "wrong" toy. I was amazed, and if anything, this story helped put me even more on the side of gender-free toy marketing.

But, this story has a happy ending: after sharing her results and continuing to ask McDonald's for change, Antonia finally received a letter in December of last year stating that Happy Meal toys would be provided "without any classification of the toy as a ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ toy and without any reference to the customer’s gender."

And here's proof they're following through, spotted on a McDonald's wall and posted by Do Something earlier this month:


I love that this change is happening, but I love the fact that a young girl-turned-young-woman made it happen even more. 

I tell ya, kids these days... out there, making our world better! It's enough to make a person grin like an idiot, am I right? ;)

Hat tip to reader Ann-Marie M. for sharing this story with me!

This takes the whole idea of who would win in a fight to a new level. What starts off as a bit of bickering between two friends turns into an epic battle between Harry Potter with his trademark glasses and wand, and Obi-Wan with his little rat tail and lightsaber. There is a clear victor by the end and you’ll want to watch it all the way through because the last few seconds are absolutely priceless.

See the video after the break (mildly NSFW language)…

(via reddit)

It doesn’t seem like it should be possible to dress like Chewbacca and Han Solo at the same time, but this reversible hoodie lets you do it. The amazing part is that it doesn’t look ridiculous. The Chewbacca half is covered in faux fur, and his iconic bandolier is an embroidered applique. The Han Solo side is inspired by the puffy blue jacket he wore on Hoth.

This cozy jacket would probably keep you toasty enough that slicing open a tauntaun for warmth would be unnecessary.

See some close-ups of each side of this neat hoodie after the break.

Product Page ($109 via Geek Alerts)

This is cosplayer Sebastien Nguyen who cosplays as ThatGuyYouKnow and he thinks the TARDIS really should be able to transform. He’s a big fan of Transformers and Doctor Who so he decided to combine the two in one fantastic costume. It’s made out of foam floor mats and took about three weeks to build. Absolutely brilliant.

Naturally, Tardimus Prime is accompanied by Doctor Whoom cosplayed by MrNikochu.

Photos by The Will Box.

See more pics and a video of after the break…

Thanks for the tip Sebastien! Send yours to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

The official press release went out today and we are officially excited. That picture up there is the official first cast photo.

I love the word “official”. Here’s the press release via StarWars.com:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

(via /Film)

I imagine that cosplayers who put a hipster spin on characters should walk around conventions completely unenthused. Because, like Grumpy Cat, hipsters aren’t impressed. Whether they appreciate it or not, I adore everything about this Star Wars trio from the glasses to the facial expressions. However, R2-D2′s “Beep. Boop.” t-shirt is my favorite part.

Send your cosplay pics to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

(exoplanetaria via Twitter)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are turtles, sure, but this kick-ass video homage turns them into human ninjas and sets them all sparring against each other. They’ve got shirts in the colors of the Turtles’ masks and wield all the right weapons in this incredible battle. They might not be turtles, but they sure as heck are ninjas.

See the video after the break…

(via Kotaku)

“He’s no good to me unless he’s in a tux…”

I’ve seen several femme takes on Boba Fett’s costume, but none have been quite as elegant as this ball gown. This cosplayer at C2E2 looks positively elegant as the bounty hunter, and I adore the way she’s translated his armor into a fancy gown fit for a royal ball on any planet in the galaxy. Everything from the poofy sleeves to the wrist bracers is perfect.

Send your cosplay pics to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

(via TheApexFan)

Power Girl’s boob window is pretty ridiculous, but wait until you see how the costume works on a male version of the character. Cory Walker has created an illustration showing how the costume might be altered for a man, moving the window somewhat lower to provide an entirely different kind of window.

See the uncensored NSFW version after the break…

(io9 via The Mary Sue)

This adorable little TARDIS is 13.5-month-old Majel all dressed up for the Fan Expo: Toronto ComiCon held this past March. Her Mom made the tutu and head ribbon which they paired up with a TARDIS onesie she purchased at an earlier con.

Pictures by Rajeeman Photography.

See more pictures after the break…

Thanks to Rajeeman for the tip! Send yours to tips@fashionablygeek.com.