Wall of Taxidermy Costume

I grew up around hunting and taxidermy. My father taught me to hunt when I was young, but once I was old enough to really grasp this idea, I decided it wasn't for me. When I went to college I stopped eating meat all together. This costume was an attempt to put the human in the position of the hunted animal. I have decided recently that I would like to take up taxidermy as an art form by honoring animals that were killed for food. I am going to be learning taxidermy November 2013 in fact. I like to choose costumes that are relevant to my life that particular year. This was my inspiration this year.

I used upholstery fabric to make the suit. I wanted to pick something exotic and ornate and that would give the feel of a smoking room. It is made using a suit pattern. The extra fabric I needed enough to hang behind me in order to blend in to give that wallpaper idea. I created the plaques out of 1/4" plywood and painted them with a more obvious woodgrain pattern. The large one has a hole for my head. The small plaques have an attached pocket on the back to function like gloves. The larger plaque has a canvas drawstring design to pull closer to my neck. On two of the plaques there are copper and brass plates to resemble authentic trophies. The antlers on both the smaller mounts are made of paper mache and painted with acrylic paint. A blue velvet and red leather cover the center parts. The antlers on my head are also made of paper mache and painted. They are attached to a headband. The ears are three layers of different colored leathers. My hair was teased and curled to sit on top of my head, and I did my makeup following online tutorials on deer makeup.

I took a lot of pictures with people the night I wore this costume out. I rocked the deer in headlights look in most of them. Since it is deer season, people seemed to really enjoy talking to me about the costume even more. This is one of the best parts about dressing up.

I feel very passionately about this costume, because the last few years of my life I have done a lot of work focused on animal rights. This was a whole-hearted effort. I think I should be chosen for this category, because there is a lot of passion behind this costume.