In a few months time, my family and I will be transforming into our favourite characters for the day. We will all wear costumes and go out in public and it will be totally fine. Expected, even. Not weird at all.

We won’t even stand out in the crowd- unless, of course, we do a spectacular job. Where we are going, many people will be in costume and those that aren’t wont be perplexed or bothered by those that are. It’s more likely they’ll be gasping in admiration as a stunning Poison Ivy walks by. Maybe they’ll stop an impressive Dalek and ask for a photo. Because that’s what happens at Oz Comic-Con. The costumed crowd mingles with the regularly dressed and everyone has a good time!

Lagertha For A Day.

Deciding who you want to be for the day is important. There is a costume to be assembled, after all!

There are some excellent female characters out there right now, which made the choice a little more difficult for me. Dragon queens, warriors, time-travelers, superheroes, half-human mythical creatures and more. How to settle on just one? Then I remembered something I’d seen online:

How can anyone argue with that?

Why Should We Be Lagertha?

For those who don’t watch Vikings, Lagertha is a shield-maiden; a warrior in her own right. On the show as well as in legend, Lagertha was extremely brave, spirited and strong. Also, her hair is consistently awesome. And nothing keeps her down for long.

The first season sees Lagertha sail to places they’d never been, fight in battles, and even turn her blade on one of her own men to stop him from raping a Saxon woman. She defends herself and her children from men who attack them because they vastly underestimated her. She is a powerful match for her brave, bold, sexy but totally pig-headed husband, Ragnar Lothbrok, whom she loves fiercely. However, their inability to conceive more children eventually comes between them.

After leaving Ragnar for his infidelity (on the show, that is- historical accounts vary), Lagertha continues to show her strength and resilience. She remarries but Sigvard, the wealthy earl she is married to, turns out to be an abusive man who seems to take enormous pride in dominating his wife. Sigvard’s own people are uncomfortable with the way he treats her, cringing and staying silent as he berates her. Lagertha does not stand for his abuse and fights back at every opportunity. When she reaches breaking point, Sigvard has just had her beaten by several of his men. Soon after, he tries to tear off her clothing to expose and humiliate her in front of their people. Lagertha, by this point, has simply had enough of Sigvard’s shit and plunges a knife into his eyeball. Sigvard’s own kinsman steps forward and beheads him. They were also sick of his shit.

Thus, Lagertha gained her own earldom.

That’s just one example; I won’t even go into what happened to the guy who later usurped her or what she’s up to in the current season.

I don’t love Lagertha just because she’s a kick-arse warrior; she’s also a fiercely protective mother and friend. She looks out for other women and shows them kindness and respect while also doing what she can to empower them. She’s intelligent and adventurous and does what she believes is right. Who better to dress up as for a day?

Why It’s Hard to Dress Up Like Lagertha.

Vikings is in it’s fourth season and conventions like Oz Comic-Con happen all over the world, so I figured picking up a costume to wear and learning how to do awesome braids would be all I’d need to do. How wrong I was! The costume companies of the world are still hooked on terrible designs. Do you know how to tell the difference between a men’s costume and a women’s? The women’s ones are the shorter, “sexier” version. How annoying would it be to wear a ridiculous hat and short skirt while swinging a sword and carrying a huge wooden shield? Too often, costume stores rely on these tired, inaccurate stereotypes and the practice of making women’s costumes “sexy” seems to rightfully come under scrutiny every Halloween. Sigh. Take a closer look:

So, while I work out how to braid my hair like Lagertha’s I’m also searching for something suitable to wear that does NOT include a plastic helmet with horns or a mini-skirt! I did find a long, white chemise type thing, like what she’s wearing here. Anyone know where I can get fake blood in bulk?

Oz Comic-Con: Your chance to come along!

How would you like a family pass to Oz Comic-Con? I was given one for my family and have one to give away to either the Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane convention. The dates are as follows:

Melbourne: July 1-2 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Brisbane: September 23-24 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

Sydney: September 30- October 1 at the ICC Sydney.

Enter Below:
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