Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I have not had much time this year to think about Halloween. In fact, I won’t even get to dress up this year! My lovely stepsister is getting married, which is lovely and nice and a whole different kind of dress up, really. And there’s cake instead of candy, so who can complain?
But what might I do after hours? Well, I’ve worked it out! With a 10 minute Doctor Who costume that I can pluck straight from my current wardrobe. Nothing like a free Halloween, if you ask me.
So if you want to be the Doctor, here’s what to snap from your current wardrobe for a quick costume change:
This is obviously a Matt Smith Doctor, but you can adapt it however you like.
You can see me rocking my very own version of the Doctor in this post from a few years ago. And if you want to make your very own lady like bow-tie you can find that here.
And if you want to rock the classic Amy Pond, here’s what you will need to pull from your dresser to rock the look:
You can see how Emma rocked the look a few years back in this post here.
I hope you feel like a space and time traveling wunderkind in these looks. And that you feel quite smart for saving so much moola to look so sharp on the eve of the Hallow. Happy Halloween, friends!
Abby Brazell is a crafty, geeky lady living in England and loving her naps. She’s the owner of Drowsy Aurora, a shop of Brazell’s original hand-sewn plushies. Since she moved to across the pond, she’s taken a break from the plush business, but she’s got something just as magical up her sleeve.
From December 14–27, Brazell is hosting a 12 Days of Christmas geeky giveaway on Drowsy Aurora’s Facebook page. (RSVP here.) She’s partnered with a dozen shops featuring nerdy, handmade goodies that will be sure to make your spirits bright. Her daily giveaways include items from AM&PMGoods, Shabby Chic Soap Company (Lego shaped soaps? Yes please.), and Pigtails N’ Curls.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that, come December 14, you win some of Brazell’s geeky goodies. In the meantime, check out her interview with Being Geek Chic!
Q: How did you discover your passion and what led you to open Drowsy Aurora?
A: I’ve always loved dolls. I loved dressing them up and coming up with stories for them. I’m also a major geek. A few years ago, my sister made for me a little felt doll of Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. It inspired me to make felt dolls myself. My husband decided to join the military, so I knew I would need a job that could easily travel. Thus, Drowsy Aurora was born.
Q: Why “Drowsy Aurora”?
A: 1. I like to sleep. A lot.
2. The Disney princess I’m most like is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
3. My sister and I had decided when we were younger that she was darkness and I was lightness. “Aurora” means “dawn” or refers to the Northern Lights.
Q: What geeky items are at the top of your gift list this year?
A: Pretty much anything and everything Doctor Who or Harry Potter. My house is in need of décor and one of the colors for my living room is conveniently TARDIS blue. I really want to get a replica of Hermione’s wand. I’d also love a Batgirl onsie.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: The Tenth Doctor, and not just because it’s David Tennant. I think we’d go out for tea and biscuits. We’ll see how long that lasts before something goes wrong and we have to dash away to save the day.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: The next few years are going to be some of the most frustrating years of your life. Don’t care so much about what others think and just find who you are and be it! Oh, and you’re going to have three amazing cats when you’re older and live in England so hang in there.
Q: What’s the title of your memoir?
A: Cats, Crafts and Christmas
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
For years, a big blue box has been invading my dreams, filling my closet and improving my Saturday nights. So it only made sense that seeing a “real” TARDIS was on my travel to do list last year when I made my way to Cardiff, Wales for the Doctor Who Experience. I said then that it was glorious, because it was. But I wanted to expound on that a little for people who are considering spending a ton of cash going there OR who may never have the chance to see it for one reason or another.
Big Blue Box isn’t just a silly name the show’s writers came up with in a moment of whimsy. The TARDIS is quite simply put, a giant blue prop, upon which many a nerd have placed a fantasy or a thousand. Many a drunken night has ended with a wish for a Big Blue Box. And with science fiction, time travel seems to be one of our key tools of choice. Whether Hermione’s Time Turner or Doc’s DeLorean, we nerds have a fondness for controlling time. For me personally, it’s a bit of an obsession. I have said to friends once too often: if it’s about time travel, I don’t care what Rotten Tomatoes says, I’ll watch it. Remember, The Butterfly Effect?
And so the TARDIS holds special meaning to me and seeing it was undoubtedly a fun memory. But the truth is, I didn’t NEED to see it for it to hold such importance to me.
I couldn’t open the door. It wasn’t truly bigger on the inside. I wasn’t going to travel to another space or time. It’s meaning was truly attached to how much I love the sentiment of the show.
This post isn’t mean to discourage you from making the trek to Cardiff if you want to see the real deal. Trust me, it is fun. But I would like to remind us all of something that can become so true when you are a fan of something: you don’t NEED the THING for the THING to be the THING. That can be a very expensive movie prop, or a trip to a set or something as simple as a tee shirt. Sometimes, we celebrate our nerd loves in a way that can be financially costly… and forget the main truth: It’s already in your heart. You just need to tap into it.
http://beinggeekchic.com/post/91302023302/geeky-travel-guide-cardiff-wales-the-doctor-who
Meet Steph Crandall, a Part Time Nerd and full-time Lady Geek who blogs about her “journey into the world of nerd-dom.” Her favorite topics? Doctor Who speculations, college tips and tricks, and nerdy pick up lines. Crandall also penned a lovely tribute to Robin Williams, tugging at our heartstrings and reminding us of the fragility of life and the beauty of the world.
But when she’s not geeking out over her favorite fandoms, Crandall updates us on the ins and outs of college basketball over at Mid-Major Madness. Check out her posts here.
Read on for this Lady Geek’s interview with Being Geek Chic!
PS: Need even more from Crandall? Tweet her: @Drummerette, or Tumble along with her here.
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: My passions are writing and photography. Writing I picked up on early, I think about 4th grade. My class was doing a practice for some standardized test and we were given a picture prompt and told to write a story. I was chosen to read mine out loud in front of the class… After the first few pages the teacher asked me to stop.
With the photography, it took a lot longer. My friends have a band and they played at a benefit concert one year when I was in college. I was part of yearbook so I had to take pictures for the event anyway. That was over 4 years ago. I do combine both when I write about college basketball. I get to be all official and sit on the court to take photos and write an article about the game later. It’s pretty awesome.
Q: Proudest accomplishment?
A: This is a tough one. I tend to try and stay behind the curtain as much as possible… It’s not what you’d pair with the word ‘geeky’ but I’d have to say when my article 'Top 10 Sexiest Mid Major Basketball Coaches’ completely blew up. It became the most viewed article the site had ever had, I was contacted by a radio station to do an interview, and the coach who was crowned “sexiest” had a t-shirt made about it! Their Chancellor wore a shirt in a photo with the coach that read “My coach is sexier than your coach”. For someone who barely got any views, that was mind blowing.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
A: If I knew what that meant when I was 5, probably then. I loved the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a kid. I had action figures, sticker books and a megazord, because no collection is complete without one. Though I didn’t realize I associated with the word 'geek’ until I found Harry Potter. That’s when I found my inner nerd. I started a fan fiction about HP back in 6th grade, when I was around 11 years old, and I’m still writing the series today (that’s close to 14 years ago). I’ve only got a year and a half left to go, so I’m a bit sad, but I’ll find a way to keep it going.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Oh boy, this is a tough one. I think I’d like to take out Doctor Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories and we would probably go to a little cafe and have tea. I do love tea.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: Keep writing. Please, keep writing. It’s going to be terrible and you’re going to laugh at it once you go back and read it later in life, but just keep doing it. Don’t let anyone discourage you. No one else has to see it, but work on it.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
The day I became a Whovian is almost as important as the day I became a woman. It was certainly less traumatic. It was also the day when I decided I needed to see that damn space machine in person before I died.
Friends, I saw it. And I touched it. And it’s glorious.
The entire reason Cardiff was even on my travel radar was because of Doctor Who. The show is filmed in the city and the BBC recently opened The Doctor Who Experience as a tourist attraction in the off months when the show isn’t airing. In a strange way, the City of Cardiff is lot like a living set for the show. Wandering through the city you’ll come upon random landmarks that look familiar. Like the building where Donna Noble worked. Or a random house that looks awful familiar. For super astute fans, a day wandering Cardiff can be crazy fruitful.
I loved that the city embraced their status as a Whovian mecca. Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood was also filmed in Cardiff and when the showed killed off the beloved character Iantos, a shrine popped up that has just never gone away. How can you dislike that?
The Doctor Who Experience itself leaves something to be desired unless you are under the age of 12. It’s a lot of flashing lights and smoke machines all wrapped into a storyline that Matt Smith so deftly acts through. However, for me, and I expect for the people who read this blog, the real highlight is just the stuff. The freaking sets and props and icons that make Who, well, Who.
As a filmmaker, I’m just obsessed with props and sets from a technical execution stand point, so I can be made to appreciate virtually anything from the film industry if done well. But in the context of one of my favorite shows, well, I was in heaven of sorts. The team at BBC have expertly curated a collection of Who memorabilia from the beginning to modern times, so there’s something from basically any fan’s favorite era. Unless you loved that 90s TV movie… I am not sure there’s much for you.
This is definitely a two hour to three hour walking tour if you look at everything and truly dive into the details. Others can probably do it in an hour, but I’m guessing that’s not your style if you’re still reading this. It’s pricey. Especially when you consider that what most fans are likely doing is taking a train from London Paddington to Cardiff. It’s a two hour train ride, so don’t try to jam it into one day unless you’re especially time crunched.
After spending your day walking Cardiff, enjoying the waterfrot and taking in all the Whovian love, I recommend staying nearby in the Mermaid Quay area for a little food and old school childhood geekery. Roald Dahl called Cardiff home and the nearby Roald Dahl Pass is surprisingly charming and fun.
Nearby there are a ton of cute restaurants, but group consensus seemed to be that Bayside Brasserie was a clear winner. It’s patio has a lovely view and seems to capture the real charm of Wales. I’m also just going to say right now that I just eat at Pret continuously when I’m in England, Ireland or Wales… so what that says about me… you decide. I freaking love it.
Wales also has a surprisingly fun culture on the weekends. The area is set up for street performers and general outdoor amusement, so if you can stick around for a while, definitely do. You might even catch a glimpse of the Doctor.
Taking a trip sometime soon? Consult our Geek Travel Guides before you go. Maybe we’ve been to your destination!
