On the power of costume
I've just started working on my first bridge build (OK, planning the build - need a house with a spare room or shed first).
I come from a theatre background, and I'm always struck by how much easier it is to "get in character" once the full dress rehearsals start. It really makes a big difference.
Masks, and costumes, are a powerful tool for immersion and story-telling. So I'm planning to arrange some ST:Enterprise-style jumpsuits for the crew. Imagine the following image, but with a phaser instead of a hammer. I have a family member who owns a printing business (they do embroidered shirts for companies and stuff like that), so there will be custom rank insignia and department markings and stuff like that. Depending how ambitious I get, I might get some cos-players I know to help add extra decoration, like piping and gubbins.

Has anyone else played with costume design? I'd love to see what other people are doing in this area!
I come from a theatre background, and I'm always struck by how much easier it is to "get in character" once the full dress rehearsals start. It really makes a big difference.
Masks, and costumes, are a powerful tool for immersion and story-telling. So I'm planning to arrange some ST:Enterprise-style jumpsuits for the crew. Imagine the following image, but with a phaser instead of a hammer. I have a family member who owns a printing business (they do embroidered shirts for companies and stuff like that), so there will be custom rank insignia and department markings and stuff like that. Depending how ambitious I get, I might get some cos-players I know to help add extra decoration, like piping and gubbins.

Has anyone else played with costume design? I'd love to see what other people are doing in this area!
Comments
Definitely some good ideas in there for cheap and effective costume stuff.
I have to find a picture of our uniform shirts and post it.
Now to find some thin, light overalls for my space-sailors...
Else, get 6 large t-shirts in a single color. I think even dressing everyone in a single type of shirt will help.
Nallath also threw up the idea to setup an EE "parts" web-shop last friday. As we have access to 3D printers, a laser-cutter, CNC mills. And an embroidery machine. So you might be able to buy patches, medals and other stuff from us in the future.
And yes, that does sound like a fabulous prop shop. I'm stuck with old-school methods from my Warhammer days - bits of rubbish, plastic, particle-board glued together and painted. It works though!
I'll have to get in with the local hackerspace soon, they've got access to a lot of those high-tech tools.
The one gripe that I have with TOS/TNG ST costumes is that crew/ship patches are not really pretty on them. While the aspect of ST Enterprise's crew uniforms clashed with the established universe, they are better suited for customization.
On custumes. The real question is. What size should you get for "general use"?
As even cheap overalls are 20 euro each (going up to 150 each...), buying large amounts of them for different sizes can get expensive quite quickly.
I think with a crew of 6, I'll probably only need a dozen outfits. A bunch of medium or large, and a few XL and Small. Pretty sure I can get cheap Chinese ones (hooray for slave labour!*) for about $20 AUD each.
Or just go REALLY cheap, t-shirts with iron-on transfers
* I am strongly in favour of paying people a fair wage for a fair day's work. So, y'know, the bit about slavery - sarcasm.
For the dwarfers out there, some inspiration : http://reddwarf.wikia.com/wiki/Jupiter_Mining_Corporation_Uniform
The JMC standard uniform, even if they are kind of bland, may be done on the cheap side and allow for a fair amount of customization.
Used them for hazmat training and clean work at facilities, I would stay away, unless you don't like the people you put them in...
I think I'll go with some sort of fabric. Maybe I should work out something suitable for summer.
Perfect summer Space-Uniform.
Stubbies, thongs, and a wife-beater (in departmental colours).
Which makes me think what about some kind of sash, but they're pretty annoying in my experience. I wonder if some kind of "shrug" could work. Obviously not something so diaphanous as the image below, but along those lines. I'm on my phone at present so maybe could find better later. But this would not only give you something to indicate station, but you could stick medals, patches and epaulettes on there too if you were so inclined
I saw this jacket at Walmart and the first thing that came to mind was "ARTEMIS UNIFORM!!!!'
Only adjustments I made to it was folding down the collar and hemming it. I did add shoulder patches to it. One for the Eastern Front group I fly with and the other one being a "Crew Chief" patch I was given during an event. I did have a new comm badge made. A friend with a 3D printer made me a comm badge in the shape of the Eastern Front Logo, with a circle in the middle for the TSN challenge coin that was given to me.