The Dawn Look-Alike Contest: Costumes, Attitude, and the Goddess Within
By Paul J. Iutzi | September 1, 2007 | 8:52 am | Posted in: '07 Awards, 2007, Awards

Why I love Dragon*Con: 67 beautiful women (and one man) onstage in costumes ranging from elaborate to barely existent where, as contestant Athena said, “Attitude is more important than the costume.”

Snapshot impressions of the costumes in the 10th Annual Dawn Look-ALike Contest include “Best Armor” winner Gayle Klar’s carbon dioxide powered wings that opened and flapped at the push of buttons, cleverly concealed in her palm; the Yaya Hahn-designed black feather wings of contest winner Ruby Rocket that floated and swirled in seeming defiance of gravity; a stunning multitude of snaps, velcro, and Goddess magic that allowed Aurora Celeste’s dress to tear away on stage to reveal the Goddess within; as well as Dawn brought to the world of Chinese opera by Jamila Sisco, the forest by Jennifer Ofunne, the speakeasies of Prohibition-era America by Sarah, and a Dawn of the Dead worthy of George Romero by Gayle Grant.

Yet it is the inner strength, beauty, and self-confidence of the contestants that make the Dawn Look-ALike contest inspiring and powerful to both contestants and audience.  There was Lisa Kufs, whose participation was both tribute and fulfilled promise to a friend lost to cancer.  Angelle, with poise born of a survivor’s experiences, who stated, “No matter what happens in your life, nothing anyone else does can change who you are.”  And Teona Clark, who asserted, “The Goddess is in everyone.” 

Dawn 2007

Winners:
First Place: Ruby Rocket
Second Place: Katharine Kuzla
Third Place: Helen Aure
Dramatica: Rob Hlozek
Best Theatrical Performance: Vixen Darkfairy
Best Adapted Costume: Joanie King
Best Original Costume: Aleathia Burns
Most Outrageous Costume: Spider

Paul James Iutzi has been referred to as both the greatest light within the constellation of humanity and the type of scum that makes one realize how better the universe would be if all matter were inanimate. These statements generally come from those who have had too much to drink, and so the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. His interests include an obsession with the shape and placement of letters, numbers, and punctuation, the Apple computing platform, the coating of small plastic soldiers in various colors, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the National Football League, the works of the Cohen Brothers, Warhammer 40K, and whatever else has caught his interest at the moment.