My name is Lori Ann Gerlisky and I am the owner and designer for LoriAnn Costume Designs Inc. I have also had several of my designs licensed by Simplicity Patterns

Who am I ? That's a great question...

You'd never believe it if I told you! Haha

Let's see, I've been sewing since being a wee one. Maybe around 5 or 6 my mother taught me. The first thing I made was an apron. And I never stopped. I made all of my clothes through High School. I remember coming home after being an Exchange Student to Australia and one girl stopped me in the shopping mall to say: "I remember you from school, you used to wear crazy clothes. You wore a dress with frogs on it once." I just started laughing.

I was planning to go to FIT in NYC, but I gave it up to be an Exchange Student. Which was the year I designed my "LoriAnn" logo. I printed and silk screened it as one of my projects. After that... it's been a non stop roller coaster.

When Ebay opened in 1995 I think, I jumped on the band wagon and started selling bodices. I just went with it from there and came up with my own Pirate designs. It's actually something I still sell today. Once it got into a steady pace I decided to be more creative and move into Movie Gown Reproductions. I did the Sleepy Hollow gown first. It opened my eyes to bustles and I was hooked. Oh and when Pirates of the Caribbean came out... I couldn't make enough of the Elizabeth Swann gowns. And then my Sweeney Todd Reproductions! WOW!

I remember being the first person on Ebay to use the word "Fantasy Gown" I had a good few years until other people caught on to what I was doing and they were copying my listings and trying to reproduce my work selling cheaper. That's the sort of move that kept a fire under me and I try to keep designing new pieces every year. I even had a lady admit to me in an email that she only bought my bodice to copy it, but it wasn't worth her time to do all of the grommets! That's what makes my pieces unique. I love to use grommets. I think they look sexy. My goal when I started actually the concept of my designs and to move in the direction of costumes, were to make pieces that are basic and can go with all of my other items. That way clients could have several different looks with only a few pieces. And they’d only need to add a piece each year or so to create another look!

Times have changed over the years. I left sales on Ebay to the overstock and mass production people and moved on over to Etsy where the creative minds are blending together to create a magical crafty world! I mainly sell corsets and bustles in Etsy but the Pirates have always been popular. Renaissance costumes aren't what they used to be because the market is just flooded with them. And now there is STEAMPUNK! What a wild and crazy eclectic genre. It is the rage right now and so exciting to design! I never dreamed I'd be making hoodies or spats! But there you have it. Cosplay... let’s go there for a moment! I started getting asked to do video game characters and comic book characters several years ago and I think I found my extreme passion! I love the vibrant colors that can be used and the dramatic impact these characters have! I love to see pictures of smiling faces when I receive photos from each event. It really is what keeps me going. I like to make people happy. The cosplay then led me to a dream I never imagined possible...


In late Oct 2014 I received an email from Simplicity Patterns. I asked my husband “Do you think this is real?” I emailed back and asked what they were looking for and it all just snowballed into one crazy fast ride. I can officially say now that I am a designer for Simplicity Patterns. How crazy is that! Two patterns are releasing June 2015 that will include 5 costumes. I’m so excited! I can’t believe they even knew who I was in my little corner of the world.

I do this because I love it. It's like breathing. If I didn't do it, I would shrivel up and die. I love to make people happy and see their smiling faces in pictures they send to me. How great is that? My job is 100% satisfaction. I wake up and get to work. My husband has to let me know sometimes that I need to stop when the 2am mark rolls around on the clock! I’ve been married for 25 years and I have two beautiful daughters that I’ve been able to stay at home and be apart of their lives. I'm living the dream.

Have a great life! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!


LoriAnn