A gay couple have taken their love of dressing up to a delightful extreme.

Each Christmas, dads Gavin and Steven (who have asked us not to use their full names), and their children, pose for a cosplay family photo.

They wear clothes put together by Steven, who can be found on Instagram at @fathersewsbest. Their children are seven-year-old daughter Audrina, and four-year-old twins Byzantia and Rupert.

The family are based in Victoria, Australia. Steven is originally from Cardiff in Wales.

Finding one another in Australia

‘I met Gavin while I was here on a working holiday visa,’ Steven tells Gay Star News. ‘We were both working at a gay bar called The Laird. It’s the venue we were later married in.

‘We didn’t get along at first because Gavin had an amazing work ethic working quickly and efficiently and I was always leaning over the bar chatting … which pretty much sums up our relationship now!’

Steven says they hadn’t originally contemplated a family. But finding one another changed their outlook.

‘I think as gay men we grow up thinking children are not an option. With Gavin, I knew we were going to be together forever so starting a family just felt like a natural progression.’

Father sews best!

Steven has always had an interest in sewing and clothing construction.

‘As a child, I remember seeing costumes by Bob Mackie on TV and was desperate to know how they were made. My Welsh school didn’t encourage boys to sew so I taught myself at home. My first Halloween costume was made from bin bags and sticky tape.

‘It probably wasn’t until my 20’s, while I was working for Disney, that I actually started making costumes. There were so many theme parties, it was heaven. I bought my first sewing machine around this time and it’s been an uphill journey from there.’

Steven worked at Epcot at Walt Disney World for a year and then in the parade and character department at Disneyland Paris for three years (‘the best job I ever had’).

He has utilized his sewing skills on a few professional productions … ‘but now that I’m a stay at home dad my focus is on the kids requests, our Christmas photo and the school productions – which are always epic.’

From Frozen to Tangled by way of Mary Poppins

Do his children enjoy the dressing up?

‘The kids enjoy the family photo because they are involved in the process. They help choose the theme, the fabrics, the backdrops. My eldest daughter has her own machine so she sews the easier things for me. She also helped draft the patterns for this year’s picture.

‘Do they enjoy dressing up? Probably not… they are all about comfort and playing. Although they do love Halloween! So I don’t push too hard … even though I know I would be an amazing pageant dad!’

‘We went to Walt Disney World last year and had a costume for every day. By day three they just wanted shorts and T shirts…which was fine. I might have cried in the bathroom when no one was looking,’ he laughs.

He says the emphasis is now moving on to making party dresses, which he’s still happy about.

‘Hopefully, we will always do our Disney Christmas photo… or maybe until they become teenagers and become too cool to be princesses and princes … then it will just be Gavin and I looking like losers!’

The 2018 portrait

Follow Steven and his husband on Instagram at @fathersewsbest and @beardable.

See also

Remembering dad: Forced out of FBI for being gay and then lost to AIDS