People about Cosplay...

You absolutely do not have to make your own costume to cosplay! Made or bought, cosplay is cosplay. Cosplay is more than making an outfit. It can include makeup, wig styling, and prop making too, besides sewing the costume. Some people, like me, style their own wigs and do their own makeup, but can’t sew or craft. Some people simply wear the costume and don’t make any of it, and that’s fine too. This cosplay elitism needs to stop, of course it isn’t wrong to buy a costume. As long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right.

I actually role play as well. Role play and cosplay are almost the same thing. The only really different thing is that we not only act like the characters but we dress like them as well. The definition I give people when they ask what cosplay is, is this; cosplay means costume role play. We find a character that like/love and use cosplay as a way to bring them into the real world as best we can.

The appeal of cosplay for me is being able to create these amazing things using my skills that I have cultivated over the years. I guess it’s the same for people that like to cook. Cooking is fun and fine but I don’t think I’d really want to try my hand at making something worthy of a 5 star restaurant. That would just be way out of my skill level and I wouldn’t enjoy myself at all.

So yes, cosplay is kind of almost like that 5 star thing that people put a lot of time and effort into because they are passionate about it. Cosplay has also made it so that I have something to connect to people with. A lot of my family viewed it the same way as you do. Just adults and older teens that are dressing up on days other than Halloween. But after they saw just how much time and effort I put into these cosplays that I make they have gained a bit of a more ‘healthy’ respect for it.

If you get to know a cosplayer you will probably find that they are pretty passionate about their so called ‘hobby’. You could meet a cosplayer that may not have all of the resources that more ‘experienced’ cosplayers have. They may just sew everything by hand because they don’t have a sewing machine and work on cosplays in the corner of their shared bedroom because there’s just not enough space. Or you could meet a cosplayer that has years of experience and has won awards for their cosplays. They know exactly what kind of fabric to use for which kind of cosplay pieces. They have an entire workshop just for cosplay crafting.

But in the end we are all just a bunch of passionate nerds trying to bring our waifus and bishi boys into the real world. You don’t have to get the appeal of cosplay, just maybe respect those that do. I hope that helped you. :)

I have a rather complicated attitude towards cosplay and cosplayers.

Part of me think of them as rather silly. I mean, grown adult dress up in game/amine/comic book characters with homemade costume, and act like they’re actually the character? Com’on…

But at the same time, I admire their creativity and bravery. Some of the costumes are really ingenious and of high quality! I mean, let’s face it, game/anime/comic book characters often have the most unrealistic physic defying clothing. It takes some real creativity and talent to create it in 3 dimensional reality and to have the killer body to wear it.

Cosplayers are very passionate about their craft, which is something I can relate to and appreciate. If one of those days I can loose 30 lbs, I’ll go dress up too.