Ⓒosplay Ⓕemmes

People about cosplay...

I enjoy comics too, mainly Judge Dredd, actually nothing else to think about it. I’ve got T-shirts, computer games, loads of comics / books, an Oyster card wallet, badge and cufflinks of JD. You could say I’m a fan. At comic conventions I take interest in seeing the various folks in costume. It’s not my thing, but I get their enthusiasm.

One of the team on my current client in Holland is a huge Star Trek fan. He has all the films and all the episodes. At the moment he’s collecting a part work of all the space vehicles. He goes to events but hates seeing anyone who dresses up and is out of character. “No one from Star Fleet smokes, carries a beer or spends their time on an iPhone”. He doesn’t do cosplay but appreciates those who take the time to add something to the atmosphere of an event by doing it well.

Watching my shy 8 year old and his 10 year brother with the Star Wars guys at a convention made my day. These people enjoy spreading joy. To me, that act of generosity is a big appeal.

Costuming has been around a long time: we find artifacts from tens of thousands of years ago where they were used to portray a being or spirit. Often those who played the parts in costume were held in high regard.

A little time with kids or a parade group reminds us all how much fun people have – let alone when there is a formal play being staged. Costuming is fun; it’s fun for people to pretend, but it should be understood by all that it’s to be pretend. Problems come when the “role” gets mixed up with one’s being; the role defines the person instead of the person defining the role.

As Jack Nicholson famously said to Michael Keaton as they were suiting up for their roles in Batman (1989): “Time to let the costumes do the acting.”

When the role is more than the person, that causes psych problems.

At risk of sounding like a Nike ad, just do it! Find a character you want to dress up as and get started. If you need help there’s plenty of tutorials (both blogs and videos), books, and forum you can turn to for advice, especially if you’re doing something popular. Or you can do what I did and just muddle through it yourself. My first costume I bought what items I could, mostly at secondhand stores, dyed and altered a shirt and made some simple arm wraps out of cheap cotton. I had no idea what I was doing (and no sewing machine – do your hands a favor and use one if possible) but it came out pretty well and I’m still happy with it.

These days I usually make mine from scratch, finding a sewing pattern that is somewhat close and adapting it as needed. When I can pick up patterns cheap I look for anything that might be useful and stock up. I’ve gotten unused patterns for as little as a dime before, so even if I never use them I’m not out much. I like to let other people do work for me when possible. Secondhand stores can be good for base items and even for fabric, either by cutting something apart (one of my costumes is 95% bed sheets) or if you’re lucky even plain fabric (I once found a piece juuuust big enough and in the right color for an outfit I wanted to do).

Remember you can decide how true to the source you want to be. If something is outside of your skill level or too expensive to do “properly”, you can find a way to do something. I once stumbled upon a pattern to knit Rinoa’s duster, but painting or sewing the wings on a plain blue one works too. Or you can stylize it to your own tastes. My costumes never look great, my skills aren’t at that level, but I can do “good enough”. And you’ll never be sure what you’re capable of until you try.