Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is
Cosplaying tip #3: When to Wear What Cosplay
I chose this topic for my cosplaying tips because of one of my friends. In my last cosplay tip I mentioned that I had altered a hoodie for a friend's cosplay. My friend wore that cosplay costume to a convention at the end of summer and got a case of heat prostration because of it. To help avoid this happening to others I chose to write this post as a tip and a warning.
DON'T WEAR COSPLAY COSTUMES WITH SWEATERS OR HEAVY JACKETS DURING SUMMER.
The main exception to this rule is if you plan on being inside an air conditioned building that is NOT overly crowded. Another cosplayer I met who was cosplaying as Death the Kid from Soul Eater at that convention was mostly hanging out in a less crowded part of the convention and highly recommended against doing a photoshoot in the desert in the middle of summer in a Death the Kid cosplay.
Another recommendation I have is to avoid wearing shorts, thin clothing, and other summer weather clothing at conventions taking place during winter or fall. The original shirt I had for my cosplay costume for Liz Thompson from Soul Eater was made from and old pair of stretchy pajama pants. As ingenious as this shirt was, I was freezing cold outside. And it was worse when I wore the same shirt with shorts for my cosplay costume for Patty Thompson, Liz's twin sister from Soul Eater. If you do wear shorts or a short skirt for a cosplay costume during cold weather, I highly recommend you wear pink or tan tights, depending on your skin tone. Not nylons, tights. Tights tend to be thicker than regular nylons and I frequently wear a pair of footless or convertible tights under my jeans when it's cold outside. They work very well for insulation without being too thick or bulky. One of my dance teachers used to take her old tights and convert them into a shirt by cutting off the feet and cutting a hole in the crotch for her head to go through. If you do this, I recommend using clear nail polish on the edges to avoid runs in the tights.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
My New Bloomers
This past week I finally had the time to sew a new pair of bloomers. I used the same pattern as for the bloomers I made for my senior project, but I lengthened the legs a bit so that they come down a bit farther. I used the same lace and purple ribbon that I used for my other bloomers since I had some left over from my senior project. I had to take out several seams as I figured out how to make the longer legs properly, but it wasn't very hard for me to figure out how I should sew the legs properly. My bloomers turned out wonderfully! They come down to just above my knees and poof out nicely. Here is a picture:
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Cosplay Tips 2
First of all, I would like to apologize for the long intermission between postings. I unfortunately had school take over my life, but now I am back with more posts. Enjoy!
Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is
Cosplaying tip #2: Make your own Cosplay- Choosing Materials
Many people buy pre-made cosplay costumes, simply just to have a cosplay costume. I, being a bit of a cheapskate or broke most of the time, choose to make my own cosplay costumes. Another reason I make my own cosplay costumes is: quality. I see lots of cosplay costumes that use cheap fabrics that are poorly made selling for horrendous amounts of money. This has always bugged me because when I cosplay I always try to make my costumes look like real clothing, not just a costume.
When shopping for clothing to use for cosplaying, I look for clothes that I can wear normally too. I also raid my closets to find clothes that I can use for cosplaying. One example of this is my current cosplay costume for Misa Amane from Death Note. A while back I had bought a strapless black dress at Love Culture that I recently realized I could use for a Misa cosplay. I paired it with a black camisole that I pinned underneath to give the impression of a strapped dress and some black lace gauntlets to make an adorable Misa Amane cosplay costume. Since I didn't have a necklace that looked like the one Misa usually wears, I just tied a black ribbon around my neck like a choker and wore my dog tags instead. And in place of black lace stockings I wore black tights. Also, last time I bought a pair of jeans I bought them with cosplay in mind. I bought a style that I could wear on normal days as well as for my cosplay costume for Liz Thompson from Soul Eater.
I admit there are many cosplay costumes that can be pulled off with normal clothes, but many, like Sailor Moon, require out-of-the-ordinary pieces. Not many people walk around in a white leotard with a blue mini skirt on a daily basis. For costumes like this that have to be made, I highly recommend making your own costume or buying a costume made with real fabrics, like cotton or linen, as opposed to costume fabrics. Many costumes are made out of low-quality fabrics that are meant only for costumes. These fabrics not only look bad, but they don't hold up nearly as well as other fabrics. I admit for some cosplays it doesn't matter because the outfit the character is wearing is a costume, but many anime and manga characters wear their outfits all the time. So, let me ask you: Do you wear cheaply made clothing that looks like a costume on a daily basis? For many of you, the answer is most likely no. This is why I choose to use real clothing for my cosplay costumes. Also, real clothing and costumes made out of better fabrics hold up better than most costumes.
There are some cosplay costume parts that look like regular clothing with an anime twist. Instead of killing yourself trying to make the whole costume piece, use as much of an article of clothing as you can. An example of this is the jacket for a cosplay of the character Soul from Soul Eater that I revamped for a friend's cosplay. I started with a black hoodie that my friend had. I removed the seams attaching the sleeves of the hoodie to the body, used them as a pattern to cut out new, yellow sleeves, then attached the new sleeves I had made to the hoodie. I then cut out the shape that Soul has on his jacket's front and back and sewed them on to the hoodie. Granted I did this all the night before and on the drive down to the convention my friend wore it to, so it didn't look perfect. However, my friend was recognizable as Soul, which was good enough for me.
I apologize for the length of the post, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
Hello all. This will be a continuing series of tips and suggestions I have for cosplayers and anyone interested in cosplaying or just dressing up for Halloween. I'll try to do a few examples if necessary for each of these posts. So, without further ado, here is
Cosplaying tip #2: Make your own Cosplay- Choosing Materials
Many people buy pre-made cosplay costumes, simply just to have a cosplay costume. I, being a bit of a cheapskate or broke most of the time, choose to make my own cosplay costumes. Another reason I make my own cosplay costumes is: quality. I see lots of cosplay costumes that use cheap fabrics that are poorly made selling for horrendous amounts of money. This has always bugged me because when I cosplay I always try to make my costumes look like real clothing, not just a costume.
When shopping for clothing to use for cosplaying, I look for clothes that I can wear normally too. I also raid my closets to find clothes that I can use for cosplaying. One example of this is my current cosplay costume for Misa Amane from Death Note. A while back I had bought a strapless black dress at Love Culture that I recently realized I could use for a Misa cosplay. I paired it with a black camisole that I pinned underneath to give the impression of a strapped dress and some black lace gauntlets to make an adorable Misa Amane cosplay costume. Since I didn't have a necklace that looked like the one Misa usually wears, I just tied a black ribbon around my neck like a choker and wore my dog tags instead. And in place of black lace stockings I wore black tights. Also, last time I bought a pair of jeans I bought them with cosplay in mind. I bought a style that I could wear on normal days as well as for my cosplay costume for Liz Thompson from Soul Eater.
I admit there are many cosplay costumes that can be pulled off with normal clothes, but many, like Sailor Moon, require out-of-the-ordinary pieces. Not many people walk around in a white leotard with a blue mini skirt on a daily basis. For costumes like this that have to be made, I highly recommend making your own costume or buying a costume made with real fabrics, like cotton or linen, as opposed to costume fabrics. Many costumes are made out of low-quality fabrics that are meant only for costumes. These fabrics not only look bad, but they don't hold up nearly as well as other fabrics. I admit for some cosplays it doesn't matter because the outfit the character is wearing is a costume, but many anime and manga characters wear their outfits all the time. So, let me ask you: Do you wear cheaply made clothing that looks like a costume on a daily basis? For many of you, the answer is most likely no. This is why I choose to use real clothing for my cosplay costumes. Also, real clothing and costumes made out of better fabrics hold up better than most costumes.
There are some cosplay costume parts that look like regular clothing with an anime twist. Instead of killing yourself trying to make the whole costume piece, use as much of an article of clothing as you can. An example of this is the jacket for a cosplay of the character Soul from Soul Eater that I revamped for a friend's cosplay. I started with a black hoodie that my friend had. I removed the seams attaching the sleeves of the hoodie to the body, used them as a pattern to cut out new, yellow sleeves, then attached the new sleeves I had made to the hoodie. I then cut out the shape that Soul has on his jacket's front and back and sewed them on to the hoodie. Granted I did this all the night before and on the drive down to the convention my friend wore it to, so it didn't look perfect. However, my friend was recognizable as Soul, which was good enough for me.
I apologize for the length of the post, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
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