Musings on that Creative Cosplay Impulse

While you'd never guess it if you met me in person, I'm quite enamored of cosplayers of all stripes. 

There's the professional cosplayers --those who are paid to cosplay, from the so-called "booth babe" gig to those who cosplay at a con to mingle with the crowd*-- and there's the various levels of amateur cosplayers. The amateurs range from raw newbies to those who work on their cosplay with a level of professionalism that rivals those of the actual pros.

Svetlana and Benni, the people behind Kamui Cosplay.
They not only create and wear cosplay for events, they also
publish digital (and print-on-demand) books on creating
your own cosplay. Full disclosure: I own one of
their books. From KamuiCosplay.com.

Svetlana in Druid Tier 9 gear
from World of Warcraft.
From KamuiCosplay.com.

And I know that some of them will get mightily offended when I lump them in with the cosplay crowd, there's also the historical costume people --ranging from SCAdians** to historical re-enactors of various stripes-- who research and create their own clothing with varying degrees of faithfulness to historical accuracy.

Union Civil War reenactors at the "A Step Back in Time"
event at the Sharon Woods Heritage Village Museum.
From Cincy Magazine.

To me, I consider all of this part of cosplay. Your research, design, and engineering (whether by needle and thread or actual machine shop equipment) for the outfit you're working on is going to be just as rigorous as you want it to be. Having seen a lot of the cosplay YouTube videos --such as those from Mineralblu or Justin Cosplay-- there's no real difference in quality between the various groups.

Part of my interest is because I enjoy working on and creating things***, but also there's an undeniable amount of beauty in cosplay. 

Screencap of Dokomi 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany,
video by Mineralblu. One nice thing Mineralblu does
is put the names and social media for the cosplayers
in the video without having to switch on closed
captions, so they get full credit.

Another part is understanding the how behind the cosplay designs that elude my oh-so-not-with-it brain.

I mean, I can comprehend using 3D printers for a variety of purposes, and foam sheets from the hardware store (such as this from Home Depot) to make armor and whatnot:

From Flooring Inc's website.
The website I linked to is an entire entry
point into how to use foam for armor
and shields. I kid you not.

Yes, I also understand the power of needle and thread, whether by hand or by sewing machine. I've described sewing machines before as power tools for cloth, which makes it sound more like something that belongs in a garage shop than in the corner of a bedroom.

Or in storage in the basement. 
Yes, that's my machine, built in the late 1970s.
And holy crap is it heavy.

I also understand the ability of makeup or a wig in the hands of an expert to transform someone.**** 

Screencap of Dokomi 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany,
video by Mineralblu. 

While I was peripherally aware of other things out there to assist a cosplayer, I have been still quite surprised at the extent of what's available. Such as contact lenses for the eyes:

Those eyes...
Alexstrasza cosplay by DarkLadyCosplay.
From DarkLadyCosplay on DeviantArt.

Or that so-called "boob tape" is a thing:

Apparently this movement got a boost from
Kim Kardashian of all people, which is likely
a big reason why I never heard about it before.
The pic is from boob tape brand Skines.

When a magazine known for household tips and tricks such as Real Simple runs an article about how to use boob tape, you know this entire thing has gone mainstream. All my brain can think of is that removing the tape must really hurt like hell, but the various forms of boob tape is safe for use on the body, so hopefully it doesn't hurt like when you're waxing your body.

Steve Carell from The Forty Year Old Virgin.
Supposedly he was never told about how
this would feel before the shot, and
this was his real reaction.

There's an entire cottage industry surrounding items for cosplayers, whether intentional or not. Companies that you'd never expect to have anything to do with cosplayers, such a Flooring Inc. mentioned above, have web pages on how to shape their products for cosplay gear. It all spends, I guess, and if cosplayers are going to shell out money for your company's stuff, the easiest thing in the world to do is to encourage those sales.

***

Things aren't always sunshine and roses, of course.

There's a reason why the slogan "cosplay is not consent" is a thing, and that's because some people can't keep their hands and their words to themselves. 

I get that someone in their cosplay outfit can look damn hot --just watch a video or even looking at the small samples here and it becomes pretty obvious-- but a cosplayer looking hot or acting/posing in a sexy way doesn't give an onlooker license to act like an oversexed creeper.

Basic common courtesy can go a long way toward interacting with cosplayers, but also recognizing that there's an "in-character" and an "out-of-character" mode for them is highly important. Just like any actor who slips into character, they may act in a fashion they may definitely not feel internally. Sure, that Harley Quinn cosplayer gave you a grin and a wink while striking a pose, but that doesn't mean that they're giving you an okay to go and pursue them. Or grope them. Or berate them when they refuse your advances.

***

I could go on and on about details surrounding cosplay and historical re-creations --in another lifetime I would likely have been busily working away at Colonial Williamsburg in their archives or assisting in restorations rather than working in IT-- but I'm going to end this with a couple of videos on the creation process:

I really love Svetlana's energy in her videos as 

well as the details during creation.

And the corgi is massively cute.

While I could have picked the video Bernadette

made about the time she made an OnlyFans for

"saucy Victorian ankle pics" (oh, it is funny

as hell), I went with an actual dress creation video.

*Some professional cosplayers get involved with con events, such as judging amateur cosplay contests or holding workshops on cosplay and the cosplay process.

**I've mentioned the Society for Creative Anachronism several times in the past; they were my initial exposure to amateur level historical costuming. Yes, I've visited Colonial Williamsburg, but I've always considered the re-enactors there to be purely professional in nature. The SCA was my first exposure to true amateurs who research and create their own period clothing. I met my first Civil War (or other) re-enactors only after my first (and only) SCA organizational meeting. 

Why didn't I join the SCA? Well, that's a story all by itself, and one that won't fit here...

***When my primary care physician suggested I go on vacation to relax --yes, really-- I immediately thought of woodworking projects. Such as creating this outdoor end table using 2x4 and 2x6 pieces of wood:

****Okay, time for a short story.

Back when I was a junior in college, one Saturday night my friends and I stopped by the dorm of some girls we knew before everybody was to go out for the evening. Two of the girls were to join us later --they had some event to attend first-- and they were finishing up makeup in their common room when we walked in. For the most part, the girls didn't wear much in the way of makeup --after all, when you're up until 1 AM studying and then have to go to class at 8 AM the last thing you want to do is spend time doing makeup-- so when they came into view I was stunned by what I saw. Before, they were 20 year old friends of mine, but after...

If you've seen the transformation that Katy Perry makes when she puts on makeup, you get the idea.

I'm pretty sure my brain broke that evening.

EtA: Fixed some formatting.