My thought on Cosplaying

The following article is from the New York Post by Linda Stasi entitled "Syfy looks at world of make-believe reality"

I'm confused--or maybe they are.

In case you don’t know, (and I sure didn’t), there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who spend millions upon millions of dollars on intricately constructed costumes for their personal use.

No — not just gowns or nutty Civil War costumes that people wear for reenactments. Nor is it the job description of the costume designer at a local theater group.

That’s all mere child’s play, or should I say, “cosplay” compared to real thing — cosplay. What the hell isthat?

It’s competitive costume-making and costume-wearing at comic conventions — events at which competitors spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on outfits to look like characters in animated movies, comic books, graphic novels and video games.

It’s not enough to go to a costume store and rent a Demon Hunter outfit? I mean, seriously. Renting is so last decade!

Syfy, which loves all things comic, cosmic and costume has a new series, “Heroes of Cosplay,” devoted to these very folks who are devoted to competing around the country at comic conventions.

Competitive cosplayers make giant molds, sew elaborate outer space outfits, spray-paint their bodies and create armor from plastic molds they build themselves.

We learn that if the cosplay industry has a legend, it’s the one-and-only Yaya Han — a woman who is such a remarkable designer/wearer of the wild, hugely expensive costumes she and her boyfriend create that she’s now the go-to authority.

She is, in fact, a cosplay mogul with lines of accessories and God knows what else. Then there are the competitors themselves, some fairly new to cosplay and some who’ve been doing it years.

We aren’t given any in-depth knowledge about what these folks do to earn a living in the real world that enables them to spend every waking hour and dime on making costumes. Several of them seem to be involved in the industry.

No one seems rich, but there are big cash prizes for winners, which helps defer the cost of the elaborate costumes.

The weird thing, (well, all of it is weird), is that these folks really want to be the fictional characters they portray.

This article is insulting. 

Some of us don't spend thousands of dollars (the most I spent was $130 on Harley because of the fabric) and we do it because yes we want to portray a character. Are you slamming the actors who do this very same thing? No. 

Another reason I cosplay is that I love the look on people's faces when they see someone I am cosplaying who they are fan of. Example: Kitana. I had someone beg to come with me in to the shoppette because I was dressed as her. And Harley: Japanese teens asking for pictures. 

We spend countless hours on something we love to improve our skills, develop our talents, and challenge ourselves. What is wrong with that? That is why we don't rent our costumes. There's no pride associated with renting that "I MADE this" gets. 

And yes, some of us even have "real" jobs that we use to make money to spend on our hobbies. Some of us are bankers, and writers, and casino workers. 

The first time I made my own costume from scratch was Kitana. I had no idea about sewing. I just thought she was the sexiest video game character ever. So I looked at pictures of her online and sketches out how her costume looked.  Then I got some shiny blue fabric and began cutting. I made everything too small. So I started over, with the same piece and used it as a template to make the next attempt larger. Before I knew it, 8 hours had passed and the costume was done and my studio apartment was covered in sewing mess. I was going to make this costume for the bedroom but as I finished it I was so proud of it, that I wanted to wear it everywhere. 

Then, I got into Modeling and wanted to expand my portfolio. I began thinking of how I could, and cosplaying just made sense. I did a Poison Ivy shoot. I did Harley Quinn. I plan on doing Raven. I am going to redo Mystique. 

I wonder what the author of the article does in his spare time. I wonder if he actually believes playing on the XBox is that much more appealing than what we as cosplayers do.