I'm also in this boat, infact alot of the time I feel really uncomfortable cosplaying some characters because I think I'm too thin and I really dislike showing my arms because of it.

Still, I do beleive it shouldn't stop you cosplaying the characters you love ^^

I totally agree with this. Weight is irrelevant (cosplay is supposed to be fun and open to everyone!); it's about what you feel comfortable in. If you feel comfortable dressing as Rikku, then I say go for it!
A little modification isn't going to hurt the overall costume. I've been considering cosplaying Fran (FFXII) sometime and if I do I'll be modding her costume a little. There's no way I'm wearing something with a thong back lmao.

We should never let weight get in the way of us being happy and doing what we want.

its all about the fun right?

Who cares if your fat, thin or somewhere inbetween as long as your having fun ^_^

Kudos to that!!!

Stuff like that shouldnt matter to me cosplay is about having fun and being with friends I mean i dont think i suit half the people I cosplay and say about ym weight alot but at the end of the day isn't cosplaying about enjoying yourself and doing somthing you love with your friends?

Same thing I think about weight and real life, either you're wearing something that does absolutely nothing for you, or you're wearing something that makes you look good. If you make a cosplay accurately and you put it on and you think you look hideous or like a beached whale or anything else derogatory then it's pretty sure fire other people are going to think so too. Cause let's face it, there are some lovely people in the cosplay world truly, but equally there's a bunch of superficials, pro-skinnies and an assortment of other stereotypes who aren't going to like you unless your Japanese and tiny =D

If on the other hand you put on the cosplay and you feel fabulous, then really you just have to face that there are people that ain't gunna like it but they don't matter because you are fabulous =D

Personally, I have put on cosplays and decided against wearing them sometimes because it's just one of those days where looking at myself makes me want to be sick and on other days I just don't care. So if, for whatever reason, you don't feel like wearing Riku, don't wear it. Lose some weight, or make it less revealing or just put it aside for a sunnier day. Or if it makes you feel happy or sexy or just plain fun then full steam ahead

Ladies, and gents, who cares about weight, it's all about having fun, go for it. If You're happy about the way you look, and you wan to wear hot pants, it doesn't matter if you're a size 8 or 18. It's you wearing them, if people are offended by your weight, they can look somewhere else.

I agree with this.

My skin colour makes it difficult to get an accurate portral of 95% of characters, however it leaves me wide open to specialise in that 5%.

I also know that my physical size wouldn't match up with some characters I really like, but when we're cosplaying we're bringing a 2-Dimensional character to life, representing how they could look in real life. Which I think extremely interesting.

I'm fat (size 20/22) and I still cosplay. I just make sure I wear supportive underwear so there are no unsightly lumps or bulges, and wear costumes that don't expose bare flesh on bits I'm self conscious about (so no cropped tops, or short skirts without tights)

I've not had any negative feedback about my weight (or appeared on Badly Dressed or /cgl as far as I know )

Let's face it, if everyone only cosplayed characters that are phsically similar (i.e. build, race, height) to them there would be loads of awesome characters off limits to 99% of people. Only a very small (and lucky) proportion of people have the traditional anime/game character physique: long legs, flat stomach, perfect skin, big boobs/6 pack, etc. So I think you should be free to cosplay whoever you want. Of course, in my opinion anyway, it does work better if you share more phsical features with a character, but as long as the overall costume is well made and clearly shows a lot of effort has gone into it then it shouldn't really matter!

You shouldn't let yourself stop you from having the urge to cosplay a certain character. Not everyone is perfect.

Do what you want to do. Never feel negative. But the decision is yours to make if you feel comfortable with it.

I personally have no problem with overweight people doing cosplays of skinny people. For me, I tend to look at the quality of the costume itself, if you're the right size for the character too, then it's a bonus, but otherwise it really, really doesn't matter.

However, it kind of irks me a bit when I see people not dressing to their body type. Okay, I know it's only a costume and everything, but if you were overweight (as I am tbh), I'd assume that in day-to-day life, you'd dress in a way which covers and disguises your bad bits, and emphasizes the fact that you have amazing boobs/legs/bum or whatever.

Why then, when it comes to doing a costume, would you throw this all out of the window and cosplay as something which shows off all the 'bad areas' and makes you look worse? Especially when it's fully expected that everyone will be taking pictures, which will probably end up on the internet (not /cgl/ in particular, but also Facebook, DeviantArt and Flickr etc.)

I guess another point is how the costume makes you feel though. If you're happy and confident enough to do a costume, go for it! Seriously, you'll have fun, and the vast majority of people will not give a flying crap about what you look like. If you don't feel completely awesome, it could ruin your day.

e.g. The costume I hate most, is my original Miku, not only because it was poorly made, but it made my arms look awful. On the day of the actual con, I felt unbelievably self-conscious and spent most of the time trying to hide my flab. I actually just couldn't wait to get it off at the end of the day, and I kind of regret doing it...

However, my absolute FAVOURITE costume, is Sandplay version of Miku. The dress itself is a lot more flattering, the arms are covered and it shows off my legs, which I guess are the probably the best part of my body. I felt confident, and had an awesome time which probably came across with how I interacted with everyone too.

Gah, I know I probably sound like a bitch, but this is just my 2 cents... Sorry if I pissed anyone off D: And sorry about the essay of a post ><

When I cosplayed as Shana from Legend of Dragoon a few years ago, someone I went with decided to tell my friend who was cosplaying with me aswell that I shouldnt cosplay because I am big. (well she said fat) she never went to expo again.

To be honest that really hurt and I was put off doing it, yeah Im not the smallest girl out there Im rather big and I have always had issues with my weight.

But last year I did Alicia from VP2 and well she has a short skirt and all that jazz, but I made to to myself. My waist is small but I have big boobs and a big bum so its hard to actually do cosplay but I dont care.

Im oing Alicias second outfit for may and its white! Ive also done, Sheena from Tales of Symphonia, Shana from Legend of Dragoon, Malon from Zelda and even Aeris from Crisis core.

So...if I can do it so can you Sora!!!! You are lovely the way you are. So dont listen to those who say you cant.

I've never thought of my size as a problem in cosplay. I'm currently sitting at a size 22/24 and yes I do want to lose weight, but if I don't I don't see it as a problem.

Hell, I even pick characters that have flesh on show, such as Talho, or ones that have tight unflattering outfits like Envy Adams (both of which I'm doing for cons this year) and I've not been put off by my size. If people have a problem than that's thier problem and not mine, because all I'm doing is having fun and doing what I enjoy most!

As for unwanted attention, yes, I have been posted on /cgl (as a hambeast!), and no, I'm not bothered. I still lurk there and I'm not afraid of being posted again if anyone really wants to. All that it means is that some bored individual has nothing better to do than poke fun at people better than himself! Don't take things like that to heart, since it's all down to you and how you feel, not people around you or those who don't even know you!

I agree with this sentiment whole heartedly. If you are paranoid about one body part (in my case my stomach) then don't get that bit out. Concentrate on another part that you are pleased with.

Confidence is also a big part of cosplay as well. When I first started doing it there was no way I would ever get my legs out but now I'm sure I've flashed my knickers at half of Amecon due to the shortness of my skirt. It's something about the fact it's not me wearing that, it's Nia or whoever.

The only thing I would say on this point is that you have to bear in mind that most people won't be as open minded about stuff like this. I don't really care what random people at a con think of me, but if you do then you have to keep that in mind.

Im like Fables, Im a size 20/22 depending on what I am wearing. I have also been put on 4chan as a hambeast and all that crap but it makes me laugh. I just cosplay to my size. It shouldnt matter what size you are its how you enjoy it.

Generally I don't care, it's such a small thing to get worked up about and if the cosplay is good, the cosplay is good. That's what I care about.

The only time I do object is when someone is wearing something that is just...appallingly bad for them. I would like to state now that I don't mean, you're not the thinest people in the world and world and you choose to cosplay Sailor Moon, or you blugde a bit from the cosplay, or even you're a LARGE person who plays to stranghts. I'm talking about the cosplayers who are basically wearing bikini and they have LAYERS of fat hanging over the egdes. It's just unpleasent and does not look good in any way. But unless it gets to that exterme, I don't really care. Luckily I've only ever seen examples of this in photos friends brought back from Dragoncon (America, really not working away from the cliche there).

OO

I think it takes a very very brave person to do that sorta cosplay...

Or a very oblivous.

I find that being slim, people still take the mick out of your costumes.
So sometimes i guess size doesnt even matter!
Im not exactly built like wonder woman (but who does have the perfect figure naturally for any comic book woman) but i like the character and did it anyway

I guess at the end of the day you just should shrug it all of if your happy with it.

:shrug: If people are going to be a dick, they're going to be a dick

Thats very true

I'm quite large in size so I tend to choose cosplays that I know I can be comfortable wearing cause my confidence can be a bit low at times ^^;
I've had a few people comment on my size when I've cosplayed but I tend to shrug it off as I love what I do and I'm proud of it

Size isn't an issue. I'm quite a large clothing size but that's not all down to being overweight i'm really rather tall for a girl too (5'11).

Some cosplays look better on larger people. I think the best example I have of this is Tsunade from Naruto. I personally think that plus size girls pull that character off so much better than the skinny ones.

But since cosplay is all about having fun it really doesn't matter.

Just smile and cosplay whoever you want

Agreed. I've seen larger girls pull off costumes that just don't suit skinnier cosplayers.
But then I've seen some cosplayers who, figure wise, suit their costume wonferfully, but have such a sourer expression on their face every time I see them, that I have to wonder why they bother if they aren't happy doing it. While others that don't suit they character 'body' type, but the costumes is just stunning.