So how many things will only cosplayers do?

Only Cosplayers will....

1) Make oversized socks to go over their boots...
2) Appreciate snide comments from "normal" passers by.
3) Go anywhere / do anything for a photo shoot.
4) Attempt DDR in Armour.
5) try 100 % body paint
6) Cross play ( and look good!)
7) Cross play, look awful and be loved for it!
8) Cos play to eat their favourite character's food.
9) Spend hours trying to make cardboard look like metal
10) Pretend that money isn't an object.

Got anymore? Add them on ^^

Heres one for those who brought theres from Ebay lol.

claim it as you own work lol

Everyones costume who looked great obviously got it from Ebay lol, although there are a few exceptions ect lol.

Another one is:

Panicking because you didn't hem the blouse and are worried that all the 'professional' cosplayers are going to see it instantly and mock you forever.

Or is that just me?

Have more shoes for their hobby than for anything else...

I wear one pair of shoes for 99% of the time, except at a con when I've taken 4 or 5 pairs at times. I'm such a girly-girl when I cosplay

Are willing to wander around in an outfit that any other day they would cringe at for the sake of a group cosplay.... (you know who you are, making me wear those shorts and that tank top!)

Buy 23 identical belts from the same shop.

Go into a shop with the intention of buying some socks and also buy six other unecessary items just because they'd be good for "x character(s)", on the off chance that they eventually do cosplay them... ^^;

Go into a shop with the intention of buying 14 meteres of plastic chain, a hosepipe, all the tins of sample paint you can carry, electrical wire and some dowling rods.

Go into a shop without the intention of buying 14 meteres of plastic chain, a hosepipe, all the tins of sample paint you can carry, electrical wire and some dowling rods. And still manage it anyway.

Clean the pound shop out of fake flowers and/or bells, toy swords, torches, etc.

Have several wigs the same colour, but in subtly different shades/styles that the average passer-by wouldn't be able to tell the differenece between...

...And only wear each one for that specific character...

Sit on the train hemming a shirt because it needs to look exactly right.

Sit in an anime society screening in the dark hemming a skirt because it needs to look exactly right.

Spend at least two weeks pre-con in panic because it's not quite ready yet and you need to be there and you haven't got the right colour socks and someone will definetley notice.

Set jelly in test tubes...then leave it sat in the fridge by mistake.

LOL, thank you!

On the same note some cosplayers/people will claim that others have bought their costumes and make up stories such as, "I watched them buy it on ebay", even when they are made. Yes I DID make my Sephiroth costume, if you want proof then I can give you a 7000 word essay on how I made it!

On a nice note cosplayers will help each other and make you fel valued, (well most of the ones I have come across anyway)!

to clam all costume that look good or make well are from ebay is silly. becasue its my opinion and you may disagree with me, but most of the costume on ebay are incorecty made, made badly using wrong metrails, fitted wrongly made from cheap mitrals and just look genarly bad and cheap looking.
off course there are exception but unless you get it commissioned there userly not worth it wast of money in my mind.

The best thing about making cosplays by yourself instead of on eBay is that your aware of what materials you are using and you have a choice... you never know with eBay costumes ^^;; Which is why I make my costumes by myself [plus the fact I'm not allowed to buy online XD... but I wouldn't if I could]

and I wouldn't mind a 7000 word essay XD... Gives me an idea of how to make my own Sephiroth cosplay one day >D [as soon as I get taller... a 5'2'' Sephy would look... wierd O.o]... I kid I kid xD

Too right greyskull, I couldn't agree more. What you said anime_angel is pretty shocking and really insulting. Ebay costumes are as greyskull described, cheap and tacky, they don't fit and look NOTHING like the character they are trying to portray. Saying that any good costume you see is obviously off ebay shows how little you know about cosplay and that you are obviously jealous because you can't be bothered to put the time and effort in to making a decent costume yourself. I'm shocked to hear someone say that, I just hope people will back me up on this because I get no end of grief from it. As crystal said, you get satisfaction from making your own costumes.

What Grayskull and White Leviathan said is perfectly correct!

I agree with everything Jake said, most ebay costumes look terrible, dont fit correctly, and the material is usually all wrong. There is no passion put behind them as they are just whacked together cheaply by dodgey companies who rip you off. You can spot a baught costume from a mile away, they all look the same and have so many in-accuracies in them.

All the best cosplays are made by very experienced and talented cosplayers who pour their heart and soul into them.

theres nothing wrong for those who want to buy a cos from ebay not everyone has the benefit of knowing how to sew or easily have the facilities to learn.... ebay allows people without these skills to cosplay and have enjoy the experience and there is nothing wong with that and who knows it may inspire them to learn to sew...

Where it all goes wrong is when people lie about it claiming it as their own work, people have worked extreamly hard often for months on closplays then to compete against a bought costume is out of order...

as the others have said more often than not the bought costumes do lack essential detail as they are mass produced and a lot of stuff cant be done cheaply on a production line.. Wrong materials are used, they badly fit and worse of all youll see about 5 people wearing the exact same out fit.

Rant over

only cosplayers know what its like to pin your self to your costume and only have concerns about getting blood on it

Gotta agree with the majority of the posters. You'll find that 'the best' costumes have nearly always been hand made by the cosplayer. Most of the costumes sold on ebay are not for a high enough price to be AMAZING anyway. I've never met a cosplayer who has claimed a bought costume was their own work ever. I mean there's bound to be SOME out there, there are always some bad eggs. But the majority of cosplayers I know are honest people.

Only cosplayers will rent a hotel room just to store their costumes

Only cosplayers will go into a hardware store and ask for a single of wooden dowel... and a hacksaw.

But I'm pretty sure only I will sit up till 2 o'clock in the morning hand sewing a costume and only realise how dark it is when I've sewn through the bridge of my nose... =/

Woah, guys calm down!

I mean, my first ever costume was a bought one, but it was after I learned of all the stigma attached to that that I started making my own, and loved the feelings that came with that.

I mean, sure, I don't think that the negative comment should have been posted, but Jake, one of your responses was pretty harsh dude. I'm sure they were just joking! And you know that I've been affected by those kinda accusations as much as you have.

In fact, I think it was the same person spreading the rumours ¬_¬

Let's not have this thread turn into a classic "OMG YOU BOUGHT YOUR COSTUME!" thread guys! The Cosplay Island is better than that!

Hahaha how true! And even when my 'normal' shoes are wearing out, I won't wear the cosplay ones in case they get dirty/scuffed, even though I bought them 2 years ago and haven't even started the costume yet @_@;;

C'mon girls

As an Avid sho fan i feel it right to have a perfect shoe and however many pairs of cosplay shoes it takes,

although i will admit, cosplay shoes do take priority for upkeep

About ebay sellers not being good at making costumes... My Loz costume was awesome, as so was my friends Cloud and Kadaj costume. Also, they don't get the costumes wrong (not all of them anyway). Corland90 (kadaj and Cloud) and HunnyLee (Loz) are brilliant at it.

I think Anime_Angel was just joking about, don't take things so seriously.

And also, don't dig at people who buy their costumes; I have a friend who buys them cause she can't sew (we're trying to get her to commish us) and I'm not comfortable with working with leather like materials. And we don't commish them cause we're poor. Does that make us crap cosplayers?

Anyway...

Only Cosplayers in the UK get such a stick up their bum about bought costumes ¬___¬

Honestly people *rolls eyes*

Only cosplayers will insist that there is a difference between "cosplay" and "fancy dress"

and

Only cosplayers will wear stupidly little on a freezing cold day because that character does.

Agreed, I spend alot of time on my costumes and would hate to think someone would think i just bought it off ebay!

Yes why do we insist on wearing near to nothing when its cold >___< i catch so many colds that that way haha

Just thought of another one

Only cosplayers wear stupidly thick clothes on a really hot day because the character does. Even if they're supsectable to heat related illnesses

also

Only cosplayers willing destroy their freetime and social life, just for one day a year away

Pssh, I've seen Americans get way more worked up and flustered over bought costumes than anything in this thread. Which is two years old.

Old thread is old!

Just to get my 2 cents out of the way:
To say that all good cosplays are bought on eBay is an unfair statement, as people have said above, a lot of us spend a lot of time and money trying to make our cosplays look good, so you shouldn't make close-minded comments.
I have never met anyone who claims an eBay cosplay for their own work, I know there are people that do, but to be honest you can tell anyway because of the type of fabric that is used. I bought a couple of eBay cosplays before I knew how to sew and I never had any problems, they were both very well made actually! So to say that ALL eBay cosplays are tacky and badly made isn't an accurate statement either.
At the end of the day cosplay is about having FUN and all joining together to celebrate our love for a mutual hobby, no? ^^ Not everyone has the time/skill/money to make it themselves. So those who can make, make, those who can't, buy. Is that really such a problem at the end of the day?

On to the important reply:

Only cosplayers will go into a shop to buy a piece of clothing, only to spend about 15 minutes deciding how many cosplay uses they could get out of it, before deciding it's not worth the money and then being back to square one T^T

Only cosplayers will happily walk around the supermarket in cosplay, counting the confused looks on peoples faces, to come back outside and compare totals with their friends