Two Choices

Picture taken from Gundam Cosplay
Cosplayers cosplaying from EFSF Soldiers vs. Shingeki no Kyojin.

There are often many who are cosplaying the same character. When attending popular conventions such as Fanime, the chance of encountering the same cosplay is higher. However, even though the characters they are cosplaying are may be the same, their costume and detail might not be.

Being able to buy a costume can be a savior to those who haven’t learned to sew or handcraft props. They can go online and search up the costume you wanted and they are one click away from finishing their cosplay. On the other hand making a cosplay is really stressful at times and difficult because you are planning the whole outfit from scratch. In the cosplay community the biggest question is “Should I make or buy this costume?” There isn’t a correct answer for this question because it can vary. Factors that affect this are time, quality and budget.

·         Time

Creating a quality outfit consumes a lot of time because you need to scout for the materials appropriate for the character you are trying to cosplay. Then you have to sew, pin, build, and cut to finish the outfit. The time needed to finish an outfit ranges from a day to few months while purchasing an outfit can take just seconds.

·         Quality

Purchasing an outfit online can risk quality and it’s different for each online store. Some stores have decent materials such as fabric and color that matches the anime while others have materials that are off color and cheap which will have loose strings and missing details. Looking for a good store with decent prices is not hard but requires a bit of research. Although sewing your own outfit is painful but it is guaranteed to have promising results if your skills are up to par.

·         Budget

Nami's outfit for 57$
  Picture taken from cosplay deals

Assassin's Creed's outfit for 155.99$ from azcostume

When you step into the cosplay community you should hope your budget is not going to be small due to the fact that a decent cosplay is going to be quite pricey but it differs for each cosplay. Purchasing an outfit online is not cheap and it cane range from a simple costume like the dress of Nami from OnePiece for 57$ or 155 .99$ for a full outfit from Assassin’s Creed. Aside from purchasing the full outfit, picking out each material for the outfit is not cheap can add up to over 50 dollars or more. Although the price might sound insane, people actually purchase it anyway. Price is one of the few reasons why cosplayers create their own Cosplay and by making it themselves, the materials all together end up lower than store purchase.

Taking the three factors into mind, purchasing an outfit online is the easiest for people who want to cosplay but have a busy schedule or are new to cosplay. Personally, I don’t prefer an online purchased outfit because of the possible drawback of the outfit not fitting you. You’d have to either modify your outfit or mail it back while making an outfit that is guaranteed to fit you.  It’s not impossible to find a good store that sells decent outfits but budget is an important factor which is why I decide to make it myself.

Here is a blog that explains more into it - cosplaytutorial