Costuming Essentials

Just got the pictures back from my talk on costuming at the Shadows Anime convention! I’ve seen lots of pictures of people giving presentations but somehow its more fun in costume!

I have had wonderful luck using the thrift store as a starting point for my costumes. With a little creativity and flexibility a found garment can be turned into a great cosplay costume. There is a vintage store in Southern California with 5 orange puffy suits that a little detailing would turn into perfect Narutos… one would be astounding enough but 5… The easiest style I’ve found to create from thrift store items is sweet lolita. This styling is in alot of anime, just think cute little girly dresses. I used found dresses at anime expo to be Chii from Chobits(I was even in the mascarade). The two best sources I have found for this look are square dance dresses and 80′s dresses.

This is basically a square dance dress. It just took a bit of taking in and making an apron and Chii ‘ears’.