Costuming Essentials

Unlike vintage shopping where things are already weeded down for you thrift shopping is inevitably hit or miss. I’ve gone and shopped for hours to find nothing I wanted for costuming or otherwise. The prices, variety of things and tested quality always keep me coming back. (by tested quality I mean the things have been washed and materials that are poor and look old after a few washings are already looking scuzzy). When I find something the effort is worth it. A few amazing finds that come to mind are a burburry designer skirt, a green velvet cloak that is entirely custom made and of extremely nice quality and finishing and… a cat suit. I tried the cat suit on for laughs but it actually looked so nice at $3 that I bought it. I’ve used it for sci fish costuming or if I really needed a jaw dropping costume.

One of my favorite costumes I ever put together was for a Victorian themed ball. I started with a evening gown from a thrift store. It was a strapless slightly corset like top and a long skirt. To create a bustle effect I pinned an underskirt just in the back of the skirt. Next I took some fabric I had bought to make a titanic-like gown. I still was hoping to make the gown so I could not sew the fabric to the dress or cut it much. I cut off as little as possible to make some off the shoulder sleeves to give the proper upper body silhouette. I folded under the raw edge and used safety pins to carefully attach the sleeves to the  dress. I tied the rest of the fabric around my waist and then used ribbon and a couple more safety pins to shape the ends into a bustle. Simple but effective… I felt like I stepped out of La Mode Illustre

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’.