Cosplay: PAX + Pokemon (2016)

PAX Prime is always a fun place to cosplay, and I especially love finding creative ways to thrift costumes based on video games. This year, as Pokemon Go was a summer hit, I decided to do two Pokemon cosplays on the fun, quick, and cheap!

Cosplay: Toni Stark (2015)

Sometimes a cosplay is more of a concept than a literal translation of a character. And sometimes the idea for a concept cosplay grows out of strange places. My concept for the gender-swapped version of Tony Stark (who I mentally nicknamed Toni) grew out of a pair of bright red pants I saw one week at a Goodwill. I had just been trying to think of a costume for the 2015 ECCC and there it was: I could gender swap my favorite Avengers character into a red-lipstick and red-pants wearing femme badass.

Quick Post: Purchasing Costumes

Purchased Leia costume;
thrift-shop toy gun  (2007)

In starting this blog and talking with a lot of people from ECCC, I think it's important to address impostor syndrome in cosplay. No, not as in you're pretending to be a character you're actually not; that's all the fun! I'm talking about not feeling like a "real" cosplayer. I know I mentioned feeling that way at the Star Wars meetup when I dressed as Rey before someone complimented me on my painted armbands. Others were sheepish about pieces they'd reused, thrifted, or (GASP!) purchased as a costume piece.  It was this last option that seemed to make the most people uncomfortable. If you buy a costume instead of making it yourself, are you a "real" cosplayer?

Cosplay: Rey (2016)

This past month was my second ECCC (Emerald City Comic Con) and my most difficult cosplay to thrift yet. I loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I decided to take on the challenge of making a cosplay for the amazing female lead Rey. However, it's one thing to make a thrifted and discount store cosplay when you're playing a character like Jubilee with mostly "everyday" clothes as her uniform. But a character from a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? That's another story.

Quick Post: Rey Accessories (2016 - in process)

Hey folks! I'm getting ready for Emerald City Comic Con, and trying out my most ambitious cosplay yet: Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. On one hand, you'd think she'd be easy to replicate, but her costume has a lot of small touches that are hard to find at thrift shops, and I hate the way the officially licensed ones look, so it's been a lot of small steps to put this one together. I'll do a full run-down of the costume after ECCC, but I thought I'd do a quick check in on how I'm working on the accessories.

Cosplay: Sonic the Hedgehog (2015)

I wasn't planning on going to PAX in Seattle originally, but a badge fell in my lap about a week before so I decided I had to go and see my game-and-computer-loving friends. But what would I cosplay as? Well, my 99 cent blue wig (the sister to the purple wig I used for Hit Girl) popped into my mind and before long I had a plan for a Sonic the Hedgehog costume!

All in needed was some blue "sporty" clothes, some spikes and ears for my hair, and those iconic red shoes, I decided. Oh, and some golden rings.

Cosplay: Jason Todd / Red Hood (2013)

So far, my Jason Todd cosplay has been the one I've been the most proud of, as well as the
costume that's been the most labor intensive.

Now that I'd played around with costuming and had seen the SDCC insanity, I knew I wanted to dress up and participate in the con-scene more. So when the 2013 Phoenix Comic Con started to get closer, I started a cosplay plan for my favorite Batman character outside of Batman himself: Jason Todd, a.k.a Red Hood.

Quick Post: Hit Girl (2014)

My Hit Girl "cosplay" definitely wins the award for most thrown together/quickest costume I've ever done. A friend of mine wanted to do a costumed bar crawl after an event. Sadly, the costume I had worn to that event involved a large fake sword and a corset, and was just generally uncomfortable and not bar-crawling friendly. So I pulled out my costume box and tore apart my closet to see what I could do. I soon realized that I could make a Hit Girl costume from the comic Kick Ass easily with what I already owned.

Cosplay: Harley Quinn (2012)

Another event day-before cosplay: DC Comics' Harley Quinn

Cosplay: Ghostbuster (2012)

The all-female Ghostbuster movie trailer came out this past week, so this seems like a great time to mention my Janine-inspired Ghostbusters cosplay.

Cosplay: Jubilee (2011)

I've always loved 1990's X-Men, and Jubilee was my favorite from a young age. She also ended up being my very first "official" cosplay at a con.

2011, San Diego Comic Con. 

Welcome to The Thrift-Shop Cosplayer

As long as I can remember, I've loved going to thrift stores and getting good deals. It's something my mother instilled in me early. She has an amazing eye and could always find the best items at garage sales and thrift shops. Going to either with her was like experiencing a special treasure hunt. One time, I found a Good Luck Bear and was thrilled (he was my favorite CareBear!) until I noticed he was missing his nose. My mother also taught me ingenuity with thrift-store finds, as she just took the bear home and sewed a bright green button where his nose would be... and it was perfect.

As long as I can remember, I've loved dressing up in costume. Halloween is by far my favorite holiday, and my love for sci-fi, anime, and comic books meant that it didn't take me too long to fall in love with the ComicCon scene as an adult. From Batgirl to Yagami Light (Death Note), from Mighty Mouse to Jason Todd (DC Comics), from the Pink Power Ranger to Jubilee (Marvel Comics), I always have so much fun becoming a character I love..... and, as I've attended con after con, I pride myself on almost never repeating a cosplay costume twice.

So, perhaps it's no wonder that my two loves of thrifting and cosplaying have often combined. Working on a Star Wars costume recently, I realized that most of the cosplay I've put together has been from discount stores and thrift-shops. After all, I can't sew a stitch to save my life: a bit of luck, a glue-gun, tape, felt, and creativity has been where most of my costumes have come from.

I decided to start this blog as a sort of record of the various low-budget costumes I've made. Hopefully it'll bring you some fun and some inspiration!

Happy Cosplaying. ~ LK