The Thrift-Shop Cosplayer: 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!

My first Pokemon cosplay was, of course, the iconic Pokemon "master," Ash Ketchum. I wore a green top during one day at PAX and my "Team Mystic" shirt for evening after parties, but the rest of the costume stayed the same. For this one, I did buy one piece not cheaply crafted or thrifted, and that was the Ash hat. I did, however, shop through several sellers and ended up buying one for relatively cheap ($9.99) on eBay, as opposed to the more expensive ones I found on Etsy and Amazon.

For the rest of the costume, I was able to avoid paying ridiculous costume prices though. I found the bright blue shirt at my favorite local thrift shop for only $3.00; it was actually a long sleeve shirt, but I cut the sleeves and glue-gunned the hem along with button decorations and bright yellow stripes to simulate edging and pockets.

I also found some secondhand Poke-ball rubber balls that I added colored tape to in order to create Master-balls and Ultra-balls. Amazingly enough, I also found a Pikachu stuffed animal for $1.00 at my local Goodwill, which I decided to get and carry around on my shoulder or in my bag for PAX. For Ash's bright green finger-less gloves I found some gardening gloves which I wore backwards and cut off the fingers. Adding in my "Old Faithful" black wig that I have used for several cosplays before, I was all set and ready to Catch 'Em All!

This whole costume cost around $20.00

But that's not all! On the last day of PAX, I decided I wanted a bit of trouble, so I decided to make my cosplay double! This cosplay just used what I already owned: black yoga pants, a black cap, my purple wig which I previously used with my Hit Girl cosplay, a gold button I bought previously for $1 at a thrift shop (I plan to use it for a Robin costume someday), gold duct tape, black electrical tape, and my Pikachu stuffed animal wrapped in bungee chords. Thus, I became a member of Team Rocket!