Why do I cosplay? I’m a fan, I like being creative, I like being a part of a community, I enjoy the attention. These are just a few of the responses that I received when I attended a cosplay sewing party. Cosplay is short of costume play and is “the activity or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction (such as a comic book, video game, or television show)”. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) I decided to research and observe those that participate in Cosplay because I have always been intrigued by how the practice of dressing up as ones favorite character turned into its own culture. While observing the people at the sewing party it became immediately clear to me that those that participate in cosplay have created a very dynamic and …show more content…
I have a friend who is involved with the group that I observed. My friend became interested in cosplay after attending Comic Con – San Diego a few years ago. The group that he is part of meets once a month at one of the group members’ houses, some of the meetings have a certain theme which require the members to come in costume, this particular meeting was a sewing party. There were ten people at the meetup and they ranged in age from nineteen to thirty-five. As I observed the members arriving the first thing that I noticed was how enthusiastic everyone was and how happy they were to be there. Once the majority of the members had arrived they started talking about upcoming events that they needed to have customs ready for. The main event that they focused on was Comic Con – San Diego as it is only a few months way. They shared what costumes they were current working on and talked about the ways in which they could help each other with costumes. Everyone seemed very willing to lend assistance in any way that they could. They were eager to share their skills, such as design, sewing and make-up, with each other. From listening to the members talk about their costumes it the reason that they put so much thought into their costumes began to become clear, it is because capturing the likeness of the character they are portraying in of great importance. As I …show more content…
Those that participate feel connected not just because of their similar interest but because of the time and dedication it takes to participate in cosplay. Attention to detail, creativity and confidence are all important aspects of cosplay. Preparing a costume for a convention or other cosplay event can take a considerable amount of time so it is important for cosplayers to be organized and manage time well. This will help to make sure that there are no details missing from the character they are portraying. Cosplayers, take an extreme amount of pride in their costumes so they want to make sure that they are tailored correctly and that any makeup worn is as accurate as possible. A high level of creativity is involved in cosplay. Even though the core idea of cosplay is to portray a character accurately that does not mean that cosplayers do not have creative freedom with their costumes. As long as the character can still be recognized the sky is limit when it comes to the changes that can be made to a character. However a cosplayer would never want to modify a characters look so much that they become unrecognizable. One way in which cosplayers can change a characters design is to what is called a “gender swap, changing the gender of the character and modifying the costume accordingly”. (Lee, 2016) The most important part of cosplaying is confidence. “A cosplayer who wears there costume with
The costuming in Edward Scissorhands was very thought out and was used to develop the characters, as well as the story. For example, the townspeople who took in Edward seemed to be regular people in a regular town. The people wore bright colored clothing with colorful accesories as well. The women wore bright clothing, either dresses or a pair of leggings, with bright makeup as well. The men wore casual work clothes, and all of this gives of a normal vibe to the town as if nothing out of the ordinary happens in it. Another example of the clothing in the film is when Peg (Avon lady) sees Edward for the first time. This moment can make the audience start to compare the moods that both characters give off. Edward lived in a dark, gloomy place
He said the worst thing they [costume designer] can wear are interesting clothes. “Nothing destroys confidence like cleverly inventive clothes worn by your costume or wardrobe person because it means you are spending time thinking about yourself. You need to save all of your energy and design essence for the work.” -Long, William. Interview.
Throughout the year hotels, convention centers, and other high capacity venues are transformed into a social haven and meeting ground for fellow Otakus and cosplay fans or cosplayers for short. The act of cosplay, the abbreviated form of “costume play”, is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime”. However, there is much more to a cosplayer than this simple definition leads one to believe. To its most dedicated patrons, cosplay is an art form incorporating unlimited mediums, such as textile fabrication, woodworking, clay sculpting, resin casting, and even theatrical makeup. Some enthusiasts take cosplay far more seriously than a weekend social hobby. While some would be content with purchasing a commissioned piece or mass produced costume for their convention adventures others are not satisfied until they have handcrafted a masterpiece with 100% accuracy. These cosplayers will spend week or months and hundreds of dollars insure their costume is a perfect adaption of their selected character. Yet for some that is still not enough. There are those who will not be content until they have become the living embodiment of their chosen character. They become the method actors of cosplay, memorizing the characters personality, walk, quirks, and vocalics. Going even deeper into the realm of cosplay, there are still those who are so obsessed with becoming a character they will paint their skin, whether it be pink, grey, green, or any color in between. This is where a sensitive debate explodes. Coloring yourself grey or pink for your Marceline or Princess Bubblegum adventure time cosplays will ...
People will need to understand the reality that is behind the fashion that we have become a part of and don’t falter with choices you might have made in past decade or so not knowing for past century where it originated from initially. We are not very impressed with the past when parody was just a common thing people adopted without more innovative understanding you need to put in as a solution to old fashion and drowsiness that was common then.
From time immemorial, hell was an inspiration for the costumes used during Halloween. In the contemporary society, turning up for Halloween dressed up as a goblin, zombie or ghost is less likely to make a staunch follower of the event to receive sufficient appreciation. Popular culture has succeeded in replacing the underworld in terms of providing influential costumes for the event. The aspect of individuals from different races increasingly dominating pop culture is causing costume lovers to face a number of issues. The most dominant question has always been whether it is ethical to dress or appear dressed up like someone from a different race during Halloween. This factor largely bases on the costume an individual chooses, and the manner he or she ends up presenting the costume. It also depends on what the individual wearing the costume is representing or duplicating during the event. In view of all the complexities involved in choosing an appropriate dress code, it remains imperative to display keenness while settling on certain attire. Observing one’s dress code prevents an individual from making a racial gaffe that may occur when the person wears attire that derogates another race.
According to 10 Weird and Wacky Beauty Facts by Andrea Lavinthal, in ancient Greece, the most sought-after hair color was blond. Not many Greeks were naturally blond, so light hair was probably perceived as beautiful because it was so exotic. Women would lighten their hair using plant extracts or arsenic. They also washed their locks with a mixture of ashes, olive oil, and water. She also explained how “it was a shame that extension weren’t available during the Heian period when a Japanese woman’s beauty was judges by the length of her hair, since the ideal was considered almost two feet longer than her waist. We’re assuming that ponytails were a popular hairstyle back then.” There are many other crazy facts about beauty facts like Vaseline makes your eyelashes grow and can take off makeup, or if your finger nails are discolored from using dark polish, use a slice of lemon on them and they will regain their color (The beauty magazine, Roselyn Miller, pg. 67). Going into the field of Cosmetology helps you express yourself and it brings out your inner creativity. That is one of the many reason I love this line of work, because when I do hair it lets me express myself while creating a hairstyle of my own. The first time I started doing hair was when I was about 10 or 11, I was a natural! I want to be able to know my clients and exactly what will look right on my clients and read people, so I would know what they do like just by talking to them. I need to learn to separate family from business. I do know some things about this field I before this assignment that cosmetology is not just about doing hair, it’s also about learning about the Skin; Doing make up, eye lashes, etc. You also learn about nails; doing a...
In society today, the clothing that someone wears is basically a billboard for his or her personal, or family's financial situation. For children in public schools, fitting in with the popular, or most fashionable people is probably the most important thing to them. When children are preoccupied wi...
“Clothing, as one of the most visible forms of consumption, performs a major role in the social construction of identity. [..] Clothing is one of the most of the most visible markers of social status and gender.” (Crane, 2000, p.1). Buckley and Fawcett (2000) draw attention towards how fashion articulates different aspects of identity out of which gender is distinguished like no other, because clothes are used as a visible social marker to show gender differentiation. Fashion has closely been associated with gender and hence, looked up to when talking about gender. Enwistle (2015) quotes Suthrell (2004:2-3) where she analysed cross dressing and said, “’clothing is unusual in artefactual terms because it allows us to play- temporarily or permanently-
Fashion has been a key factor in presenting unique personalities from the beginning of time. Over time, as generations have taken on roles different from their ancestors, their choice of clothing has reflected their own ideas. In the same way that fuzzy socks represent a yearning for comfort for some against the harsh and uncomforting world of today, corsets represented the need for women to fit themselves into the image of who others wanted them to be. Any personality, color, or background could be strapped into a mold of the perfect
This caught my attention for the reason that people are willing to walk around town wearing their favorite character shirt in order to give this certain figure the fame and attention it may deserve. This man’s shirt was only an example, they’re many more people that wear items representing their favorite action figure or locations they have travel to. What caught my attention was the matter of fact that this people will always take things to an extreme in order to share their likes and dislikes or share places they’ve attended to or would like to
As I headed to high school I started to implicate myself more with how I dressed myself. As I do believe that the way you dress expresses who you are. Drug free week became different in middle school and high school. we started dressing up as our career choice, it did fall on Halloween so it made sense. I decided to hand make my outfit along with my sibling’s costumes so we went to school in handmade garments that were unique in their own way inspiring me more that I could
‘The stranger’ as Simmel may suggest, helps assist individuals to build their own identity within the group, they can do this through imitation by adopting certain styles. By imitating, the individual experiences the feeling of being part of the group, providing the individual with satisfaction of not “standing alone in his actions” (Simmel, 1908, p.295). The stranger and fashion operates similarly in terms of the desire to be different and wanting to fit in. For instance, the cherry headband would not become so popular if it was completely different to the mainstream style. The headband had to still carry an attractive quality, for example the cherry headband had a glittery effect (see fig. 2) that is quite appealing so it balances the product in terms of being unique but is still
In today’s society, there is pressure put on almost every aspect in life. The pressure to succeed, to fit in, to live up to your family’s expectations, and to successfully find your place in society. One of the few things that there isn’t pressure on in today’s society is the ability to express yourself. Fashion plays a vital role in helping individuals be able to express their identity by what they wear. It’s a way people can connect with others while illustrating their personality, creativity, and innovation. Fashion isn’t just characterized as the clothes you wear, but an identity for individuals to make a statement that portrays who they are and who they want to be. Fashion is an art that you are able to express every day, and you have
Therefore, expressing oneself through their appearance could significantly affect how others think or feel about that individual. Wearing proper attire should be utilized in order to maximize its effects on other people, it is absolutely
All things considered, I firmly believe that people devoted to fashion clothing could earn self-esteem and make them more confident. Nevertheless, it is significant to be original and capable of deciding what to wear by ourselves instead of following the trends without consider our personality. Needless to say, no one should discriminate someone because of not being in fashion. It is our responsibility to give the right importance to