One of the greatest discussions within the Cosplay community is – and probably will always be – the question of whether to make your costume yourself, or to buy it. There seem to be too factions, each convinced that the other is wrong. You can get in trouble if you ask the wrong question in the wrong forum. Especially the loyal “make everything yourself” Cosplay community seems to dislike the idea of simply buying your costume at an online store. According to them, this is not what Cosplay is about. Everyone can go ahead and buy parts, or sometimes even the whole costume, in a shop, but sewing your own costume takes a lot of time, effort and skill. They research their desired characters for hours and hours, making sure that they have to right idea of how the fabric should look and putting a lot of effort in every single detail.
If you can’t sew a piece of clothing or accessories yourself, you can go to a store and look around for a similar piece and then modify it accordingly. This way, you still made it yourself instead of simply buying a finished piece. If you sew your Cosplay costume yourself, it will always be unique. No one else can have it or wear it – you are the only owner. And if it’s a well-done costume, you can be certain to earn a lot of compliments on the next convention and make some new friends. People are impressed if you sewed everything on your own. Put it does take a lot of time, effort and of course money to start your own Cosplay project.
The advantage of ready-to-buy Cosplay costumes or Cosplay parts is obvious: if you don’t have a sewing machine or lack the skill, you still have the opportunity to wear the costume of your favorite character. Some stores offer costumes which are really high of quality. But you should know that a bought costume is not as unique and outstanding as the self-made equivalent. And when it comes to the hair – the decision about whether to wear a wig or dye your hair has to be made by how complicated and hard it is to achieve the desired result. Anime hair tends to be unrealistic; and dying your hair purple or a bright blue doesn’t always come out like it was supposed to. Another advantage is that you can trim a wig as you like to imitate your character hair, so you don’t have to mess up your own.