Rinkya Links Newsletter
Issue 2, last update: 4/18/2004
Costumes: Preparing for Cosplay!
Yes, for all you anime, manga, comic book, science fiction, and other popular culture fans, convention season rapidly approaches. It's time to get your gear together for cosplay!
For those of you new to the convention scene, cosplay (short for "costume play") is the activity of dressing up as a favorite character, usually from anime or manga but also from other pop culture forms as well. Some do it for the fame; some do it for the prizes; some do it for the glamor; all do it for the fun! Its acceptability rises and falls with the organizers of conventions, but it's always a big hit with the convention attendees.
YJ, of course, is a fabulous place to get anime and manga cosplay items, but the interests of Japanese convention goers are just as wide as those of American ones. Sizing can be a problem, with the average-sized Japanese being smaller than the average-sized American; check out our "YJ Shopping Tips" page for information on how to figure out your size in Japanese sizing systems. Even if you can't find a complete costume in your size, you can very often still get those hard-to-find items that really bring together an outfit you make yourself.
A few words of caution before we get into the searches. First, cosplay is often used for . . . how shall I say . . . events more private than conventions. With this purpose in mind, some of the postures assumed by the models wearing the clothes are, well, not the kind of thing you want on the screen if you are shopping with your seven-year-old niece who is just dying to dress up as Sailor Moon. Shop by yourself, bookmark her options, and show her only those. Second, policies on weapons vary from convention to convention and from country to country. If you don't take the time to check out these policies beforehand, you not only might have trouble getting your item into your country, you may have to turn it in to be held by the convention administration for the duration of the con.
Shopping for Cosplay Items
Costumes: Of course these are the heart and soul of cosplay. Below are the best links to start your search for cosplay costumes and accessories themselves.
- Women's costumes: Don't miss this search or this one if you're looking for a woman's anime cosplay outfit (the latter may have costumes sized for girls as well). Many of them are here and not in the anime and manga search below. Also here are some specific items:
Sailor fuku Other kinds of women's uniforms: Non-sailor school uniforms, maids' uniforms, etc. Even if your interest is sailor fuku, I'd check here because many of the sailor fuku aren't labeled as such. If you're not looking for something else, though, this search is the better one to try. It weeds out the auctions labeled as sailor fuku, and there are a lot of them. Miko costumes: You probably should hit the party costume search, too, but this is a good place to start if you want to be one of the many a shrine maidens of anime. I even saw a "mini" miko outfit here, for anyone who is a Cosmopolitan Prayers fan. Gothic Lolita: Also, if you're into Elegant and Gothic Lolita, use this search to find whichever volume of Gothic & Lolita Bible (or any other Goth Loli book) that you can't live without. Lingerie: There's ten pages or so of this, so, given that the general women's costume section search is so large, I tried to remove it from that search and give it its own search. You might still want to check the women's costume search, though.
- Men's costumes
- Girls' costumes
- Boys' costumes: Most of these actually seem to be American football team T-shirts. . . .
- Wigs: Need pale blue, fluorescent pink, or deep green hair? Maybe you just need a specific hair style and can't find it on this side of the Pacific. I recommend everyone look at the women's wigs, but here's a search for men's wigs. You can check the ones that the sellers have marked as cosplay related (women's only; there weren't any men's so marked). It's a good place to start, to see if you can find what you're looking for quickly, but if you don't, don't pass up the larger search. I saw many wigs that would be suitable for cosplay that weren't in the more limited search.
- Military items: Keep in mind that real guns cannot be imported to the US.
Videos and pictures of cosplay: The two threads of cosplay--the erotic strand and the convention-goer strand--are most distinct in cosplay images. Most lean obviously one way or the other, so you shouldn't have trouble finding items of the kind you're seeking. Below I include my impressions of where you're more likely to find which, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check what's there now. YJ is a fluid thing, and I would not be at all surprised if what leans strongly one way one week leans strongly the other way the next.
DVDs of cosplay (Region 2): Most of these at least border on erotica.
VCDs: Very few, and most of them seem to lean to the convention goer rather than the erotic market.
VHS tapes: These are a very mixed bag between the erotic and convention goer markets. Laser disks: Very few, but they appear to be mostly convention goers.
Books and magazines: Collections of pictures of convention goers, collections of pictures of erotic cosplay, and collections of erotic pictures of convention goers! (I kid you not; these women are clearly standing in line at a convention.) Magazines include Masquerade and Costume Play Race Queen. If you're looking for Goth Loli books, see the Gothic Lolita section above. Posters: Mostly of anime and manga posters rather than people dressed up as them, as well as a few erotic ones of idol stars.
Trading cards: The vast majority of these are "talent trading cards," which means idol stars either scantily clad, dressed up in the standard erotic profession costumes (maids, nurses, stewardesses, etc.), or in some cases, both! There are a few anime and manga trading cards, including a nice series (Cosplay Art Laser) that features people dressed up from a variety of series, such as Shoujo Kakumei Utena, MKR, Eva, and many others. There are also some miscellaneous cards, mostly from Western entertainment series. Telephone cards: These are a mixed bag of idol stars and actual anime and manga cards (not people dressed up as such characters). Photos: Like the tereka, most of these are of idol stars.
Specific series: These searches may include costumes or any cosplay-related item related to particular series. Do check the more general searches (which immediately follow this list) because many auction titles feature the character's name rather than the series (which is why I included the breakdown in Sailor Moon). If you don't see a series or character you want, you can certainly write me, but even so, don't pass up the general searches.
General searches
Happy shopping to all and see you next month!
Suggestions? Comments? [*gulp*] Corrections? E-mail me at uriko@rinkya.com and tell me about them. Have a page about cosplay or a related topic? You can make money by linking to this page via the Rinkya Referral Program! Want to receive announcements of the latest Rinkya Links Newsletter by e-mail? Join the Rinkya Mailing List! |
