Ima’s List of Cosplay Tips for Peoples of all Sizes, Shapes, and Gender Identities [Part II]
Ima’s List of Cosplay Tips for Peoples of all Sizes, Shapes, and Gender Identities
Part II
8. Crossplay so you look good.
Now, in order to make this point a little bit clearer I would like to mention the fact that I am a curvy woman who often costplays as a boy, and let me tell you that It is a great deal harder to pull off a male figure when you don’t, well, have one.
There are a few tricks I figured out in my time crossplaying. Not that these hints might not be necessary if you have a more boyish figure, or a more womanly figure, than I do:
a. Don’t Just Wear Clothes of the Opposite Gender
One of the first assumptions I see about crossplaying is that you literally have to wear clothes of the opposite gender. This is simply not true. Even when crossplaying, you still need to wear Clothes that fit you (see number 7). Sure, you might be wearing men’s jeans, but if they’re extra-tight across your hips and too long in the leg, you’ll look like a chick in men’s jeans. There are articles of clothing which are cut for one gender, but look more masculine or feminine as the occasion requires. This is dependent on your body type and size, but I would recommend wearing something that fits over something that looks like the picture.
In addition, you should take a look at your character to see just how masculine/feminine their outfit actually is. You might be cosplaying a man, but if he’s a girly man (like Izaya) then tight girl jeans (like the ones I wore) might suit the costume better.
b. Bind/Tuck it away correctly
There is nothing that ruins a cosplay more than some breasts or junk poking out where they’re not expected. To avoid this, find the very best way to tuck and/or bind away the things that don’t match the gender of your character. Of course, you always have the option of not binding at all and just letting it all hang out.
There are a number of options for turning a pair of knockers into some rocking abs. Firstly, I would like to mention that squishing yourself flat with duct-tape or bandaging is the WORST IDEA EVER and results in serious pain, bulges, and pain. There are a number of tutorials online for how to bind breasts (I was too lazy to track one down) but the gist of it is that you should allow your breasts to fall to the side (do this by lying on your back or somesuch) and then taped or bound in place. Don’t let them push forward or you will end up trying to flatten your impressive cleavage.
If you’re relatively small chested (like me!) it can sometimes be sufficient to wear a tight tank-top or make your costume top loose enough (but not too loose!) that it won’t highlight the existence of your breasts.
Finally, you can always take a hint from the pros and buy yourself a nice MtF binder (or a FtM gaffe) which will do all the work for you. I especially recommend this if you’re planning on crossplaying a lot. It might be a little pricey, but it will be worth it for the lack of pain and the look of your chest.
c. Pack/stuff/make it real
If you’re going to be cosplaying someone of the opposite gender it’s important to remember that not only do you have to subtract a few assets, you might have to do a little bit of addition. If you are crossplaying as a woman, you’ve probably already thought about adding on some breasts for that little added touch. In this case I would suggest wearing a pair of silicone inserts or padding. Do not stuff with tissue paper, fabric, or anything edible.
If you are crossplaying as a man, give yourself some junk. Seriously. I am not kidding. A couple years ago I did a cosplay of Quatre Winner from Gundam Wing, one of my favorite characters of all time. My costume was last minute and pretty shitty and I ended up wearing a pair of women’s khaki’s that were a little too tight. Good enough since Quatre also wears tight girl pants. I had a serious problem though, in that the pants made it VERY CLEAR that I was not man, and weren’t all that flattering besides. To solve this problem I took a hint from Terry Pratchett and shoved a pair of socks down the front of my pants.
IT LOOKED AMAZING. The addition of a pair socks tucked into the front of my costume made me look significantly manly (and hung to boot) and changed the entire line of the costume.
Cocks. They’re like magic.
d. Take a hint from the pros
When you’re looking to change your gender expression, if only for a day, it can be helpful to take a hint from the people who do this sort of thing all the time. Look up some trans* websites and see what sort of recommendations you can get. If you’re interested in a true transformation (not everyone is) it might be worth it to invest in things like packers, binders, shoe lifts, prosthetic breasts, whatever. Not to mention all of the awesome DIY tutorials out there. Google it. Learn something.
9. Splurge on the wig
I realize that I am being immensely hypocritical when I say this (I often don’t use a wig, or use a shitty one) but trust me when I say that your wig is one of the most important aspects of your costume. It doesn’t matter how beautiful you’ve stitched, how well you’re hung, how nice of a gun you have. If your wig is bad that is what people will see. Do not wait until the last minute to get one. Do not use spray-on-dye unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure it will look right. Do not get a wig that looks ‘close enough’. This shit is serious.
Usually you want to go for the higher quality wigs to ensure that it looks like real hair, even if it’s pink or blue. My best experience has been with kanekalon fiber wigs, although there are a lot more fantastic options available. When looking for wigs, make sure that it looks smooth (no frizz) and isn’t too shiny (real people don’t have shiny hair). If you’re going to style the wig, make sure that it’s longer than you need it to be and thick enough that cutting it won’t make it look bald. Finally, carefully match the color of the hair to your character. If you have to choose between colors, I would lean towards going lighter rather than darker (black hair not included).
My personal exception to this is for Rock Lee, whose hair looks like a shiny salad bowl. I went through three expensive wigs for him before I realized that my best one was a cheap Halloween wig. Figures.
When buying wigs. ALWAYS buy your wig well ahead of time, just in case there’s a mistake. ALWAYS style ahead of time for the same reason. This same logic applies to if you’re styling your own hair instead of a wig.
10. Be Ready for Photographers
People wanting to take your picture is a sign that you've got a great cosplay. But the potential for photography means that there's a few extra things to keep in mind:
a. Wear makeup
Speaking of pictures, one of the most important things to remember when going to a con in cosplay is to WEAR MAKEUP. Everyone should do this. Boys and girls and non-gendered beings should all wear makeup on the day of the con. If anything, make sure that you have a solid foundation on to prevent glare. Beyond that, the level of makeup if your choice, although I suggest some sort of coverup for those dark I-stayed-up-all-night bags beneath your eyes and a little bit of eyeliner.
Remember that when you’re cosplaying, people are hopefully going to want to take your picture and the way you look on camera might not be the way you look in the mirror.
b. Learn to pose for pictures
You might have noticed that a lot of people at cons prepare their own special action-shots for photo ops. This is a great idea. However, Not all poses are created equal. I can attest from personal experience and I am a HORRIBLE model. I’m always blinking, slouching, standing wrong, or something. I don’t know. Anyway, if you’re like me you should take the opportunity to look up some ways to pose for photographs so you don’t look like a doofus.
If you’re going to do an action pose (or any pose really) work out what it’s going to look like beforehand, practice, and check in with any cosplay partners to see if you can coordinate one together. If you are cosplaying half a ‘ship check in with your buddy to see how much shippyness he or she wants in the pictures because someone (possibly me) will ask you to kiss for the camera.
A final note on poses: make sure that while you’re posing you aren’t blocking an important part of your costume. It might be a nice pose, but you still want to show off your handywork. If you have some aspect of your costume that you don’t like, figure out a pose that will hide that part of it from view.
c. Use your prop(s)
If you have a prop that goes with your costume, work out how you’re going to pose with it before you go to the con. Make sure that you aren’t obscuring the prop with your body, but also make sure that you aren’t blocking yourself with the prop. Try to make your prop look like a natural part of the pose and not something that you just remembered you were holding a minute ago.
11. Get that one thing right
I mentioned before that (hopefully) nobody is going to be holding a picture of your character up to you and comparing while you’re in costume. There’s a whole lot of details which can be fudged (colors, cuts, tiny buttons, etc). While ideally all your details will be exact and perfect, it’s more likely that you’re going to cut corners all over the place. That’s why it is so very important to GET THE ONE THING RIGHT.
It could be the hair, the prop, the pants, just make sure that one single aspect of the costume is as detailed as you can possibly make it. The important thing is to think about the things that you associate most with the character and make sure that those things are clear and identifiable.
For example: the things that I associate most with Cloud Strife are his chocobo-butt hair, his giant sword, and that door-knocker thing on his shoulder. Those are the aspects of the costume that I would spend the most energy on, because those are the parts that I would look for in another person’s cosplay.
12. Polish it off
My list is coming to an end, so I will leave you all with the last few pointers that didn’t really fit anywhere else. If anyone wants links to some good dealers of whatever sort of things I mentioned before, I can provide those. I’m also on hand for advice, although I can’t promise that it will be good.
a. Iron
Iron your costume. Make sure it is clean and free of wrinkles. Iron it. Seriously. IRON IT. Then iron it again.
You can never regret this.
b. Practice beforehand
Before heading out to a con or photoshoot, give your entire costume a test drive. Put the whole thing on including wig/hairstyling and makeup to see how long it takes to get into it. Walk about for a while to see how the shoes feel and try sitting and standing a few times. This will alert you to any possible problems you might face on the actual day. Also you get to prance about in your costume a bit.
c. Shower
Okay, a little bit more than just shower. But still, cleanliness adds a lot to a finished look. Just because you’re in costume doesn’t mean that you don’t have to look good all on your own. Greasy skin and hair don’t look good anywhere.
THE END. AWW YEAH BABY.
Back to Part I Read my advice for con-goers here