What madness is this? I am starting a topic?
This is a thread that was requested (indirectly) by Mahsa the disco shark, and I felt that with my experience in this area, I could contribute something meaningful here. I also think Mahsa the disco shark is an amusing handle, so consider the thread a gift to her. :)
This thread is going to be about cosplaying and Renaissance festival dressing uping..err..putting on costumes. I don't know anything about the Renaissance festival part, but I have some experience with cosplaying, so that is what I will share.
First, a little history about cosplaying: cosplay is a portmanteau of the words 'costume' and 'play'. Fans of manga, anime, video games, and other such works dress up as characters from their favorite titles, with varying degrees of success. Some people are dead ringers; others look like they picked out the wrong-sized costume from the discount bin at Lucky's Costume Mart (not a real store).
Why do these crazed fans dress up like characters from fictional series? For the same reason people dress up at Star Trek conventions and on Halloween: it's fun to pretend and dress up. For others, they enjoy collecting just the right props and crafting the perfect costume from scratch; cosplaying is their way of showing off their hard work. Still others, usually those who are attractive or closely resemble their character, cosplay so other people will take pictures of them (or just to take their own pictures).
In Japan, there are even professional cosplay models. They usually specialize in portraying specific characters, and often these models are sponsored and paid to attend events at clubs, conventions or promotional gigs. I've even heard of a model who rented out an apartment in Tokyo, and allowed people the privilege of taking her picture (for money). Cosplaying is generally family friendly, but there is a sector of the underground world that makes cosplay-themed pornography. Let's leave it at that; you know how to use the Internet if you want to know more. :)
In Japan, cosplaying takes place at all sorts of locales. From conventions to public shopping arcades to Japanese gardens to dance clubs, there are little niche markets for cosplaying all over Japan. Cosplay in Japan is radically different than in, say, North America. Japanese society isn't accepting of cosplay, but at the same time, they don't outright banish it. A lot of things are like that in Japan.
Anyways, rules. In Japan, you aren't allowed to come to cosplay events in costume. This sharply contrasts the nature of North American conventions where people walk around town in their costumes. Again, this is Japanese society "allowing" cosplay...just so long as they don't have to see it. There are exceptions, though. I have attended a couple cosplay events where they designated certain areas of town to be cosplay "safe", so long as you didn't cross those boundaries. At cosplay conventions, usually you don't pay money to enter; rather you pay a fee to use a changing room. Participants come in plain clothes, change into their costumes, take pictures, change out and leave.
Okay, so how does this connect to our world? There is an element of cosplay known as crossplay as well. This word comes from cross-dressing + play. It is not uncommon to see males decked out in full Gothic Lolita outfits. Many of them are very dedicated to their craft and pass extraordinarily well as women. At one event I attended, there were literally more boys cross-dressed as girls than girl-girls cosplaying. Women also crossplay as male characters, although generally it seems a bit more difficult for the women to make convincing guys. Fortunately, a lot of male characters in Japanese works are eternally young and somewhat effeminate-looking to begin with, so it helps those crossplayers.
A nice aspect of Japanese society is the blurry intersection between genders. At least in the US, gender boundaries seem to have a some what rigid definition. We certainly recognize there is a point where genders begin to blend and become obfuscated, but comparatively, Japan has a bigger gray zone. Check out any Japanese fashion, especially for males, and you will find some very effeminate clothing. I remember seeing businessmen wearing bright pink button down shirts, or college-aged males sporting accessories that they might have lifted from their girlfriend. The point of this is that it is sort of what allows crossplaying to safely exist in Japan.
GTTFPA (get to the * point already) Okay, okay...
My experience with cosplaying started about 2 years ago. I was living in Japan at the time, and two friends of mine (girls) invited me along to a cosplay event. This was a night club in Osaka. I went cross-dressed and had a blast. I had just come out to those friends as being transgender, and that was my first sort of night out as a girl. There are pictures. They are not good. They will remain hidden. Haha.
Anyways, I attended a number of events over the last two years around my town and in Osaka with my two friends. They too, on occasion, crossplayed, so it was fun to have someone else in on the "switch" with me. Now, before this thread becomes any longer, I'm going to share some pictures of my cosplaying experiences.
This is me cosplaying as Sofie from Howl's Moving Castle. This was for a Halloween party.
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay4.jpg (http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay4.jpg)
This is a cosplay of Remilia, a character from the Touhou project games: (back row, gigantic chin)
http://s1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay2.jpg (http://s1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay2.jpg)
And a view of the back of the costume. That's me with my friend crossplaying as a little boy. Note the 27cm Mary Janes. Lol.
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay1.jpg (http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay1.jpg)
Here's my piece de resistance. I dressed up as Hatsune Miku, the vocaloid. This event took place at a shopping mall. I got up on stage in that costume and sang a song in Japanese in front of 60+ people. I was nervous. A lot. I don't remember the 3 minutes between starting and finishing the song.
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay5.jpg (http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb344/bullwinklle/cosplay5.jpg)
So goys and birls...wait a minute. Boys and girls. Okay. Do you have any experience with cosplaying? Crossplaying? A funny story you want to share about a cosplayer (or crossplayer) you once saw? And, to make this thread complete, please share any Renaissance festival experiences. Costumed a plus. Cross-tumed (see what I did there?) gets a chocolate chip cookie. *Confetti*
I was at the Texas Pirate Fest last May? I think it was May but not sure, where I was a pirate/gypsy hybrid type person. I didn't like the look at all though ... but that's before I came out so I felt I needed to look very manly and stuff.
Photo: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/230257_2038474198396_1140507656_32433331_5977683_n.jpg
Someday I'll be able to dress up as a smokin' gypsy girl though! And I also plan to go to anime and steampunk conventions. I've got several costumes planned for those too!
For the record I don't cosplay or renfair...I avoid those places. I hit MAC cosmetics and EdgeSF for drag shows. The kind of playing I do is throwing on a vintage Halston dress and hitting the clubs with a bunch of dudes. Then teasing guys into flirting with me and telling them, "sorry, I got a man"
But I am sure many people here will enjoy that since a lot of them seem to be into that.
I was being sarcastic. Since they all seem to tie into geek culture.
But thank you...
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstarsweare.files.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F70s-minimalist-halston.jpg&hash=710a1e6dd1968de945ac247e799d5835abd3784e)