The origins of Cosplay, while only several decades old, are something that is already widely disputed. Some say it began in America back in the 50’s or 60’s when people would dress up as their favorite cowboys from TV westerns or later as Star Trek characters. Others will say that it is a Japanese phenomenon that was imported into the US during the late 80’s. The closest thing to the truth is that it is originally an American idea that received notice in Japan, and then imported back to American years later once anime began its surge in popularity.

In the early 80’s Nov Takahashi, founder of the Japanese anime focused publishing company Studio Hard, attended WorldCon at Los Angeles Sci-Fi convention. In writing about the convention he enthusiastically praised the many fans he saw in costume. The idea took hold in the minds of the Japanese readers and they in turn adapted the idea by dressing as their favorite anime characters. In a matter of a few short years Cosplay contests and skits were commonplace at anime and sci-fi conventions in Japan. As interest in anime, manga and all things related started to catch on in America, cosplay was reintroduced, this time on a much large scale.

Today, cosplayers are primarily young women ages 16 to 25, although more and more often cosplaying crosses these age and gender boundaries and it is not uncommon to see entire families cosplaying together. Regardless of whether you are at a comic, anime, or popular arts convention you are most likely to see cosplayers in anime inspired costumes. Some purists will even argue that if you are dressing up as anything but an anime or manga character you are just costuming, but most cosplayers do not hold such a hard stance since the ultimate goal of cosplaying is to just have fun. Additionally with mediums spilling over into each other (anime becoming videogames, videogames become movies, movies becoming comic books, etc.) it is getting harder and harder to draw the cut-off line. Sailor Moon characters are perhaps the most easily recognized anime characters at any popular arts convention, along with characters from Dragon Ball. Witch Hunter Robin, Card Captors, and Magic Knight Rayearth are also extremely popular amongst cosplayers.

Videogame characters are also extremely popular subjects to base a costume on. Characters from Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy series are among the most popular costumes for cosplayers to do. Fighting games like the Street Fighter and the Dead or Alive series’ are frequent sources for characters to Cosplay due to the wealth of characters available. Xenosaga and Disgaea are also becoming increasingly popular among cosplayers who choose videogames as their inspiration.

Cosplay is not just limited to these areas though. Comic books, movies and even classic literature are all frequent sources for ideas and inspiration. Many creative costumers will even create their own original Lolita and fairy outfits as well.

Occasionally you might even see a little gender reversal. Women who dress up as men and vice versa have their own little subset in the Cosplay realm, often referred to as Crossplay. It is not uncommon to see at least a few crossplayers at the major conventions (this writer included). However, the best crossplayers are not even recognized for crossplaying as the costumes and make-up can disguise ones gender very effectively. It is not always a pretty thing though. Rebecca Chen puts it best with this story.

“I once saw a full grown man dressed up as a Sailor Senshi before. He had really hairy legs. It was awful. It's one thing if a guy wants to "crossplay" as a female character but this guy was obviously not taking cosplay seriously and trying to gain attention by shocking people.”

If you are interested in cosplaying and joining in on the fun there are several options available to you. The first and easiest option is purchase a ready made costume. Many cosplayers sell their old costumes and will offer good deals on them. Many costume websites also have pre-made outfits that look better than any store-bought prepackaged costumes you might find. If you cannot find anything that interests you or if you have a particular character in mind you might wish to commission a costume. There are several websites of costuming companies that may be able to make a costume for you. Many experienced cosplayers also take commissions from others to help cover the cost of their own costumes. Unfortunately it is rarely cheap. The simplest costumes will run at least $100 for the cost of materials and time to make it. Extremely elaborate costumes take weeks and sometimes even months to make and can run over $500.

If you have plenty of time before you need the costume you may want to try and do it yourself. Make a list of the individual pieces that make up the costume. You would be surprised just how many of the pieces you will be able to find on online auction sites as long as you give yourself ample time to find them. Thrift stores are also excellent sources for finding clothes that with a few simple alterations and adjustments can make great costume pieces. There is also another obvious avenue available if you have a bit of proficiency at sewing, and that is making your own costume. Plenty of simple patterns exist for many costumes. It’s just a matter of finding them online.

Regardless of how you put it together, do not be discouraged by your first attempt at costuming. Rena Natali, a five year cosplay veteran said this about her first costume, a female version of Soul Reaver’s Raziel.

“The costume was crude and thrown together (and with no wings), and it was pitifully inaccurate, since the images I was working from were about the size of a postage stamp, but I did a decent job, considering my lack of experience, and people generally liked it, even though no one recognized who I was supposed to be.”

Once she got the hang of making her costumes, she went back and remade the Raziel costume. Now it is among her favorites.

One final tip for new cosplayers is to try and wear a costume that flatters your body. Most anime and comic book characters have bodies that are tough or some case cases downright impossible to live up to. You may have to sacrifice a few a little accuracy in order for the costume to look good on your. Add a few extra inches of fabric if you need it. Remember, the costume will look a lot better if you look good in it.

For those of you who rather enjoy the costumes of others here are a few quick rules of etiquette from some other long-time cosplayers.

To begin with, respect every cosplayer you see. As Cristi Muth says, “Even if you see someone whose makeup job sucks or whose costume is falling apart at the seams...you don't diss on them. That's just mean. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there.”

If you want to take pictures of someone, never touch a cosplayer without their permission. They will be happy to model for you, but if adjustments need to be made to an outfit they will do it themselves. A headpiece that looks crooked might be intended to look that way. Some costume pieces are delicate too and are too delicate to touch.

Also, as a sign of respect try to limit the number of candid shots you take. “We hate candid shots,” Rebecca Chen points out. Try to get their attention before you take the picture. Cosplayers put a lot of work into their costumes and it is important to them that they and their costumes look as good as possible in every photograph that is taken.