How long do you wear your costume? [Archive]

Melisande

10-06-2007, 08:01 AM

rockthedojo

10-06-2007, 08:31 AM

Depends on what you got planned >.< I like to pack 2 or 3 costumes then weigh out what days, what times and how long im going to wear each of them... Thats pretty much the standard from what I've seen. Youll even see people on here talking about "ya friday im gonna do naruto then saturday trinityblood then im busting out my FF for the contest"...

I dunno about discarding costumes thats just counter-productive sometimes you can use stuff from one costume for another =oO then youre just saving yourself time. A lot of people will revamp and wear the same costume at another con basically the first con is kind of like a test run then they will perfect anything they didn't like and bust out costume 2.0

Andrea

10-06-2007, 08:47 AM

I wear them as long as I feel like wearing them. That goes for at the con, and through the years. ;) I never will say that a costume is officially retired - there's always a chance I may randomly decide to pull it out again someday just because I feel like it.

Amidoji

10-06-2007, 08:58 AM

I normally wear two costumes a day. Sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the con and what's going on.

I almost never wear a costume for only one con. I normally decide what costumes I want to do for the year. So I'll make anywhere from two to four new costumes and then wear them for the next year at all of the conventions I go to. But I still will wear old costumes from previous years as well if there is a gathering for that costume or one of my friends wants to coordinate costumes.

I only compete in new costumes. If I've already won something for that costume, or used it in competetion at that con, I don't rewear it.

Tabby Catty

10-06-2007, 09:10 AM

I'm used to wearing them twelve hours straight pretty much, so yeah, usually I have a tendency with them being worn for a long time.

kimu

10-06-2007, 09:35 AM

Time spent in hours wearing one depends on the costume, too.
Some like full body suits with latex and heads (like a mascot style), 4-5 hours and that's that! (Then happy SHOWER before going back in public.)
Some are far more comfortable and you can live in them for the day. I know some people with uncomfortable foot wear, or hard to sit down in costumes won't be in them all day either.

As for wearing them to more than one con? YES!
Unless you flung it together with safety pins, tape, and glue, if you put effort into sewing it well.... And if you put effort so your props hold together well.... And if you obviously spent a little money on it.... then why would you only enjoy it once? (At least, there might be some that would only wear it once, not me.)
I'll second the comment about "trial run" of the first wearing!! Then go back and adjust a few things to make it better for the next time.

One thing I won't do, is wear the same costume more than one day at the same convention. I like a chance to clean and air things.

paper cosplay

10-06-2007, 09:53 AM

I've done one to three costumes but I always bring street clothing, so when I'm tired of attention and want to move around with out being stopped for photos. or go play games like DDR I don't have to try it in a costume.

if you plan on wearing one costume the whole con. for the other people at the con bring a clothing deodorizer.

Inuyasha_Kun

10-06-2007, 10:22 AM

I kind of plan out my wearing...I save my easiest for the first and last day and my hardest to put on on Saturday...cause more people will show up on Saturday then Friday...

ANd I do bring street clothes sometimes, but last time I wasn't really able to wear the street clothes because I wanted to be in costume so much!

Yes and its a good Idea to bring like fabreez for fabric and Deodorant!

But. I usualy wear my costumes for a good three hours or so until I am tired of them.. and that all depends upon photoshoots as well! But I never have any photoshoots to go to really cause I pick anime's that mostly no one wants to cosplay

sweet_magic

10-06-2007, 11:51 AM

Depending on how comfortable a costume is, I'll wear it all day. If not, then I'll usually wear a costume for about 5-6 hours before either changing into something else or taking a breather out of said costume.

But like Andrea said, no costume for me will be be "officially" retired. I love all my costumes and I'd like to wear them each at least 3 times before I even consider putting them up for good.

Valdrein

10-06-2007, 12:02 PM

I try to only have one cosplay per day, but that sometimes turns into two.
But I'm in cosplay from pre-reg till closing. I never bother bringing regular clothes, I just enjoy cosplaying to much X'D

Though I don't recommend sleeping in them since I once feel asleep with my friend in all of Lucifer's leather glory and that hurt prying us apart ;_;

Lothlin

10-06-2007, 12:26 PM

I'm usually in cosplay most of the day, and at least a different costume every day. Don't want those costumes to get funky XD. But, I usually end up changing out of the costumes in the evening- one, because eventually it just becomes too much work to breathe with the binding, and two, because I'm usually doing a panel or two that requires a decent amount of physical dexterity later on and I don't want to risk destroying my costumes. I managed to destroy a pair of pants in one of those panels, I wouldn't risk a costume I put hours and hours into XD

blackcat523

10-06-2007, 12:37 PM

Right now I have 2 main costumes. I usually will wear one twice for the same con. The con's I go to are mainly Friday, Saturday and Sunday cons, so I'll wear my first on Friday, the other on Saturday and then depending on how I'm feeling either one on Sunday. I like my military outfit because it doesn't get as bad as my Alphonse one. It stays pretty clean because I can take the jacket off to eat (I have a black shirt underneath, :P).

I am however working on three more costumes and a special (SECRET) one for Otakon. That and I'm helping a friend with her Anime Boston costume. So I have my work cut out for me this year.

As for retiring a costume, I put to much blood, sweat and tears/swears into making that one, it's my first and I'm dam proud of it. So no I won't retire it just yet.

Ghost613

10-06-2007, 04:03 PM

I usually wear my costumes until i can't wear them any longer, i.e. can't breathe or something along that line. I would normally wear only one costume a day, but for this next con i'm going to, i'm only going to be there for two days so i'm going to double up a bit.
And yeah, unless a costume is utterly horrendous, I'll wear it a second or third time.

Gogglegirl

10-06-2007, 04:11 PM

Really it depends on what I have planned. but normally I wear one costume a day. There have been a few times where I've worn the same costume for all three days.

As for re-wearing them. I've worn my Haruno Sakura costume to atleast 3 different cons. Some of them, like my cardcaptor Sakura costume doesn't even fit me anymore (I made it in like 8th grade and that was like 5 years ago..so yeah) I'm planning on rewearing some of mine. Like my Selphie costume and my Edward elric costume (they need some reworking and ed needs a new wig..)

Sion

10-06-2007, 06:15 PM

I always wear a costume for the entire day on the Saturday of a con. Since most cons are 3 days long on a weekend, the Saturday is usually when the masquerade is, and when people usually bust out their big costumes.
The Friday and Sundays I may or may not wear a costume, or I'll wear something that's not as elaborate or difficult to put on on those days.

As far as re-wearing costumes, it depends. Big complex costumes I usually never rewear, but simplistic comfortable ones usually get reworn. Also award winning costumes usually don't get reworn, as they tend to be the complex ones and end up falling apart in storage.

Melisande

10-06-2007, 06:17 PM

For those of you that wear one costume per con, fabric-smelly issues aside, would people think it's weird that you wear the same costume for several days straight? Or is it acceptable in this one instance?

I'm curious because I'd never do that with street clothes, although I never put as much effort into my street clothes either, so does that make the difference as far as acceptablitiy goes?

Personally, I'm planning on making a Nariko (Heavenly Sword) costume to wear to AnimeExpo '08 but I don't think I'll have time to make another costume. I'd like to wear the costume for more than one day, preferably a couple hours each day and in street clothes the rest of the time. Would anybody think this is weird?

Sion

10-06-2007, 06:37 PM

Nobody cares if you wear the same costume day after day, just shower and wear anti-perspirant etc. so you don't smell nasty, which is pretty much common sense.

Other then that, you have about a 0% chance that someone will run up to you going "Omg thats the same costume as yesterday grossss" or something along those lines, its not really the same as normal clothing.

tfcreate

10-06-2007, 07:55 PM

Try to remember that if you go through a lot of costume changes it's hard for the photographers to get pictures. Judging from the number of "did you take my picture" requests, this seems to be part of the problem for those who are looking for photos.
TFC

Queen Anime 99

10-06-2007, 08:10 PM

I wanted to start a thread like this. :D Cool. Well, I think I'm a rarity in that I wear one costume each day (The cons that I go to last 2-3 days). I try to wear my costumes to at least two conventions (So, that means I wear each costume at least twice). However, I've only worn some costumes one time and I want to wear them more often. However, this conflicts with my NEW costume ideas. So, I'm very confused. XD I feel some of my costumes don't get enough spotlight but, at the same time, I don't want to wear the same costumes over and over (I think many people feel the same way). I guess the best way to remedy this problem is to go to more conventions and/or wear more costumes per convention day. ^_^

Oh yes. I once wore a costume for two days straight (Edward from Cowboy Bebop) and no one complained. It doesn't bother people. It actually might make some people happy ("OMG! I couldn't get a picture of you yesterday. I'm so happy that you're wearing the same costume." ^_^)

Mir280

10-07-2007, 12:13 AM

Depends on the con. At a large Con (like Dragon Con) I'll wear one main costume for the day and then a different one for the evening. For smaller cons I'll wear one costume the whole day. I have been known to wear one costume more than once at a con but in a case like that I like to let it air for a day between wearings and spray liberally with fabreeze. As for retiring a costume permantly...there is no such thing. One day me and my kids will have one hell of a dress up party!

Nin-Kitty

10-07-2007, 01:26 AM

Time spent in hours wearing one depends on the costume, too.
Some like full body suits with latex and heads (like a mascot style), 4-5 hours and that's that! (Then happy SHOWER before going back in public.)
Some are far more comfortable and you can live in them for the day. I know some people with uncomfortable foot wear, or hard to sit down in costumes won't be in them all day either.

I agree with the furrie stuff, I usually only wear my furries for a few hours, shower, then switch to a lighter costume for a while, makes it easier because people always want pictures of the furries so I dont stand a chance in the dealers room or gaming rooms(I've had staff yell at me before because a crowd was taking pictures of me in the dealers room) Also people always wanting pics gets annoying when I'm trying to rush somewhere, who knew that I would not want to get my pic takenXD lol thats why normal costumes come in handy, but I only switch to street clothes if I really really want to avoid attention:p

Unless you flung it together with safety pins, tape, and glue

I did this with my snj and it barely lasted through the weekend, I retired that one because it was only a one time thing, I also retired a couple other costumes because they werent something that I wanted to continue with.

It mainly depends on the person, if you can stand a hot suit for more than 5 hours, go for it:)

benihime

10-07-2007, 01:33 AM

it totally depends

at akon, my yumichika costume was killing me so i changed into different characters a few times, depending on who i was hanging out with.

it all depends on how long i want to wear the cosplay. im kinda finnicky and like to change a lot, but that really depends. i wore my kira for quite awhile because i was so proud of it and i love the character. and i wore my prince of tennis for awhile because its comfortable XD

i haven't retired some characters. i've kept a few that im going to redo. my nell especially because my helm broke O: ive "retired" urahara for now because i used my wig for something else and there's other characters i want to wear but i'll bring him back someday

Mekou

10-07-2007, 02:09 AM

I usually have one costume per day of the con, and wear that costume all day. ^_^ I used to do this mainly out of necessity. I drove to the con, didn't have a hotel room, so I was stuck in my costume all day anyway.

Now I just prefer to do that. I'm not the type who does this, but others I know bring multiple costumes per day for photoshoots and things. So crazy! XD

Miss_Mikado

10-07-2007, 02:12 PM

Like everyone said, it depends.

For me, I wear what I can still wear and what brings attention.
I do have plans for other cosplays I want to make (or put together from all my old clothes), yet the ones I've kept for a year or two will forever remain in my suitcase. ;p

I'm not sure if you mean hours we wear our costumes at a con or so...yet as long as you keep yourself clean, then you're good. Next time, (in case I do sweat when it's hot), I carry a bottle of Febreeze. hehe

Arlette

10-07-2007, 03:18 PM

It really depends with me. It's all about your own comfort level! I usually have around 4 costumes for a con (sometimes more, for huge cons like Dragon*Con) and depending on the comfort of the costume (shoes, big accessories, props, how hot it is, etc.) I may wear something for only a few hours, or just to get a photoshoot and have it judged or something. That doesn't mean I won't wear it again at another con, but I know we have all had costumes that we couldn't stand for very long. XD On the other hand, if it's a really comfy costume I may wear it all day. There are other factors like photoshoot schedules and group planning, too.

As for re-wearing costumes, there is so much I want to make and work on I usually don't have time. I move on and progress with each project, so there are very few costumes I've re-worn. I'll do it when asked by friends if I'm needed for a group or something, or if I've improved upon a costume between cons and want to wear the "upgraded" version. I can almost count the number of costumes I've worn more than once on one hand, though. Etna, Rikku, Sasami, Pai, and a couple versions of Rukia. I'll be bringing Xiau-mu back this AUSA (if I ever get my wig *cough*) and I'll be wearing my new Faye a couple times in the future, as well. But that's about it!

TR Rose

10-07-2007, 05:00 PM

I used to switch between costumes randomly (at my first A-Kon) but now I come up with a plan beforehand for what gets worn at what time. Makes it easier for photoshoots and gatherings that way.

That being said, I usually stay in one costume all day. I may take a break out of costume to shop or eat, but usually get dressed up again in the same outfit later on (after a shower). The only exception is a very hot, hard-to-move-in costume that I'll only wear for part of a day.

Technowraith

10-07-2007, 05:09 PM

Since i only have one costume right now, I don't have much of a choice. LoL ^.^

Actually, i don't really plan to make billion costumes. I have in mind to do one or two characters a year. It seems odd, but there's a method to the madness: 1) I don't have to rush to get a million costumes done in a months time. It gives commissioners more time to make costumes, therefore they tend to do a better job. 2) It's cheaper to build fewer costumes and props a year. 3) It gives me more time to design/build props. I hate to rush a project, and there's nothing worse than ruining a great prop because I rushed to get it done two days before a con.

AlphaNinn

10-07-2007, 05:20 PM

It depends on the con, the proximity of the con to my hotel room, if I'm staffing/what department I'm staffing, and the costume itself.

I've worn as few as one costume for the entire weekend, and as many as 4 in a day. I'm usually working as con safety, so it's one a day for that once my shifts are finished for the day. Unless there's mutiple photoshoots, then I'll run and change. If I'm not working, or I'm on masq staff (I only do that at one con), then I base it around pre-planned shoots. Or contest judging.

If I'm doing something where I'm allowed to dress while working, I'll keep the comfortable one on during that and change into the bulky one afterward.

Up until early last year, my things were pretty much worn for one con then ditched (with one or two exceptions), mainly because they'd fall apart. Now I like to wear stuff until I get sick of it (one of my Bleach outfits, for example, I've worn to 3 cons in a row. I still love the outfit, but it's getting a break for a couple cons).

Pincer

10-07-2007, 10:30 PM

Since I sweat a lot, I will only wear a costume once per con weekend. Now depending on what cons I go to there have been instances where I've worn two costumes in one day. Only ONCE did I wear a costume twice in a weekend, but that was because I was only in it for three hours the day prior and didn't sweat luckily.

In a few cases with some of my costumes if I want to wear it longer in the day, I'll break out the iron and steam the heck out of it then a few light squirts of Febreeze or whatever disenfectant is on hand.

I did make a nice discovery in June though, found out Old Spice Red Zone will last just over 7 hours. :D Helps in the stinky department of course. **l** And yes, I do take showers regularly. :P

Eternamente926

10-08-2007, 03:07 AM

My Sora costume is comfortable to wear all day, but I prefer to try to take it off at some point during the day to stretch out (while wearing normal clothes! lol), and air it out a bit.

At Katsucon this past year I wore version 1.0 all day, but I took it off a couple of times during the day (at least parts of it) because even if I built it for comfort there's still that discomfort of "I don't want to wreck it, so I have to be careful walking around".

During Otakon my hotel was about three or four blocks away, so I really didn't run back to the hotel during the day to take a break from it (by now it's Sora costume version 2.0... slight alterations lol)... which sucked, because it was hot and towards the end of the day I felt a little stifled in it. If I'm staying at the same hotel next year, I may fix that problem some how so I can go back to my room with ease at some point to take a midday shower lol.

Thank goodness for Febreeze and dry cleaning, eh? =p

Oh, and I totally agree with Andrea... Sora will never be officially retired lol. So long as it fits and I look good in it, any costume I make will be worn quite a bit =p

Natchan

10-09-2007, 12:28 PM

If its a 3 day con, I generally wear a costume everyday, all day. Especially since I go to alot of shoots, and don't want to miss the opportunity just because I wasn't wearing my costume that day.

At 4 day cons, it depends on how much energy I have the last day. Sometimes I'll wear a costume on that 4th day, other times I'll just go in casual and take everyone else's pics instead.

xXKujaXx

10-09-2007, 12:32 PM

I usually where one costume for a full day of a convention, I probably won't change halfway through unless I'm looking to debut something at the contest for dramatic effect.

As for longevity, I've worn my Chouji costume 6 times over the last 2 years and I'm not done with it yet. I'm definitley going to wear it again, it's my favorite.

Hikaruhime

10-09-2007, 12:49 PM

I will wear anywhere from one to four different costumes per day, just depending on photoshoots. One costume may get worn for six hours and then the next only for two hours; it depends on how uncomfortable the costume is.

I don't consider a costume retired unless it's missing pieces. For example, I turn the wig into something else or boot covers get worn out and I don't feel like re-making them, etc.

Angathol

10-09-2007, 12:51 PM

In previous years I've worn the same costume to a con all weekend, but now that I have more than one active costume, I usually alternate them depending on when public photoshoots/related events are. It's probably not very hygienic to wear the same costume all weekend anyway.

The costumes I've retired are ones that I used my real hair for and can't wear again until I buy a wig, or ones that I just don't like that much.

Kazephyr

10-09-2007, 12:57 PM

I wear a costume every minute I'm at a convention. I think I'd be depressed if I didn't. ^_^;; It's not for everyone, though. ^_^ The first time I did binding... I did it wrong, and was in a lot of pain the whole drive to the con. I was wondering how I was going to make it through the day... I wore that costume for around 10 hours, though luckily the pain did go away, and I managed to come out of the experience without any permanent effect on my body shape. o_0 I'm very... determined in that sense... I make myself suffer for cosplay a lot. -_-;; I don't honestly get to go to many cons right now because of my mom's horrendous work schedule. I have no friends to go with, so my parents come with me, since I think it'd be sort of dangerous to go alone. Because I don't get to go to many, I always have a new costume for every day of the con. I do reuse my costumes, however, as I like to cosplay in my day-to-day life. In that sense, they'll never be retired. ^_^ There's nothing wrong with wearing the same costume more than one day at the same con, though; lots of people do that. ^_^

Aleera

10-09-2007, 01:14 PM

More than 1 costume, usually 2 or 3 for the weekend. You could get away with just one, if you clean it and aren't in a sweaty convention. But I think one costume should be good for 2 days maximum at a particular convention.

FaeandMerfolk

10-09-2007, 01:23 PM

I like to alternate a bit, but I am not sure I'm going to like having to change every frew hours. We'll see how this goes at Izumicon where I have 5 costumes to wear in a 3 day event that needs most of them worn each day. Go figure.

Until now, I just picked out a single costume for each day of the event and only changed during the day if for special occasions.

Scoti

10-09-2007, 02:08 PM

At the most I'll bring 3-4 costumes for the weekend, I don't really feel like I have the time or room to bring anymore then that. From those I'll wear one costume per day changing only for the masquerade (if I have something new). The way I see it, I don't want to waste too much of the con changing characters. I also think about if I'm trying to network or meet up with new people, it can get awkward trying to re-approach them if you look completely different every hour and while getting them to connect you with your past form. XD

I don't have anything I've only worn once, Everything I make I have intentions on re-wearing unless it has craftsmanship issues, out grow it, or find a replacement.

Leenus

10-09-2007, 03:52 PM

Usually I wear the same costume all weekend, if i'm not with a group.

ardhri

10-09-2007, 11:40 PM

I usually have one for each day of the con, although whether I wear the third costume depends on what happens the first two days! My Suiguintou costume killed my feet at Otakon so even though I took her to a con the following weekend, I couldn't wear her because I couldn't wear closed-in shoes due to the nasty blisters I still had.

I just like wearing multiple costumes and getting to hang out with different groups each day. I almost never wear more than one a day, although I might if there's a shoot scheduled that I want to attend.

shinentai

10-10-2007, 01:38 AM

Because I'm such a perfectionist, I generally wear my costumes to several conventions because I make maybe two costumes a year if I'm lucky.

With my TB stuff, I wore it to A-kon 07 for a test-run and only wore it one day. At A-fest, I cycled between Rociel and Abel when I got sick of one or the other (or my feet/shoulders were ded). I keep adding to my Abel costume as I go, so...for something like that, I don't mind wearing it to several conventions so long as I'm not competing at them (because I won't compete in something until I'm finished/happy with it and I'm a loon for picking something that requires so much time to do).

/rant

Koi

10-10-2007, 08:23 AM

A lot of people like wearing.. as many as three costumes a day which I think is a little bit too chaotic. You spend so much time changing (I use stage make-up.. so it takes a bit longer)
Usually my cosplay buddy and I make one costume (because it takes enough time to make one..) for Saturday and Sunday. On Fridays we always try to wear costumes from previous conventions.. but usually we don't have our main costume done by then so spend most of Friday in the hotel sewing anyway x_X

Gale

10-10-2007, 09:17 AM

Hi everyone,

I'm new to cosplaying and I've never had a chance to go to an anime convention, so I was just curious how long/often do you guys wear your costumes to the convention? I know they usually last a few days, so do you guys usually wear them the whole time you're there? Just for the day of the contests/judging? Just for special events during the con?

As a side question, do you guys usually re-use your costumes? I often see people with signatures listing several costumes in the making; is it normal to discard/permanently store a costume after you've worn it once?

Thanks for your responses to these nooby questions of mine! :bashful:

Melisande

It depends on personal preference really. I know most cosplayers wear one costume or another the entire duration of a convention though, though some (if not many) will change what costume they're wearing over the course of the weekend. What events one is participating in also helps to dictate this. For example, this weekend at AAC I'm debuting a costume I bought, being judged in my Masq. costume on Friday afternoon, wearing another for a game show I'm performing in on Friday evening, possibly getting a photo shoot in one or two costumes with a friend who's a cosplay photographer, wearing above mentioned Masq. costume Saturday night, and wearing another costume altogether for the Cosplay Dating Game on Sunday. That's four costumes altogether.

As for re-using costumes, it depends on a lot as well. Sometimes pieces used for a costume are borrowed, especially if one is participating in a group or show. I had to retire my Elena costume because I don't own the wig I used for it. Also, sometimes a costume is retired because the cosplayer grows out of it. Often times though a cosplayer just reuses a costume so long that its just time for a change. Personally, I've been wearing my Songstress Yuna costume on and off for nearly 4 years. I may have only just revamped it last spring, but I'm tired of wearing it, and I don't want to get my image too closely attached to it so that I become known specifically as a Yuna cosplayer (some people like this sort of association, though). For that reason I plan on retiring it after this year. I may bring it out of storage eventually, but not for a while.

CezzaXV

10-10-2007, 09:35 AM

I'll generally wear one costume for each day of the con. Usually I'll wear it all day (from the moment I get out of bed til the moment I go back to bed) unless I'm getting too hot in it if there's a party going on somewhere at night. At this point I'll probably take the wig off and a jacket or whatever the costume has. I have to either be melting or be wearing a costume I can't remove pieces from (Princess Garnet, for instance) before I'll take the complete costume off.

Prota-Girl

10-10-2007, 03:18 PM

LOL I`m still finding time to wear my Kabuto costume next year! o.o ;.;

But for me, longest was probubly Vincent valentine, about 12 hours. XD
My hair color rubbed off onto my face, when i got home my mom said it looked like I came out from a fire. XD

Rat-Face

10-10-2007, 04:59 PM

Depends on the costume, for me.

Uo wears a skirt, a wig, a shirt, and slip-on shoes. I wore Uo all day.

Hiei is not-quite a dress, pants, boots, contacts and really messed-up hair. I wore Hiei all day.

Paine is messed-up hair, and a five-piece costume and boots and contacts. I didn't even do my hair, and I wore Paine -maybe- two hours.

If I was thinking on wearing one of them more than once, I'd want to bring Febreeze and let it hang up in the shower or something, or have them do laundry for me.

Tess

10-10-2007, 05:25 PM

I typically wear 2 costumes/day on Friday and Saturday and 1 costume/day on Sunday. I've also recently fallen into a lot of "gag cosplay" which is great fun, and so I usually drag that out at night, in addition to my serious stuff. So I will bring anywhere from 5-8 costumes to a convention.

I rarely will wear a costume only once and then retire it. What a waste of work! I like for all of my costumes to see at least 2-3 conventions apiece [if not more] and I rarely retire anything. Usually selling something off = retirement, rather than actually storing the costume away and saying, "Uh, going to retire that and never touch it again." IT NEVER WORKS. XP

@-->--- Tess