Costume that could win a Masquerade

[Servent_To_Zero]

I am looking for a costume that I could do for an anime convention, and win with at the Masquerade. I dont know what kind of costumes could win. thanks

[Bekalou]

Costumes that win Masquerades are the ones that are made really well =) Honestly, I've seen all kinds of stuff win; not just the ridiculous ones.

[Koumori]

From my perspective as a judge- costumes that are made with attention to detail, good clean construction, and an understanding of design and sewing principles. A simple costume made really well and thoughtfully will impress me more than a giant ballgown made poorly.

[Servent_To_Zero]

ok, what if one of the pieces is store bought but, have altered the color, changed up the shape and added details. Can you have a store bought piece if it is changed

[Mangochutney]

That depends on the piece and on the rules of the masquerade in question. They have different requirements about how much of a costume can be pre-made. Check on the site of the con you'll be competing at, and if need be, send an email or two to ask if what you're doing is all right for the competition.

[CapsuleCorp]

Simply put, in order to win, you have to have a well-made costume that looks good on you and fits you well, and you have to present it on stage in a way that impresses the judges.

ANY COSTUME can do this. ANY PRESENTATION can do this. There is no one thing that is a sure-fire shoe-in.

[PrincessWolf]

Anything can win. Just because it has big wings doesn't mean it can win. I have seen simple ones win at conventions as well.

[RaDragon76]

There is no surefire way to win at a masquerade and no particular type of costume that will guarantee an award. Generally costumes that win awards are well constructed, show that the costumer involved has some understanding of sewing techinques, fit the person wearing them correctly and sometimes, though not always, have a decent presentation that impresses the judges.

As for items that are altered from something that is ready made, I would check the rules of the masquerade you want to compete in first. Most have rules about how much of a costume can be "found/altered" and some don't allow it at all unless it's something like shoes or a wig.

[Xaevier]

Like people have said make it as complex and intricate/detailed as possible. For instance

http://spawnkill.com/wp-content/uplo...0Bumblebee.jpg

THAT GUY made a winning cosplay and you don't even need to look closely to know it.

Then again I have seen a Kuroshitsuji outfit win and it looked rather simple but it was just very accurate, detailed, and well put together and the only way you would know would be if you looked very very closely.

[CapsuleCorp]

Not necessarily. I have seen simple costumes win simply because the costume was well-made. Having a lot of extra detail or complexity just means you have a lot of extra places to screw up. You have to nail EVERY SINGLE DETAIL if you want a detailed costume to win.

As you move up in skill level, then you will be doing more complex costumes by nature. But complexity is not an automatic win. You can try to do something really ridiculously complex and fail miserably - it happens a lot. Push yourself, but don't go so far outside your comfort zone that you're setting yourself up to fail.

[Kiichigo]

Just look at the recently held DCS (Danish Cosplay Summit)

There were Trinity Blood and Mononoke Hime-cosplayers in the contest, but a HalloweenTown Sora and Kairi won. Why?

http://astellecia.deviantart.com/

Her journal explains it pretty good

[CapsuleCorp]

Yes, well...WCS exists in a cosmos all its own, usually fairly divorced from ICG standards and practices used widely in North America.

BUT...it goes to show one universal truth: every convention, and every competition, is different. Run differently, judged differently, and weighted differently. What would clearly be a winning presentation at one con would be completely ignored at another. You have to know the con you're going to, and what their judging standards are, before even starting to think whether the costume you decided on is going to be a winner.

Quite honestly, for the OP's benefit, I will say that attempting to win doesn't come from picking the right costume/presentation. It comes from being lucky. Being in a field where, on that day, on that stage, you just happened to nail your construction and performance better than everyone else who competed. Because you could decide 6 months ahead of time that you're going to do a giant light-up transforming mecha Godzilla, and feel pretty confident about yourself, and then you get to the masquerade and are completely outstripped by a couple of people in nicely-made ballgowns or something. You NEVER KNOW. All you can do is pick a costume you really like, work really hard on it, make a really nice presentation, and present it confidently. After that, let the chips fall where they may.

[Sarcasm-hime]

^ What CapsuleCorp said. I've judged at and helped run countless cons and have seen all sorts of costumes/presentations win for all sorts of reasons.

Aiming high is great, but I strongly discourage people from getting their hearts set on winning Best in Show or Award ____. Masquerades are so unpredictable; you never know who you'll be competing against, or who the judges will be, etc., so the best attitude to go in with is just "I've done my very best, I hope my hard work is recognized somehow, but if not, oh well there's always next time". Do your best, but don't go in assuming you'll win because that is just a recipe for disappointment and bitterness.

[I LURV]

I have to say something that people rarely mention, part of good costuming is not even constructing the costume but how you wear it.

Take a look at project runway (for those of you who seen it), if the dress or garmet is not applied properly to the wearer for whatever reason it causes a lot of complications and makes the clothing look like shit. Yes, like shit.

The way you execute the clothing on your body can make a big difference in appearance. Do you just slap on the robe and dress or do you take your time to neatly put it on and tie up the ribbons making sure you got them all in place.

Is your mask out of place while walking? Is your hat tilting and falling off? etc