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[ShinobiXikyu]

Originally Posted by RobbyKun

Yeah, alot of movie costume replicas I've seen can be very expensive, but they just means you're getting the best quality, IMO.

Seconded. I've tossed $500 to making my Quorra costume, and I plan to spend more on getting it perfect after this upcoming con. And that doesn't count batteries. It takes 8 AAs to power the suit for two-three hours.

On ONE costume piece? I bought expensive $185 boots for my Org.XIII cosplays. Surprise surprise they were uncomfortable as shit to me and I wore them with thee costume about three times and they were too uncomfy/impractical to wear with normal clothes more than a few times. I'm trying to sell them now to recoup some of my losses.
I also spent $250 in total to make my medieval cloak- there was no way I was skimping on quality for a medieval noble, and it was a half-circle cloak. Aka, tons of material.

[cowsrcute]

I already spent 600 dollars getting materials to make a snake costume but I haven't even actually gotten the material it will actually be made out of yet. Just got clay, foam, wood, and resin for mold, paint, gems, and wood for the jewelry on it.

[RobbyKun]

Monocle_Complex, I ought to follow your example and make a run down of all the materials I need, so I can avoid overspending on certain cosplays.

The worst is spending a ton of money on something, and it turns out it doesn't work or it's not what you were expecting.

[SweeneyTodd]

^ Agreed with that. Another thing that helps to save money is to avoid buying placeholders (which is a trap that live-action costumers tend to fall into). For example, for my Sweeney cosplay I ended up upgrading that costume 4 times, each time trying to work my way up to a better costume, but I eventually ended up buying the expensive costume item anyways, but this was after buying like 4 other less accurate versions of it.
So when looking for costume items, if you find something that is perfect, but a bit expensive, if you can do it... buy it. Don't buy a placeholder and be like "Oh well I'll upgrade this later.." because you will end up spending more money in the end. Instead, just wait, save up money, and buy the costume item that you know you will be satisfied with. Then you won't need to do further updates or end up with like 5 of the same item with varying accuracies.

[g00dapple]

Originally Posted by RobbyKun

The worst is spending a ton of money on something, and it turns out it doesn't work or it's not what you were expecting.

Agreed. I spent $400 on Baby Doll's glitter costume (why are rhinestones so expensive?!) and I ended up hating the end result. I still wore it but, never again

[Oniigiri_Basket]

It's not just one part of the cosplay, but my Waitress Tsumugi is going to be my most expensive cosplay yet.

Costume including thigh-highs, headdress, petticoat, etc. (commissioned): $380 + shipping
Serving tray: roughly $5.00
Prop food: $67
Wig: $40 + shipping
Make-up: I don't even know yet, but it's gonna be a lot, I'm guessing.
Shoes: $16

People ain't lying when they say cosplay can get expensive. XD

[Ilafatyu]

Originally Posted by Oniigiri_Basket

People ain't lying when they say cosplay can get expensive. XD

To make myself feel better about the amount of money I spend on cosplay, I add up how
much money I'd put into buying cigarettes in the amount of time it takes to make a costume. Makes me feel better about my addiction every time.

[Oniigiri_Basket]

Originally Posted by Ilafatyu

To make myself feel better about the amount of money I spend on cosplay, I add up how
much money I'd put into buying cigarettes in the amount of time it takes to make a costume. Makes me feel better about my addiction every time.

I'm already used to spending stupid amounts of money on trivial things (I collect PVC figures and have paid up to $200 for a piece of sculpted plastic), so it doesn't bother me much. If I do end up feeling guilty, though, I remind myself that people spend just as much, if not more, on electronics, sports memorabilia, clothes, shoes, etc., so I shouldn't feel so bad. XD

[Ineedaname9]

Seymour from FFX....

Fabric: 260$ at least
Wig: about 120$
Notions: 25$
Staff: 20$

I'm probably gonna drop another 60$ on beads for the necklace, fake nails, and make up....so expensive >.>

[nyokun]

Due to trial and error, my Cait Sith costume wound up costing me an estimated $900+ Mostly due to foam and fabric.

[Spiritman]

my ninja turtle suit is reaching the 900$ + mark, im estimating i spent about 600 to make it for the first run,Halloween and Super Megafest and with the upgrades ive added since its costing me a bit more

[HardcoreNamine]

Nothing compared to what you lot are spending, but I'm about to spend $65 on a wig for one of my first cosplays, and it's making me a bit nervous as to what is to come

[touchmon]

Most expensive overall cosplay would have to be Saber. I don't know the exact cost but it has to be in the $200-$300 range.

As for individual pieces, my Morgiana bracelets. They were close to $100.

[Mehdia]

Man, I used to think I spent a lot on costumes, but you guys own! I manage to buy almost everything I use on sale or with coupons, so I cut down costs quite a bit. My most expensive single costume was my Madam Red and it would about $300 (it would have cost WAY more if I wouldn't have bought 15 yards of fabric with 40% off coupons). Most expensive single thing I bought that I can remember was a wig that was about $60...and I have yet to actually use it and I bought it over four years ago.

[rajamitsu]

My husband's been wanting to make a "poofy dress" for a while and we finally found a character we both like that wears one. We've just started getting materials and we're almost up to $200 already. Just for the underthings. Those parts are re-usable, though, if we decide to do another dress, so the investment isn't as painful there. Now, when it comes time to buy the rest of the fabric...