I am so picky when it comes to cosplay.

by Harriyanna Hook
One reason I was a theater kid was because I enjoyed the costumes so much. I adored getting to dress up any chance I got, which explains why Halloween is my favorite holiday. Being more involved with the cosplay community within the last few years, there tends to be so much negativity that surrounds individuality and the activity. It's interesting because cosplay is something plenty of people do, and for that reason alone, I am so picky when it comes to it. Here are some factors that come to play regarding my relationship with cosplaying.
I won’t do a super popular cosplay most of the time.

One costume that I love but you will most likely never see me wear is Misa Amane’s signature black dress. Every cosplay event I go to, I see someone with that outfit, which isn’t bad because people are free to wear what they want. Growing up, I disliked how I was so different from my peers, but now as an adult, my individuality is something that I cling to. I don’t want to walk around dressed like everyone else. As there have been times when I have been in the same costume as another person at a con and enjoyed it, it was always different from theirs, and it was only a few of us cosplaying that character. I often try to do outfits that I am sure very few others would wear. I rarely ever do a popular cosplay, and if I do, there’s going to be a twist to it. That being said, you most likely will not ever see me cosplay the following characters’ signature looks, even though I enjoy them:

  • Bowsette (and Princess Peach)
  • Sailor Moon (or any of the sailor scouts)
  • Ochaco Uraraka
  • Starfire (2003)
  • Raven Roth (2003)
  • Robin and Steve’s Scoops A’Hoy uniform
  • Catwoman

I don’t care to act like the character. 

I have been told before about the cosplay pictures that I’m never in character, and that’s the point. I’m not trying to be like the character; I’m trying to make them like me as much as possible. Personally, it’s not that deep. There isn’t a “correct” way to cosplay. I’m cosplaying my way.

Look like the character? No, the character will look like me.

 

I never was one to care about wearing colored contacts and straight wigs when cosplaying. I have a bit of a vendetta against colored contacts because, growing up, I was surrounded by people who wore colored contacts all the time because they thought brown eyes weren’t pretty (and that’s on Eurocentric beauty standards).  Never does it cross my mind when I’m cosplaying a character that doesn’t have brown eyes to change my eye color because I do not see the point. Another thing is that I will wear signature black hairstyles with my cosplays till the day I die. No, I will not take my braids out for cosplay. I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer wear my blonde afro wig for blonde characters and will just put a yellow bandana on my hair.  I don’t want to make a ‘whitened’ version of myself.

I will figure out different ways to cosplay characters.

When it comes to certain characters I adore, I will figure out how many ways I can dress up as them. I did a cosplay with Ms. Bellum from The Powerpuff Girl in a bunny suit. Did she ever wear a bunny suit in the show? Nope. I have cosplayed as Nathalie Sancoeur many times, and it never looks the same. My next Nathalie cosplay will be a B.A.P.S.-inspired look. Most fans of THAT show don’t even know what B.A.P.S. is.  I will find any way to remix dressing up as certain characters simply because I enjoy them. I do not want to be stuck doing one or two looks.

You will never catch me wearing an anime wig. 

This has nothing to do with my blackness; I’m just petty and can’t stand them.

I tend to avoid popular outfits for famous characters.

 

I am not opposed to doing cosplays of characters that are popular, but I refuse to wear their signature outfit. It’s pretty known that I love Panty Anarchy from the series Panty and Stocking; that being said, you’ll never see me wear her red dress or her angel outfit. I have seen too many people wear those two outfits every con I go to. That Misa Amane cosplay is coming one day, but it will not be that black dress. I’m picking something else she wore.

 

I will often add small details about myself to my cosplays.

There are certain things I love to wear that will often make appearances in my cosplays simply because that’s just who I am. Those things include:

  • Clear and sparkly lipgloss
  • Big and small hoop earrings
  • Face pearls
  • Face rhinestones
  • Black nail polish
  • Braided hairstyles
  • Glitter

Those are some details about me that are a part of me. As I mentioned earlier, I want to do cosplay, my way. This is my life and body, and I cosplay by my rules that aren’t hurting anyone.

 

Thank you guys so much for reading. If you would like to see more of my writing, check out my books! 

If you would like to support me, all my social media handles are @harriyanna. If you would like to donate, here’s my ko-fi link and pateron.

https://ko-fi.com/harriyanna

https://www.patreon.com/nicoleeeojj

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