#convention help

Closet cosplays

Closet cosplays are cosplays consisting of clothes in your closet, they’re super easy and an interesting way to get into the mind of the character your cosplaying and seeing what they would wear casually, now it’s not as popular as normal cosplays, but if your cosplaying a character that has a lot of costume changes or dresses like you this can be your best bet, with closet cosplays you can add accessories that can tie into the character like colors or something that symbolizes them so people can recognizes you, this is honestly the cheapest way to cosplay and an easy start to cosplay too

2. Buy second-hand

There are many cosplayers that either scrap their cosplays or have old cosplays they would like to sell. You can find second-hand cosplays on etsy, facebook groups, and websites like lumikha, whose sole purpose is selling scrapped or old cosplays! Now I dont have too much experience buying second-hand cosplays, but friends have told me it's a great way to save money. Prices may vary depending on the seller and the make of the cosplay, whether that be handmade or bought previously, so I would keep that in mind.

3. Borrowing cosplays from friends

If you have friends who cosplay as well, you can ask them if it would be ok to borrow their cosplays. If they say yes, congrats, you have a cosplay! Just keep in mind that it's borrowed, so it might not fit well and take good care of it.

4. Recycling old cosplays

Now if you have older cosplays that you dont wear anymore you can totally recycle it into something else, if two characters have a similar style or have the same articale of clothing like a shirt or pants, you can definitely resuse it, cosplay is about being crafty, so working with what you have is all apart of the craft.

5. Thrifting

Thirft stores are going to be your heaven as a cosplayer. I've thrifted so many pieces for my cosplays throughout my cosplay journey. As long as you have a photo of the character, you can find pretty much anything that your character needs, if your character has a specific piece that you can't thrift you can diy a clothing item into it, for example if a character has a vest that has a specific pattern on it you can buy a vest thats the base color and paint on the details, almost every cosplayer does this for every cosplay.

Cosplay is not Consent

this is a common saying in the cosplay scene because sadly some people have either taken roleplaying too far or think that the person cosplaying a character is the actual character. this has sometimes unfortunately caused things like sa and/or stalking happening at conventions, this is why we say cosplay is not consent whether that be touching, role-playing, or even taking pictures without consent, so that things don't escalate to this, so remember that when seeing someone cosplaying your favorite character do not;

X Take pictures without asking

X Make rude comments (saying anything sexual, unwanted criticism, etc)

X Touching that person without asking

instead;

✔️ Ask to take pictures

✔️ Ask about their cosplay process

✔️ Ask if they're comfortable being touched

All you have to do is ask! the worst they can do is say no.

2. Be nice to the venue

Most conventions are held at hotels or convention centers, so please be courteous about the venue its being hosted at, for example;

° keep the venue clean

° be nice to staff and non-convention attendees

° don’t destroy or break anything

remember, you are also representing the convention (at least to the hotel or convention center) if they find people destroying or being disruptive to the venue they can take away the convention and obviously we don't want that.

3. being rude and not respectful

I know this sounds super vague but hear me out, were all here to make friends and have a good time so lets be kind by；

° not disrupting people (budding into random peoples convo, being loud at panels, etc)

° Having common manners (saying excuse me, not blocking the walkway, saying please and thank you)

I know it's very basic but kindness goes a long way.

4. Not being a good sport

sometimes we see a cosplayer who cosplays the same thing as you but you might feel like they did a better job, the one thing you should never do is be a sourpuss about it, whether that be talking behind their back, being rude to them directly, or making it a whole thing, I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel these feelings, we all do from time to time, but you shouldn’t act out from those feelings.

Drink a lot of water and eat food

Sometimes we get so caught up in the fun environment we're in that we forget to drink water or eat, but you have to listen to me when I say DRINK WATER AND EAT, overheating and dehydration are so common in the scene, and veteran cosplayers and con-goers will tell you the same thing when you're in an inclosed area with hundreds or maybe thousands of people in a hotel lobby or a panel and you've been walking all day your body will lose a lot of energy and in some worst case scenarios something like heatstrokes can happen, to stop this from occurring you should listen to your body and drink water or eat something.

2. Listen to your body

With crowded spaces, walking everywhere, so many things happening at once, etc, you can become overwhelmed, I've been going to cons since I was 10 and I still get overwhelmed at 20, the best way to enjoy the con is to listen to your body when it's becoming overwhelmed, whether that be anxiousness, tiredness, or even as simple as your feet hurting a little bit, you should listen to your body when it's telling you to rest up or to eat or drink if you don't you won't be able to enjoy the con without feeling tired or anxious, with most conventions there will be rest stations or just a quiet hallway for you to recuperate yourself.

3. Dont be too trusting

Conventions are a great way to make new friends, however some people have ill intentions and you need to be careful, usually my advice is to stay in the convention area, hang out with people around your age range, and if they ask you to go to their hotel room please dont go unless your fully sure their trustworthy and even then I wouldn't go, another thing is to go to cons with someone you trust so your not completely alone or at the very least tell someone where you're going just in case.

4. Have basic hygiene

Now in the con scene, it's a little-known thing that some people don't have good hygiene and kinda stink up the place, now sometimes it can be medical conditions or something else. Still, mostly it's just people who don't know basic hygiene or don't care if you don't want to be this person, you need basic hygiene, for example, deodorant and showering after the day is great along with brushing your teeth, you don't need to be too fancy, as long as you don't smell your good.

5. Be courteous

With a big or small scene, you should be courteous, respect the venue, respect the people who work there, and respect other con-goers, you should also respect the people with vendors in the vendor hall and artist alley like putting products back, read the little notes that say not to touch, and not be dramatic about the prices, a small act of kindness goes a long way, so please be kind to everyone at the convention.

6. Always plan everything

Now this is me throwing in my two cents from experience, but I believe you should plan everything, or at least some things, planning on what panels to go to and planning on where and when to eat out is a good idea if you don't want to scramble during the last second, usually conventions have a little pamphlet or guide online of all the panels and events happening during the weekend so you can plan the day or weekend.

And with that, you have a small guide to surviving your first convention, now sometimes things can be unexpected and can dampen or ruin your con experience, sadly I don't have advice on unexpected outcomes but the best way to deal with it is to keep your head high and focus on the good if you can.