Cosplaying 101- Step 6: Test Driving/ Revisions
Welcome back to the Cosplaying 101 series where I explain the basics of cosplay by taking you step by step (go to the bottom of the page to see the complete list of steps in the Cosplaying 101 series). Today's topic is Test Driving your cosplay and Making Revisions where necessary. If you would prefer, you can watch the accompanying YouTube video below:
Granted, I have not been very successful with this step in years past and I have paid the price for my folly (see my Top Mistakes of Dragoncon 2016 post for more details). So today, I will explain the importance of trying on your cosplay, list suggestions of places you can go, and give you a list of things you need to look at when test driving your cosplay. Lets, get it started (in here, Black Eyed Peas is in my head right now).
Do I really need to "Test Drive" my cosplay?
Well of course not. You don't need to do anything. I have worn lots of cosplays and have not tried on the costume for longer than the 5 minutes it took to get into it, look in the mirror and get out of it. However you really should try it on for at least 45 minutes. Here are some reasons why:
Something may become uncomfortable after some time (i.e.- my shoes at my very first day at Dragoncon, my leg armor for Poison Ivy, the gauntlets that were as hot as meatballs for my Supercow cowsplay) that may not be immediately noticeable.
Your fasteners may fail after taking it off a few times to go to the bathroom or to readjust. For example, an unfortunate number of my fasteners on my Poison Ivy armor either broke (the jump rings I used to create a lace up effect were pulled too tightly and so the jump ring opened and fell off of my costume) or became unattached (I used hot glue to attach my elastic to my knee pads, and it started peeling up after about 3 hours).
Wardrobe malfunctions. You may be flashing your goodies and not even know it. For example, in my Fire goddess cosplay (below), every time I did my pose I was showing off my lovelies. When I became aware of this,I moved my badge to cover my cleavage which unfortunately, also covered the top that I spent so much time hand gluing rhinestones onto. If I had test driven my cosplay, I would have known that this was an issues and I could have worked to resolve it.
Where can I go to "Test Drive" my cosplay?
If you are bold and/or if you have a friend to tag along with you try these places:
Grocery shopping. Just be sure to not wear your mask in the store, people frown upon that kind of thing. Also, if your costume lacks pants (like basically most of mine) wear some leggings underneath so that you don't offend or get kicked out of the store.
A library. Im pretty good friends with my librarians (my future husband used to work there) so I may be getting some leniency that normal people wouldn't get, but if you talk with them beforehand they may be cool with you making a visit in costume. You may even be able to talk with them and turn it into an event for the kiddos and whatnot.
Walk around your town's downtown area.
A fastfood place (Chick-fil-a, Chipotle, and Menchies have not had issues with us showing up in complete costume before)
Walmart or Target. I may not like to go shopping in Walmart, but I would wear a cosplay there. They see all kinds of crazy poop, my cosplay is at least a fun crazy poop.
Goodwill. They are usually pretty cool about me shopping in costume.
If you are not so bold, or are a solo cosplayer you can try these places:
Go to your local highschool track and walk around the area for a little while. You don't need to get a workout or anything, but just move around some. You can go afterschool or before school. Before school would be better, because there may be practice afterschool. You can also go on the weekends
Outside in your neighborhood (or apartment complex). Go check the mailbox, drive around the block one time and then walk it one time.
To a friend or family member's house. Make sure it is someone who's house you have to drive to (that was you can practice getting into and out of a car). You can have them look over your costume and admire it, or suggest changes you need to make.
Places you should not wear your cosplay
The bank
Any government building
Work (according to where I used to work)
Amusement parks (a lot of amusement parks have rules against costumes)
Obviously don't wear it any place where you would feel uncomfortable (for me that would be MARTA, if I am the only person dressed up)
Warning! Be sure not to wear any of your weapons in public. It can cause unnecessary stress for you, people around you, and the police officer who may have to deal with you when someone inevitably calls them because they thought you had a real mallet/scythe/ glowing mace of justice, lasso of truth [insert your own absurd weapon here].
Tip: The day(s) you test drive your cosplay would be great time to have a photo shoot in your costume. Try to think of places where your character would typically be (a park, near water, in a city, etc) and take pictures in those areas.
What should I look out for when I "test drive" my cosplay?
So over the years, I have neglected to do a great number of things when making my cosplays. Please learn from my mistakes and make sure you have a solution for the following potential problems:
How will you go to the bathroom? Do you need help? Do you need to remove anything? Where will you put the item you had to remove while you are handling your bus-nass?
Where will you hold your things? Do you have pockets? Are they big enough to hold all of your stuff? Will you be carrying a bag? Is it a part of your costume? Can you make a bag a part of your costume? Will you wear it when you pose for pictures? If not where will you lay it while taking pictures?
Will you wear makeup? Will it get on your clothing? Be sure to check all your ranges of motion and that your body paint won't rub off on your costume.
Can you walk up and down the stairs? Elevators at cons take forever and are usually packed. Also I feel like a jerk for taking an elevator up or down one floor when the it is full of people.
Can you walk like a quarter of a mile in it without having to take a break (a quarter of a mile is arbitrary, just make sure you can walk long distances without becoming uncomfortable)?
How will you travel to and from the event in it? Will you be riding in a car? Can you sit in a car with a seat belt fastened? Will you take public transportation? Will you stand or sit while riding?
Can you sit in a chair? Do you need to remove anything in order to sit? Where will you put the item you need to remove while you are sitting?
Have someone take pictures of your cosplay from every angle. Check the images to be sure that nothing is showing up without your permission. Be sure that you don't have a private part hanging out. Check for camel toe/ snake face (we call moose knuckle, snake face in our house), double boob, and muffin tops.
Is everything comfortable? If something is slightly uncomfortable now, it is going to be aweful on the actual day.
Making Revisions
After you have test driven your cosplay, but before you take it off, go through and write down everything that needs to be fixed starting from the tippy top of your head, down to your toes.
Now carefully take off your costume and begin making the adjustments. Go back to step 5, Making Your Cosplay, for a list of sources to check who may have the solutions to the problems you have discovered. Also, I may be able to help or may know a good tutorial to check out, so if you have an issue, leave it in the comments section and I or someone else may be able to help you.
So there you have it, step 6, Test Driving and Making Revisions to your cosplay. The next step in the series is step 7, making extras and props. See below for the complete list of steps in the Cosplaying 101 series.
Cosplaying 101 Steps:
6. Test Driving/ Revisions
7. Extras and Props
8. Posing
9. Wearing Your Cosplay
10. Cleaning and Storing Your Cosplays
Do you have any additional places that would be okay locations for test driving your cosplay? Is there any place that you have worn a cosplay where it was definitely not okay?
If you have any comments, questions or whatev's leave it in the comment box below. And thanks for reading!
