Introduction to cosplay

Welcome here traveler! if you managed to find this blog, you did not venture on this quest for nothing. But some of you might already wonder « what exactly is cosplay? » as you see cosplay photoshoots running through this blog, work-in-progress and sewing tips. Well, you’re about to discover one of my hobbies.

My passion for costume design and sewing has always existed. I tried to sew clothes for my dolls when I was a little girl and was very disappointed to realize a square of fabric wouldn’t look as good as a skirt. I gave up since the secrets of sewing were too hard for a 7 years-old to understand, only to discover and embrace them 10 years later. Ever since, I’ve never stopped designing fantasy outfits and recreating it for photoshoot purposes.
At the same time, I attended my first comic con and anime events, with Japan Expo in Paris. Here I discovered a world I was aware of but didn’t know much about : cosplay.

What is cosplay?

« Cosplayer » comes from « costume player » and is about the art of impersonating a character you like via clothes and roleplay. Cosplay first appeared in the 40’s in the USA, eventhough this art is mostly known thanks to 80’s Japan.  Cosplayers are very dedicated fans that sew themselves the clothes of their characters, craft their armor and props, create their own accessories. They are the embodiement of crafting and creativity. They can spend hours and hundreds of dollars on their creation out of passion.

While I first started with my self-made creations, I soon was attracted by the roleplaying energy of cosplay. I then found out characters I identified with. That’s how I started cosplaying, by slowly taking concept art as references instead of my own designs, and got into roleplaying. For more details and costumes, check out my blog entries about cosplay and costume design!

While some people make fun of these adults wearing « costumes », i think cosplayers are very ressourceful, adaptable, crafty, and able to make things you wouldn’t believe were possible in the first place.

What about you? Would you get into cosplaying too?

Selfportrait 03 - Ruby of the Sea cosplay - Santa Outfit - Critical Role cosplay - UriellActaea
Ruby of the Sea cosplay