Anime Cosplay Tips for Newbies – Sailor Senshi

I have been cosplaying for eleven years. I started in the tenth grade, my second convention: Anime North 2002. This was back when Anime North, now the biggest fan run Anime Convention in North America, was held at the Regal Constellation Hotel (now a burn tower for Humber College firefighting students, whump wahhhh). In 2002 there was an estimated 3,000 in attendance. As of last year, 2011, Anime North had exactly 19, 951 in attendance. Cosplay has boomed in North America and people of all sizes can participate and have a blast.

Are you a first-time cosplayer? Are you at a loss? A lot of amateur cosplayers will stress themselves out trying to make complicated accessories for their costumes and end up pushing their creations until the last minute. Some cosplayers love the thrill of crafting their costumes until the morning of the convention. But, as a year-hardened cosplayer, I can assure you that the first day of the convention is much more gratifying when you are awake and alert to experience it properly.

Because of this, I decided to do a weekly article outlining various tips on getting your costume done and looking professional without killing yourself. First up, a classic cosplayer favourite, Sailor Senshi… 

• Step 1: ALWAYS GET A GOOD WIG. Wigs are expensive, but totally worth the cost. A good quality wig can turn a basic-looking costume into something amazing. If anything, invest in one. It will be worth it. The big problem with this is that for Usagi, nobody sells quality Sailor Moon wigs. Literally, good luck ever buying a wig for Usagi that doesn’t look ratty and cheap. All of the best Sailor Moon cosplayers make their own wigs. Therefore, here is an awesome tutorial on making your own Usagi wig:

• Step 2: Create your Fuku (scout uniform)! Now, not everyone can sew, or like me, sew well. I won’t lie, I’m a little bit of a cop-out as a cosplayer. I tend to order entire outfits from Chinese eBay accounts and make the accessories myself. But here is a pattern you can buy online and an online step-by-step guide for those who were not blessed with seamstress blood (me). If you don’t feel like you are up to the challenge of all that tailoring, here are a few places where you can buy the Senshi Fuku made-to-order:

Cosplay House*
Moon Costumes
Costume Family

*I can only really vouch for this site, I’m not sure about the other two.

For the accessories, if you don’t want to make them yourself (which should be fairly simple, you can probably find a million tutorials online), here are some links where you can buy them last minute:

Transformation Locket
Odango Shield Gems
Tiara
Choker
Earrings
Blue Colour Contacts
Boots
Wand

Earrings
Tiara
Choker
Violet Colour Contacts
Shoes
Transformation Pen
Wig

Wig (just pin some of the hair behind the ears)
Tiara
Choker
Earrings
Visor
Transformation Pen
Blue Colour Contacts
Boots

Wig
Tiara
Choker
Earrings
Transformation Pen
Baby Blue Colour Contacts
Hair Bow

Wig (order in light brown and trim the bangs)
Green Colour Contact Lenses
Hair Baubles
Earrings
Choker
Boots
Transformation Pen

And there it all is! Phew, having someone do all the legwork for you is a real treat, so I hope you appreciate it, you jerks! Nah, just kidding, but I do hope some of you (female or male, there are many crossdressing Sailor Senshi out there) find what I’ve listed useful. Some of the links are the same for specific items character-to-character, for instance, because there aren’t any other quality options right now online. Remember! Tiny details matter! Be as accurate as possible (eye colour, hair colour, fabric colours) and you will be fine. And remember, when making your costume…

Sailor Moon says, “Just say NO to satin fabric and shiny, cheap wigs!”