mash: nerd/ nostalgia
I’ll admit it–I have a cosplay outfit. (If you’re an adult that has ever participated in Halloween, Carnival, Mardi Gras, dressed for a midnight showing of a movie, or to visit Disneyworld, or dressed up for fun as someone or something, don’t judge!)
However, the outfit I rocked at events like Star Wars Weekend was pre-Baby Mash. And while I love my Asajj Ventress outfit, and I did in fact lose most of my baby weight–my body just isn’t the same. I could wear spandex and skin-tight outfits. I could, but I won’t. When I dress up, not only do I want to look good, I want feel good too.
The trend, however, in most comics, anime, and other sci-fi/fantasy media is for the females to be scantily clad. The result is very sexy cosplay choices that often have little to no coverage.
Sorry, I’m about 100 personal-training sessions away from that infamous Princess Leia slave costume.
So what’s a girl to do? Is hope totally lost for the mom with a post-baby body who wants to find a banging cosplay outfit? Absolutely not!
Here are five awesome options that I found while digging for ideas for my next cosplay outfit!
- Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
The version of Katniss Everdeen that is mid-game is a great outfit idea for most body types. It includes a nice jacket (to cover any bit of bulge or muffin-top you haven’t lost yet). You’ll need a big bow and arrow, faux archer gloves, and maybe a fiery hummingbird for added effect. It looks like an easy outfit and very comfortable. Best of all, it wouldn’t take too much shopping for specialty items to make this look come together.
- Make-Up Inspired Face
You don’t actually need to “dress-up” to cosplay. I found this wonder Chesire Cat that illustrates this fact beautifully. If you know how to do amazing makeup like this, great! In fact, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials. If not, you can find people who know how to do it. And finding a cosplay worthy makeup artist is probably easier than you think. Search for local makeup artist/cosmetology schools. Contact them to see if they have any recent grads, or soon-to-be grads, that might be interested in the work. You’d be surprised.
- Gender-Bender… just about anyone
Who says you have to dress like a female character? Dress like your favorite male character, and you’ll have the flexibility to tweak the outfit to your specifications, highlighting your favorite assets, and blurring over the ones you don’t like. There is no “right” way to gender-bend an outfit. As long as you have the essence of the male character, and it’s easy to guess your male counterpart, you’re fine!
- Get nostalgic
You don’t have to dress like a modern character either. Not only will digging back to dress like an old school character from your youth make you a stand-out original, the truth is those characters tended to be a bit more covered. Yeah, you saw Wilma Flintstone’s legs, but it was nothing in comparison to Yuzuriha Inori of The Guilty Crown. Think Carmen Sandiago or Mrs. Frizzle.
- Go SteamPunk
I love the steampunk movement! It differs from the gender-bender trend but has a similar premise. Steampunk costumes take a character that is known and throws them into the steampunk world–which has sort of Victorian or Wild-West feel to it. This means that the costumes are altered to give that sort of vibe to an established character. And while steampunk can be very sexy, since you’re re-creating you can do so in an image that would be flattering to your body. Here are a few good ideas that I found here , here, and here.
In the end, I’ve decided to work on two costume ideas–one steampunk and one gender-bender. Building a cosplay outfit from scratch? Not easy–but fun! Be sure to follow That’s Mashed Up to hear how the latest costumes for the entire family are coming along!
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