I’ve been attending comic conventions, video game conventions and various other culture conventions for nearly two decades. I’ve had merch tables, spoken at panels, and even worked on performances. But there was one fundamental part of the convention experience that I had never truly taken part in before, the art of cosplay.
Now, I’ve attended cons in costume before, but my outfits have always been simple ones. I’ve never put time and effort into making one really great, remarkable outfit, something that turns heads and shows commitment. It’s not really an experience that I’ve ever craved, but after years of attending cons, it was starting to feel like something I should try.
This year, my usual shows, Super Smash Opera and Aria Kart, were not performing at MAGFest this year, which meant that the spot in my suitcase usually reserved for props and puppets was now free for costumes. With this opportunity in mind, I found myself kicking around some ideas for character outfits. Nothing really grabbed my attention until one night in November. I was reading some tweets about the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Apparently, the most requested characters who didn’t make it into the game were Wario and Geno, the living doll from Super Mario RPG. Inspiration hit me: I should dress as Geno and carry a sign that said “Too Strong for Super Smash Bros.”
Geno was one of my favorite characters when I was a teen. He’s a great kind of character for a cosplay too; memorable enough to have a lot of fans, but not so popular that there would be hundreds of him. When I was 17, I had even made a custom Geno doll replica and I remembered most of the patterns I invented (is that weird?) I was sure I could adapt the toy design into a costume before MAGFest.
I never kept a production log, but if I had, it would go something like this:
Early November:
- Had a costume idea. It’s tied to the release of a game, so if I back down now, I miss my last best chance.
- Just bought a jumpsuit online. No turning back.
Mid November:
- No days off scheduled. When am I going to buy fabric?
Later November:
- Finally got a chance to hit the fabric store. Nearly everything I need is on sale. The universe wants this to happen.
Early December:
- Found a beach ball I can use as a head pattern. Thank goodness Geno has such a round head.
- Put the foam base for the head together very quickly. It may be a little too large and I’m not sure I put the stitches deep enough into the foam material. Should I take it apart and start over?
- Caught Ajax the cat trying to sleep in the head. He got stuck like Winnie the Pooh in a rabbit hole and popped some of the stitches out in his escape. I should be angry, but I’m glad to have the decision to resew the head made for me. Also, glad to have the head stress tested. Imagine if it came apart like that at the con.
Mid December:
- Work schedule is fuller than expected. Not as much free time for sewing as I expected. I’m going to need to pull some late nights to finish.
- I actually made a cape pattern that looks good. I’ve never designed clothes before. Yes, it’s a few pieces of cloth that only have to drape over the shoulders, but I’m still proud.
- Everything is going together so well.
- Everything is going together so well.
- Everything is going together so well. Everything is coming together just the way I imagined it. Everything is good with no problems.
Late December:
- Everything is awful! The mask looks monstrous.
- Okay, I’ve fixed the mouth and remade the eyes twice. It’s starting to look good again.
Later December:
- Everything seemed to come together so fast at first, now making anything seems so slow.
- Doubt is starting to sink in. What if Geno isn’t as memorable a character as I had hoped and no one recognizes him and they all think I’m weird for dressing like this?
Three days before the convention:
- Costume is finished. It’s a relief to be finished with days to spare so I know I’m truly satisfied with the result, not just out of time.
At the con:
- Wait, I just thought of a way to make the eyes work better. Thank goodness I brought that emergency sewing kit.
Making the costume was one thing, wearing it was another thing altogether. When I was younger, I often felt more confident whenever I could wear a mask. Perhaps my self-image has improved, because I felt no change in confidence whatsoever with or without the mask. I did discover that I hated wearing an incomplete costume. I disliked walking from the hotel to the convention center without a mask, but it hindered my peripheral vision just enough to make crossing the street a bad idea. I begged my sister, Liz, to walk with me to the convention center on my first day so people’s first glimpse of my outfit wouldn’t be in pieces. We were about five steps out of our hotel room when the first person asked if he could take my picture.
Okay, so my fears that Geno was not a memorable character were completely unfounded. I must have posed for over a hundred pictures before the weekend was through. I learned two really neat lessons about the cosplay experience:
1. Moving through crowds is different. I’m usually small and agile, so whenever I move through crowds, I tend to wait for a gap. When I was wearing a bulky frame and my peripheral vision was limited, I suddenly lost that luxury for the first time in my life. I soon realized that the best thing I could do was do move very decisively, to broadcast my movements as much as possible. If I let everyone know where I was walking, most people were happy to give me the space I needed.
2. Signs are a mixed blessing. You can’t talk very well through a mask and people mostly expect costume characters to stay silent anyway, so it’s nice to be able to use your hands. Carrying a sign or prop limits that. However, people want to interact with cosplayer and displaying a message gives them an opening. Lots of people had Smash Bros. line they wanted to share with me.
Finally, I’d like to share a few of my favorite moments as Geno.
That guy who took about 50 photos on Friday night: The previews looked really cool. I hope the rest of the photos came out alright.
Meeting the other Geno: It gave me confidence to see that the character wasn’t forgotten. I loved your enthusiasm and it was super cool that you had a replica of the Forest Maze Star.
All the Warios: Several Wario cosplayers wanted to take their picture with me and my “Too Strong for Super Smash Bros” sign. Thanks for getting in on the joke.
That large group of people who kept shouting “DLC” at me: It took my disoriented mind a few moments to realize that “DLC” meant “Downloadable Content.” Yes, I hope Geno does get added to Super Smash Bros Ulitmate as downloadable content. Thanks for your support.
That guy who pointed at my “Too Strong” sign and yelled “Damn right you are!”: Rock on, that guy.
(Outdoor Photo shoot by Christopher Galgon at http://www.chrisemilyvideo.com)
