seerofsarcasm:

Well, I am confident in my body, but at the same time, I know what looks flattering and what doesn’t, and lots of costumes typical of fanart or anime style just aren’t.

For example, there’s a Vriska ball gown design that’s stunning at the top, but on the bottom it’s ripped so she’s just in her underwear. My legs, although I do love them, are not the right shape to pull that off. My legs look best in skirts that go at least 3-4 inches below the crotch. There are also bodices that don’t work for me. I have a large stomach from the side, however I have a lovely curve from the front. So I can’t pull off any midriff showing outfits, however corsets, or things tight at the waist, which accentuate the natural curve of my body while hiding the pudge, are wonderful. I have large upper arms, so outfits with no shoulders tend to look bad, but outfits with off-the-shoulder yet slight arm covering designs look wonderful because my shoulders are rather delicate.

So it’s not really about confidence, but more about knowing how to dress your body in a way that makes it look good at any size. Everyone has problem areas and good areas, it’s just about knowing your limitations, or what alterations to make so an outfit can work! I guarantee you, almost all the bigger “bad” cosplays you see are just because someone tried to make an outfit designed for a different body type without altering it to fit their own.

Hi guys! See this post? This post is gold. I am SO GLAD I can reblog it now. I’m sick of hearing “but I’m not a size 0, I can’t cosplay that!” because honestly, in many cases, yes you can and yes you SHOULD.

A very dear friend of mine who’s a bit chubby and also cosplays one of my favorite Tifas ever once said that nobody would notice if she lengthened the crop top to tuck into her skirt, but that since her midriff wasn’t the greatest, everybody would notice if she had her midriff showing. I think she was right. Obviously it worked wonderfully (see: “one of my favorite Tifas ever”), it made her more comfortable, and the overall result was better than if she had left it “accurate”.

I am a HUUUUUUGE fan of not cosplaying designs that will just look horrible on you. I’m on the thinner side of things, but there’s plenty of stuff I’ve struck off my cosplay list because you know what? It’s just not going to look good on me. Like let’s take Vanille from FFXIII. All comments about the game aside, I absolutely love Vanille’s design and I might have been tempted to play the game and make the costume….. if that design wasn’t approximately 80% “shit on Vanille’s torso”. I am VERY shortwaisted and I have nearly no torso. Would that have looked good on me? HELL TO THE NO!!!! I would have been miserable, the overall result wouldn’t have looked good, and I would have another costume to add to my sad pile of “hey guys, let’s try to forget I ever wore this”, and most likely an expensive addition at that. There’s a few outfits out there that make me sad that they’re popular because they are going to look horrible on absolutely everybody. That awful loose turquoise top thing that Sheryl Nome wears is probably one of the worst offenders; literally nobody looks good in it, people keep making it, and I know so many people who made it and then they’re like “why do I hate this so much”. It’s because it’s unflattering!

On the other hand, I can look at my shape and I know what’s actually going to suit me and how to tailor things to look better on me. Stuff fitted at the waist is my friend, since I have a small waist compared to my hips. My legs are pretty nice other than their disturbing tendency to go all see-through and show off my circulatory system if you put a harsh camera flash on them (srsly what the fuck is up with that omfg my paleness), so if something shows off a loooot of leg as long as I can hide pantyhose under it, that’s a good option for me. Ankle straps are my nemesis, but boots are A++. I’m OK with my midriff showing but not if there’s so much shit on my torso that it’s going to look disproportional. Overall I like my body, but there’s some stuff that is just going to look bad on me from the get-go that I like to avoid.

I think one of the best rules for this sort of thing is another thing some of my cosplay friends said. “Would you wear this outfit’s closest regular-clothes equivalent to the mall? No? Well then, why do you think the costume version would look good on you?” If a tube top is going to look bad on you IRL, don’t wear a tube-top costume. Lengthen the tube-top, find another outfit the same character wears, or just do SOMETHING so you are happier in the outfit and it looks better on you.

I am not into bodyshaming. I’m into celebrating your body, showing off the nice parts that YOU love, and not trying to show off the parts you aren’t as happy with (and let’s be honest, we all have parts like that). When you are happy in your costume and you feel like you look like a goddamn movie star, everybody will be able to tell. Your confidence will set your photos on FIIIIIRE and you’ll be so much happier with the result.

So wear your makeup because camera flash is evil, make your outfits to accentuate what you love rather than what you don’t love, and you’ll be a lot happier in this hobby. And if someone ELSE wants to judge your body? Well, fuck them (or rather, DO NOT fuck them because they do not deserve your love). You’re your own person, you are absolutely beautiful, and you deserve to try and tell the world how absolutely gorgeous you are.