A Question for Y'all:

[Tarma]

Repeating a cosplay outfit multiple years in a row at conventions: grossly unimaginative, obviously lazy, and definitely lame? Or fun, a sign of true pride in your outfit, and definitive of character fandom?

I wanna hear your opinions! ;) What are your reasons for/not repeating last years outfit?

[Runewitt]

True Pride.

I'm not repeating any of mine from last year because.. well my Shrek ears brke in my luggage before i got there, and i do not plan on repeating my Gaia Avatar cosplay.

though, i'm going to keep using my Bleach cosplay per con once it's made.

[Trumby]

I have no problem with it whatsover..the way I see it pretty simple: you spent your hard earned money/time on the costume...why wouldn't you want to wear it more than once? Just makes sense to me. I wear mu Greed cosplay at least once every con because it was my first..and is what most of my con friends met me in...and Greed is awesome.

[phoenixphire24]

Repeating a cosplay outfit multiple years in a row at conventions: grossly unimaginative, obviously lazy, and definitely lame? Or fun, a sign of true pride in your outfit, and definitive of character fandom?

I wanna hear your opinions! ;) What are your reasons for/not repeating last years outfit?

I see no problem with it. Unless your costume was really cheap to make, there's no sense in wearing it once. I usually make 1 new costume a year and then bring 2-3 repeats. I have enough costumes that I can wear certain ones every other year or so. There are some, like my Bleach costume, that I love and wear every time though.

[luckyends]

there is no problem with it at all some of us just prefer to wear more than one or if your like me you just love making them and make to many ^_^

[hellangel]

a cosplay outfit requires a lot of love (and energy and time and money) to make, so i think it's such a shame to only wear it once ;___;

I've got enough to mix so that I'm not wearing the same ones every con, but I always do have a few signature ones that I always cosplay (used to be Subaru, then was Ryuichi, and now it's Seimei and Kaoru). I always try to debut a new one for each con, too.

[BunofGovt]

...I've got enough to mix so that I'm not wearing the same ones every con, but I always do have a few signature ones that I always cosplay (used to be Subaru, then was Ryuichi, and now it's Seimei and Kaoru). I always try to debut a new one for each con, too.

I love having a new cosplay, but I have favorite outfits that I wear because they are really comfortable (well, some of the cons I've been to have been in really warm weather or areas, like Vegas and Southern California and Sacramento).  My Sho Kazamatsuri soccer outfit for one, and my Hiei outfit for another.  I guess I really like the challenge of making an outfit that not many people do, too, so I'll try to wear that more often for the exposure.

[luckyends]

a cosplay outfit requires a lot of love (and energy and time and money) to make, so i think it's such a shame to only wear it once ;___;

I've got enough to mix so that I'm not wearing the same ones every con, but I always do have a few signature ones that I always cosplay (used to be Subaru, then was Ryuichi, and now it's Seimei and Kaoru). I always try to debut a new one for each con, too.

yeah i do have 1 signature costume which is my first which i will never get rid of but just i love creating them and spreading cosplay because when i create a costume i am not just bringing joy and love to myself but when other people where it it brings joy and love to them  i have given one of my friends a signature costume and he is overwelmed with joy that i would give him a costume i worked hard on ^_^ even though i mainly wear them once i spend hours ogaling them in my  mirror in my room so it all works out and they all get enough love

[ovtrlan]

True pride. ^-^ If I finish my Zhuge Liang and Lady Nou, I'll be wearing it ever con.

[Mister_E]

I see no problem, this would be my second year with my Laughing Man outfit, next year, I plan to be either Bankai Renji or Peches.

[AnimeEmperor]

That last one, personally if I had an absolute favorite costume i'd just wear it forever.

[Ari]

True pride, you worked hard on it, but... i'd have to say at least wash it. You don't want it all smelly and stuff

[ArynChris]

A lot of people just love making costumes, as a hobby, and that's cool.

Me, I spent a year compiling my character's costume, and figured I'd just wear it on the Saturday and not bother for the rest of the con, but truly... if you're going to be there the whole time, can you really settle for just one day of cosplay?  So I discovered that most of my costume could also be found in white and gray... some of which I already had for one reason or another.  What I couldn't get perfect, I got approximate, so now A.C. has two "alternate" costumes--like in Street Fighter!  Or Soul Caliber 2, I loved that game.  I'll probably go in those three costumes for the three main days of every con I ever go to.  I loved it last year. ^_^  Why come up with new stuff when I love what I already have?  By Monday I'm too exhausted to mess with it, and on Thursday I just come as I am, with small flourishes.  If I ever want to add one, I'll go gray on the Thursday and play the new on on Friday.  But I don't think so.

[hellangel]

yeah, i usually bring at least three outfits: one new cosplay, one signature cosplay (fandom/character pride ^__^), and one "casual" cosplay (something more comfortable).

this year I'm bringing...um...six?

[ININ]

I think it's OK to repeat wearing a cosplay.  For me, I have enough time to make one cosplay a year.  And when I wear my same cosplays to more cons , more people recognize me XD

From my experience, once you cosplay, you can't stop.  Gotta make more >.>

[~~Loktera~~]

While the question of originality stands.

I usually just cosplay something once, then use the minor elements from the costume in everyday wear. But if I were to cosplay something and that kind of became a signature Item of mine, I wouldn't mind repeating it for the sake of recognition.

Also, repeating it once or twice is okay in my book. But after more than a few times, it really starts to kind of show a potential lack of originality after a while.

[Raedyn]

I don't see a problem of repeating a cosplay, particularly if you've made a major change to a major part of the cosplay.  I mean, I'm cosplaying Rinoa Heartilly's default outfit for the second year in a row, but it's not exactly unoriginal as I have a new duster and pair of armwarmers that I knit myself.  And if Fanime keeps their Black and White Ball I'll certainly wear Rinoa's ballroom outfit more than once :D.

But I do have a policy of making one new costume every year, at least, to stretch my skills.  One new costume per con would be a bit much and I don't really have that much time on my hands.