Why Cosplaying In 2014 Is Better Than It Was In 2004

Cosplay has come a long way in ten years. Let's be thankful that we never have to sharpie another wig again.

Fabrics: 2004 vs. 2014

Via models-on-the-runway.tumblr.com

Even the best cosplayers have broken the cardinal rule of using satin inappropriately. However, being a rookie in 2004 wasn't the only reason people sewed with satin--it was practically the only fabric available in a wide variety of colors at the time. Unless you were blessed to lived near the LA or New York Fashion Districts, your homemade BSG flight suit was destined to look like this:

Via observationdeck.io9.com

Finding the perfect fabric in 2014 has never been easier! Many fabric stores have caught onto World Geek Domination and now offer a plethora of geeky fabrics. Looking for a particular fabric from a movie or television show? The internet has made it possible for some cosplayers to find and order the actual fabric used to make the original costume. And if the fabric doesn't physically exist, some people have taken to Spoonflower.com to design their own fabrics:

Wigs: 2004 vs. 2014

If you have been cosplaying since ye olde days of yore, you might remember a time when finding the perfect wig for your costume was harder than proving Bigfoot's existence. You had three choices (short, medium and immediately-turns-into-a-giant-dreadlock-the-second-you-take-it-out-of-the-bag) and rarely did it ever come remotely styled the way you needed it, which meant doing your own frankenstein construction on it. But watch out! Get a flat iron, blow dryer or warm dog breath near it and it immediately turned into a science experiment gone wrong:

Via facebook.com

Nowadays, wigs come in every length, color, and style imaginable. And in the event that you do have to do some styling of your own, many cosplay wigs now come with heat-resistant fibers which prevents most melting-related accidents from happening to even the newest of n00bz. Another awesome feature of modern cosplay wigs are lace-fronts, which are as popular now as they were obscure ten years ago. With all the wig customization available to cosplayers, people can create masterpieces of wig work that were nigh impossible to achieve in 2004.

Materials: 2004 vs. 2014

Via kotaku.com.au

People have made amazing things with cardboard. But they did it because cardboard was about the only readily accessible material available to the average cosplayer in 2004, and necessity is the mother of invention. However, not everyone knows how to make cardboard cosplay look this good:

Post-2004, a thermoplastic called Wonderflex made its appearance on the cosplay scene and revolutionized the way cosplayers made armor and props with nothing but scissors and a heat gun (and the loss of our collective fingerprints). But Wonderflex had a duct tape-like texture that required a lot of elbow grease to get smooth (the mere mention of the word "gesso" still gives some cosplayers PTSD). Enter Worbla, another thermoplastic with similar properties to Wonderflex but with a smoother surface that makes it possible to create glass-like finishes on armor and props. To the average cosplayer, it was as if the cosplay gods had smiled down upon us.

Buying Costumes: 2004 vs. 2014

Maybe you never mastered the art of sewing. Maybe your desire to cosplay was outweighed by the fear of accidentally amputating your finger with a serger. Whatever the case, as long as there has been cosplay, there have been people who wanted to join the fun but didn't have the skill set to make their own costumes. If you fell into that group in 2004, you probably A) bought a crappy Halloween costume to wear to conventions, or B) didn't cosplay at all because you refused to be caught dead wearing said crappy Halloween costume.

Welcome to 2014, where screen-accurate costumes are readily available to fulfill anyone's cosplay fantasy! (No, not that kind of fantasy. Unless that's your thing.) ANOVOS is a leading producer and distributor of high-quality licensed costumes from several well known franchises. You've probably seen people wear their popular line of Star Trek costumes at cons, or on a little show called Big Bang Theory (ANOVOS costumes were used to film the Star Trek episodes):

If you're a gal who is not daring enough to don a regulation-length officer uniform, Her Universe has a line of "Everyday Cosplay" clothes that qualify as a costume but are comfortable enough for everyday wear! That means that you have zero excuses to not wear a costume to a con.

Fandoms: 2004 vs. 2014

Via craiglotter.co.za

In 2004, comic book movies were trying to find their footing in the new millennium. There were some successes, some failures, and at the very least we always had our old favorite fandoms to fall back on. Still, you could only cosplay from Sailor Moon so many times before odangos literally started to sprout from your head. Comparatively speaking, it was slim pickings when it came to choosing characters to cosplay as:

The latest decade has been kind to cosplayers in terms of giving us source material to work from. As of this writing, there are Five Lord of the Rings movies, six Star Wars movies (with more to come in 2015), eight movies featuring the Avengers, three seasons of Game of Thrones, etc. And that's just scratching the surface; with video games, cartoons and webcomics aplenty, there is no reason any cosplayer should ever have to utter the words, "I don't know what to cosplay."

Via hypable.com

And you know what else is a common sight that you never saw ten years ago? Celebrities cosplaying. That's right; actors have hopped on the motherfucking cosplay bandwagon. Other than the fact that you will never cosplay Loki better than Tom Hiddleston (although that's open for debate), it's still pretty damn rad to be able to bump into your favorite celeb at a con having as much fun as you are.

Rregardless of how you approach cosplay--whether it's an occasional thing to do with your friends on the weekend, or it's SRYS BUSINESS--the bottom line is that cosplay has only gotten more fun since 2004! Here's to another ten years!