Cosplay communities of countries all over the world differ in their viewpoints on commissioning costumes. Some communities scoff wholesale at costumes that the wearers did not make themselves, while others are perfectly fine with having some parts — if not the entire costume, made by professionals.
Philippine cosplay — due to a unique combination of factors like cheap labor and affordable materials, falls more in the latter category than the former. And while there is no existing divide between cosplayers who pride themselves in handmaking their costumes versus those who find it more convenient to have it commissioned, I would still like to discuss the pros and cons of each method.
Handmade Costumes
One of the biggest pros for handmaking costumes is that you pick up a lot of practical skills as you go about creating your costume. You learn basic sewing and dress construction skills, even some wood- or metal-working skills if you’re into mecha or fantasy costumes. Sure — your work might not be perfect at first, but you learn to take pride and confidence in your abilities as you see your work progress.
Another good thing about making your own costume is that you are in complete control of the creative process. You get to pick which fabric to work with, which accessories to use, and how intricate or how simple you want the details on your costume to be. You are also in complete control of the budget since you can splurge or cut back as you see fit.
There is also little chance of the tailor or seamstress not finishing your costume on time since they are also handling other orders — you are, after all, your own sewer.
One major problem with the process of handmaking a costume though is the sheer number of man hours needed to perfect a costume. Since not all of us are equipped with the correct set of technical skills at the get-go, you may have to waste a lot of fabric or rubber sheets or whatever during your first few attempts at constructing your costume.
The process can also prove frustrating if you are a perfectionist and yet can’t seem to get anything right; the stress of producing the costume might end up dissuading you from cosplaying ever again.
Commissioned Costumes
The advantages of having your costume sewn by professionals is that the quality of the work is superior to anything a beginning sewer can produce. The tailoring is clean, the fit is right, and the workmanship is sturdy enough to withstand a couple of uses (and launderings). Some items are actually wearable enough to use as street clothes and not just costumes.
One other advantage of professionally-sewn costumes is the high after-market value of the items. Some cosplayers are savvy enough to sell parts of or entire sets of old but well-done costumes to finance new costumes in the works. This is not always possible with hand-sewn costumes since buyers are very particular about the workmanship and durability of second-hand items.
The biggest hurdle in having a costume custom-made for you is the costs. Even if labor is cheap, tailoring fees are not always within the reach of cosplayers — especially those who rely on a college allowance to create costumes. There is also the danger of the service not being able to finish your costume on time, or making a major mistake in the costume that requires extensive modification or a complete re-do.
Last but not least, sometimes factors such as cloth, buttons and notions, and embroidery selection are limited by the tailor to what they can do, which can affect the accuracy of the costume.
On Joining Competitions with a Commissioned Costume
Some conventions — based mainly abroad and not in Manila, generally disallow commissioned costumes from being included in competitions. The logic behind this is that commissioned costumes have an unfair advantage over hand-made ones when judging points for craftsmanship and accuracy.
This mindset is not shared by many conventions in the Philippines, although it does merit some consideration following a series of controversies involving commissioned costumes winning in competitions.
Having a costume or a prop made by professionals is inherently not a bad thing; it’s when the wearer publicly states that the item was handmade by them that the trouble starts. Even worse, some would go as far as claim prizes for craftsmanship and accuracy when it is clear that the articles in question were commissioned from somebody else.
Is a minor cosplay award really such a big deal that it’s worth lying for? Should we disallow commissioned costumes outright from cosplay competitions to encourage fair play? What do we do about cosplayers who love to cosplay but aren’t talented sewers or rubber sheet manipulators?
The comment box is, as usual, your playground.
JPOP Manila 
Nice post. I notice that here in the Philippines, that cosplayers tend to do both for their costumers, part of it is commissioned while the other part is constructed by hand by the cosplayer. I think it’s a good mix really, especially if one does not have the skills for certain costumes or if one cannot afford to have their whole costume made by someone else.
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I’ve always had my (or to be more precise, our) costumes commissioned, but (except for that one particular time) I don’t join cosplay competitions at all. I agree with the points made here on the cons of commissioned costumes, because I’ve had a lot of experience getting my costumes made on the same day as the pick up and it was frustrating. *coughCarginscough* To add to that, because it was so rushed, the costumes looked like they were done by a beginner, which defeated the actual purpose of having them commissioned.
Anyway, as for having commissioned costumes disqualified from contests, I guess they should just come up with different categories for now. Like, let’s say, best portrayal for the commissioned costumed cosplayers (which is just about the only thing they put effort in, after all). Until the community can do something about the initial mentality that makes cosplay newbies look for the best seamstresses instead of the best stores to buy materials from, we have limited options regarding this dilemma.
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I’ve never had a whole costume commissioned. Occasionally, I’ll have a certain piece professionally sewn because I lack the skillz, but the costume-making process is what makes cosplay fun for me so I try to do as much as I can myself.
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The ‘solution’ that will most likely be forwarded will be to give labels to distinguish ‘commissioned outfit’ cosplayers from ‘self-made’ cosplayers.
Yay. More labels.
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personally, i admire those who are able to make costumes with their own hands; i also do not begrudge those who have costumes commissioned their due. my issues mainly lie with people who go about bandying how fabulous their “handmade” costumes are when in truth they are somebody else’s work.
as for separating competitors into two sets so that handmade and commissioned costumes are on equal footing, i don’t think it’s such a bad idea. sure it will create more “labels”, but if people don’t make too much of a fuss over it then it is essentially a non-issue.
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I am guilty of having my costumes commissioned because sewing is not something I suck though I do my own styling of wig and make-up and I do make my own accessories if the character I am cosplaying have accessories but it also depend on the accessories.
This is why for my upcoming cosplays in the future, I will try my best help our propsmaker in making the weapons, accessories etc. So that I can learn also.
Nice post ate!
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lol like i said previously i’m not condemning people for having parts of or their entire costume made — it’s a practicality that we all have to learn to accept. it’s when people attempt to commit fraud that my hackles are raised~
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hi. i had the pleasure of watching you talk earlier during the cosplay convention. it was interesting. i woulda asked a question (and gotten one of your mangas too) but i was too shitfaced to do so.
so, seeing as i’m relatively normal now, i will risk getting flamed as the idiot who doesn’t know jack and ask my q.
coming from someone who doesn’t understand the whole cosplay thing (and thus goes my disclaimer, which i’m sticking to, kicking and screaming), what does it really matter whether or not you make your own costumes? if i were a newbie (and i am), i just want to know why it matters whether you crafted it yourself, or if you asked someone else to make it? hell, if your heart is in it, but you lack the skills to make your own outfit, does that lessen you in any way or form?
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hi @chuck 🙂 i’m glad you were able to drop by the talk; i hope you had a good time 🙂
anyway, about the whole handmade-versus-commissioned thing, i think the opinions people share are influenced by their cultures and their local scenes. for example: in the US and Japan, where an extensive selection of raw materials to make costumes with is easily available but labor costs are high, handmade costumes are the norm. on our side of the border, basic raw materials and labor costs are cheap so many cosplayers simply opt to have their costumes commissioned.
personally, i have nothing against commissioning since i feel this is a personal choice and no one has the right to force every member of the community to hand-make their costumes. also, if a person loves cosplay a lot despite their lack of technical skills, they should not be prevented from enjoying the hobby by banning professionally made costumes. also, i observed that — in the long run, many cosplayers who started out in commissioned costumes eventually made one of their own costumes from scratch, after they’ve picked up the technical know-how they need to put one together.
bottom line? as long as your conscience is clean and you do not do anything unsavory like claim that a commissioned costume has been handmade by yourself (and pick up a craftsmanship award or two), whether you are a n00b or have been on the scene for quite a while, then having your costumes commissioned is perfectly acceptable.
attagirl @laureen — keep up the good work 😀
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I never really gave much thought about the issue. Though ever since my 1-year hiatus and this year’s comeback to cosplaying, I tried to be more hands-on with my cosplay projects this time around.
I try to practice, if you can make it well then do it and if you can’t as for a commission. I think I am miles away from being a pro-sewer but the joy you get from being able to accomplish a costume is priceless. Though it would seem crazy at times and you wish you were simply waiting for your costume to get done, at the end of the day all the nerve wracking experience becomes a good memory.
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