A 10 Year Retrospective on Cosplay: Week 4 Cosplay Closet Purge

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye

Unless they have unlimited storage space, eventually cosplayers have to go through their cosplay closet and make some tough decisions. I'm throwing this blog in the "retrospective" series because I find this is an activity I've done repeatedly throughout my cosplay life and a little wisdom helps make the process easier.

More blogs in the 10 year Cosplay Retrospective Series:
Week 1 -Wigs | Week 2 - Make-up | Week 3 - Armour | Week 4 - Cosplay Closet Purge | Week 5 -Planning | Week 6 - Inventory |

Keep it

Let's start with the easy part. You should keep your costume if:

• You expect to or plan to wear the costume again and it fits. For a group, for a photoshoot, etc.
  
• You LOVE this costume. It holds some sentimental value.
• The costume is up to your current craftsmanship standards and requires little to no repairs or alterations.

You have to justify the space it is taking up. Are you planning on fixing it up or are you just saying that so you don't have to say goodbye?

My Scout costume is an example of both a sentimental and "wear again" costume. It was my first costume where I thought the end result matched the art. Also, Granado Espada is an often cosplayed series, so I might tag along for a group shoot if I get the chance. However, the sword was no longer up to snuff and has been tossed.

Try to keep your costumes in a room with controlled temperature and humidity to give them the best chance at a long life. Heat/cold/humidity all work to warp and damage costumes overtime especially things that are glued together.  Old hot glue has claimed many of my old costumes.
You can read more on this topic in my blog about organizing you craft room.

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Sell it

It's time to give your costume a new home when:

• You no longer wear the costume. Consider it if it's been over a year. Seriously consider it if it's been over two.
• The costume no longer fits.
• You are no longer a fan of the series/character.
• The costume has run it's course. You got your shoots/groups/skit etc out of the way.
• The costume requires little to no repairs. Ideally nothing that a few hours of crafting can't fix and it shouldn't require any major overhauls. If that's the case, consider selling costume pieces instead of the whole thing.

The costume may not be up to your current standard, however, so long as it is a sturdy garment and your buyer is on the same page you regarding the quality of the items, you should not have any issues. It is better to let your costume have a second life than to rot in a landfill.

Be sure to give as much information as you can regarding the costume, including your measurements, any defects/stains, and care instructions (dry clean / handwash / clean with damp cloth ... ).

Consider selling pieces if they are iconic enough on their own such as wigs and accessories if the costume as a whole is not salvageable. If the costume needs repairs be sure you can justify the time spent repairing it for the money you get in return. No point in spending several hours fixing something you'll only get $20 for.

While we are on the subject, I have these costumes (or parts of them) for sale. Fire me an email at [email protected] for purchases or to make an offer.
Or check them out on StoreEnvy.
Click on the images for prices.

For more images and details on the costumes check out their respective costume pages:
| Xemnas | Sohma | Agni |

Trash it

Now for the hard part. You should throw out your costume if:

• You never wear it and don't plan on wearing it.
• It doesn't fit.
  
• It no longer meets your craftsmanship standards.
• You are no longer a fan of the series/character
  
• You can't imagine selling it to someone: the quality isn't there, it's worn, or it's an intimate costume such as a swimsuit.
  
• It's in a state of disrepair. It needs so many repairs that you would have to start scratch or the thought of making repairs makes you cringe.

If your costume fits into two or more of these categories then it's time to say goodbye. If the time and money required to fix the costume is enough to make a new project altogether, it should be a project you are very passionate about. Otherwise it will be a drain on your resources.

This was a tough one. I only wore it once but it needed major repairs and started to fall apart from sitting around for so long :( R.I.P Styria

Some costumes have better lasting powers than others. Fabric heavy costumes fair better that some armoured ones (I'm thinking of the pre-worbla days). Anything that is hot glued will get worn down after a few years. Also, as your skills improve you will outgrow certain costumes.

If you are going to trash it, after you say your prayer to the cosplay gods, be sure to salvage what you can from the remains. Remember these things should be easily gleaned.

Things to keep:

• Wigs / wig fibres - of good quality that can be restyled/re-purposed. Especially if they are light colours (white or silver especially) because you can dye them.
• Notions - snaps, buckles, buttons, lacing, strapping, and the like.
• Belts
• Shoes/Boots - for everyday wear or for another costume

But, but... I don't know about this one...

Kiss goodbye

Sleep on it. I'm at that place with two costumes right now: Cheetah and Beast (Kuroshitsuji). Cheetah is a pretty inconvenient costume but the quality is good enough to keep me holding on for another shoot. I only have one shoot with her so far and I would like to get some kind of Ame-Comi group going before retiring her.
As for Beast, I don't think the quality is high enough for resale. I really want a photo in a circus or with a tiger since she is an animal tamer.

Behold my Cosplay Graveyard - Spooky

If you are still undecided about trashing a costume, click on the images below to find out why I scrapped mine and what items I kept.