The Price of Cosplay Costumes

Many things I have in my life, and for that matter pretty much everyone's lives, cost some amount of money to have. My Pokémon cosplay costumes are of no exception, as with other cosplayers and their costumes. It's something that I don't give much thought, even though it's true; furthermore, I confess that I've lost track of some of it. Recently, though, I've been hinted again at this issue by something that has transpired.

During the most recent convention that I went to, I and three other cosplayers were asked about the prices of our costumes... or rather, were asked to play a game involving the prices of our costumes. Each cosplayer was asked about the parts to be evaluated, and the other three evaluated the cost of those parts in the same manner as a certain game show also involving prices of things; the closest one earned points. I gave an estimate of the price of my costume based on what I could remember, since it was such a long time ago that most of the costume was crafted; even so, I'm certain that it's not far off. The details of this game were also filmed and are present in a YouTube video, a vlog of one of my fellow cosplayers.

I've always spent money on my (Pokémon) costumes, and I'm certain to spend more as I'm interested in new ones. Perhaps the reason why I've never thought much about it or kept track of it is because I need it, not just for my personal satisfaction, but also for the satisfaction of other people, something I've become aware of over the years I've cosplayed; my costumes provide me with satisfaction, while cosplaying with them provides satisfaction to other people. Therefore, I'm always serving goodness for myself and everyone, which is good regardless of how it comes about. Still, I do sometimes desire something more.

At this point, I've cosplayed for over seven and a half years, and I've invested quite a bit of my money on my costumes, Pokémon or otherwise. With all of Ash's general outfits at hand plus two of Red, that amounts to quite a bit of money. I have to say that since it's an investment (as is anything that anyone buys), it could be expected to provide returns, but that hasn't much been the case for me, or perhaps even most cosplayers that I know. That's why I also sign up for as many competitions as possible in order to actually realize those returns. It might take a while, and it may not always be successful, but at the least I can still hope for at least some return on my costume investments.

There's something to be said about the price of my cosplay costumes. On one hand, it does matter because I'm spending (good) money for them, so I should consider it as well, especially for getting my investment on them back. On the other hand, they have totally been the "gifts that kept on giving", so I'm not inclined to think about them for what they cost. All the same, I'm sure however much I spend, it may be good to "keep track of where [I'm] going, and have many happy returns" about those costumes.

One year ago: Do Unusual Things
Two years ago: Futureproofing Transfers