Today’s question is… how do you decide what costume you’re going to wear to a convention?
I’ve touched on this a little bit in other posts, but I thought I’d go ahead and do a full FAQ Friday on the subject!
Picking a costume for a con or event doesn’t seem like it should even be a question, really – but sometimes you really do have to put some thought into it. Here are the things I consider when choosing a costume, and I’ll share some of my own personal stories on successes/failures in that regard…
What kind of convention or event is it?
With the prevalence of the “pop culture” con taking over conventions, this is becoming less and less of an issue – one of these kind of cons you can really wear ANYTHING you want. Though, sometimes even these kind of conventions have a “tone” – you can sometimes pick up on it from the kind of guests and panels they have. Lots of horror guests? Pull out your Walking Dead costume. Tons of comic book artists and comic based panels? Get your Marvel or DC costume ready. Sometimes you really can’t tell until you get there what the tone of the convention is, though.
Despite the saturation of the pop culture con, there are definitely still some niche conventions out there: Anime cons, Gaming cons, Sci-Fi/Fantasy cons, Comic Book Cons (and not just a pop culture con labeled as a “comic con”), show-specific cons, etc.
Obviously with these kind of conventions, it’s best to stick to the theme. Wear an anime or video game costume to an anime con – wear a comic book costume to a comic book convention. I once wore Wonder Woman to an anime con. I figured it’s mainstream enough, people would still appreciate it. It was a total failure, I might as well have been in normal clothes.
On the flipside, sometimes doing something completely different will work, as long as its popular – my cousin wore Harry Potter to an anime con and was constantly surrounded by people wanting his picture, a picture with him, hugging him, etc. Which brings me to….
What is your audience? Who are you appealing to?
Sometimes it’s less about the actual convention and its programming – and more about the kind of people who are there. Conventions with an older crowd will appreciate different things than cons with a younger crowd. A con with a younger crowd, like an anime convention, will still enjoy things like Harry Potter, or Disney costumes. Older crowds, like at a sci-fi/fantasy con, will appreciate your classic Doctor Who costume or obscure literary costume more, and I’ve also noticed they tend to respond better to original costumes.
As a 501st/Rebel Legion member, they, and other similar groups, often do events that are very focused on kids. Sometimes cons will have specific kids days, or the convention will just have more kid attendees in general. Kids are ALWAYS the most fun to appeal to – so thinking of and wearing a costume that will appeal to them is always a safe bet. Star Wars characters, Disney princesses, kids show characters, etc, are almost always fun to wear no matter the type of con.
Sometimes it’s impossible to tell what kind of people are going to be at a con, and thus you can pick the “wrong” thing – I figured C2E2 would be a fine thing to wear Donna Noble from Doctor Who to, but I was wrong – it was really the wrong audience for it and should have brought another comic-based costume instead.
You can plan ahead all you want, but sometimes things are just not what you expect, especially when walking into a con you’ve never been to before. Another strange story: I wore Jane Porter from Tarzan to Dragoncon, where I figured it would be easily recognized, because it is THE “everything pop culture” con. I kept getting called “steampunk girl,” or getting asked who I was. I wore her a year later to a much, much smaller con and got a TON of love for being Jane and hearing “and daddy, he took my boot!” over and over again, it made my day! So sometimes you just can’t tell!
To go off on a bit of a tangent… I’ve been to a handful of cons that have a very strange audience/vibe. It’s generally a younger crowd, and this crowd is more interested in partying and/or being seen, than in the actual convention, events, guests, or the costuming. I mean, true, that’s always been an element at cons, but only a small element. For these crowds, it’s the only thing. It’s impossible to tell if that’s the way a con is going to be before you’ve gone, but this mindset seems to be becoming more and more prevalent, sadly. It does not make for an entertaining or fun experience, and I’ve started avoiding these cons.
The ebb and flow of the crowd at a con
As you attend more conventions, you start to get an idea of the crowd and its tastes and different times during the day – especially if it’s a particular convention you’ve attended several times. For instance, at a con like Dragoncon, which I’ve attended for 13 years, I know what times of the day are good for wearing specific types of costumes. It varies from con to con, of course. Cons in a convention center with little-to-no nighttime programming will be fairly “stagnant,” but you still have a crowd flow – Saturdays will always be more crowded. Kids will be there more during the day than at night and some cons, like SDCC, have a specific kids day (Sunday).
Wearing a big costume early at a con (either early first day or early in the morning) will generally get more attention because there will be less people and less costumes out and about. I personally avoid wearing long, large or delicate costumes at peak times – but more people means more exposure, so you may feel its worth it. Nighttime is the time for skimpy costumes.
Those are all things I take into consideration when picking what costumes to take or make, and when to wear them – along with common things like weather, how far the con is from my hotel, and packing/travel considerations.
What is popular?
There’s a fine line to walk when it comes to what is popular. A costume or series may be so popular that it’s over-saturated and people actually start getting annoyed at worst, ignore you at best because you’re just 1 out of 1000.
But things are popular for a reason – and just because you fear oversaturation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make a costume you’re really excited about. You may end up being the only one or two of that character that shows up. You can also do all sorts of variants of a popular character. Sometimes picking a lesser-done character from a popular series or movie is a great way to go, every one of those overdone characters will want a picture with you! For instance, not a lot of people attempt the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who, because it’s a generally difficult costume, but all the Doctors and companions will want their picture with you, and people who don’t even know what it is will want your picture because it’s neat looking (see my next thought on that).
And there are things that will always be popular. Star Wars, Disney, Star Trek, popular comic book characters, etc. Almost everybody knows these characters so they’re always a safe bet.
What is visually appealing?
Sometimes, the CHARACTER doesn’t matter as much as what the costume looks like. If your costume is visually appealing, it will appeal to a wide range of a convention audience, even if they don’t know the character. If you’re in a costume that is basically street clothes – the only people who know what you’re dressed as is other other fans of that movie/series.
If you’re in a big floofy brightly coloured princess dress, you’re going to get people’s attention. Same for costumes that are gigantic – big armor, stilts, wings, etc. Anything with lights, or body paint. For instance, I know I can wear my Belle ballgown to pretty much any kind of event because it’s huge and yellow and hard to ignore. Kids love it.
But a word of caution: that can sometimes get tiring! Sometimes having a less-flashy costume to switch to is a good thing just so you can have a rest and still be in costume! I know I can go put on Donna Noble at any time and be comfortable but still in costume, without feeling like I’m on-stage and being watched constantly.
And, most importantly, what do YOU want to wear?
While all the things I’ve recounted above are things to consider…. at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what YOU want to wear.
If you go to a con in a costume you are proud of and had fun wearing, then it really doesn’t matter if nobody else took your picture, or recognized your costume, or there were 100 other versions of your costume there. You costume for YOURSELF – not for others. It’s always nice to get attention and love, but, as the song says, “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”