Cosplayers offer advice on creating memorable costumes

Anabella Michael has finished her Halloween costume for this year, but she and her dad, Cory Michael, spent Saturday afternoon at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, picking up ideas for future projects.

"It was fun," the 12-year-old said of the presentation by Desiree Cosplay of St. Louis and Becky Brown-Clements of Cape Girardeau.

Anabella said she recently completed a "gender-swapped" Arkham Asylum Scarecrow costume to wear later this month.

Her dad said he imagined the Concept to Costume workshop -- sponsored by the Arts Council and Cape Comic Con -- would inspire her.

"I'm sure she'll get creative after this Halloween is over," he said.

Participants had the chance to view costumes created by Desiree Cosplay of St. Louis at a workshop Saturday afternoon at Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau. (Emily Priddy)

Cosplay and Brown-Clements offered tips on everything from finding materials to creating handmade armor from foam and plastic.

Cosplay -- whose name refers to the popular practice of dressing as a favorite sci-fi or comic-book character -- passed around parts of a She-Ra costume she had made, explaining the materials and techniques that went into each piece.

She used Worbla, a type of plastic that can be heated and formed into any shape, to create the armor and glued gold fabric to a pair of shoes to make She-Ra's boots.

Brown-Clements, who referred to herself as "the safety-pin queen," said she prefers to assemble a costume from existing components and modify them as needed.

"I'm super all about anything where you can pick and pull stuff out of an antique store," she said.

Brown-Clements showed a Rogue costume she had made.

She sewed the X-Men character's distinctive yellow-and-red bodysuit, then bought a jacket and modified a child's Batman belt to go with it.

"It's a lot of just finagling it to make it work," she said.

Brown-Clements and Cosplay addressed a few practical considerations.

For instance, Brown-Clements said, corsets are easier to put on if they have a zipper, and headdresses work best when they are lightweight.

Cosplay, who ended up with blisters after having to walk more than she expected in her high-heeled She-Ra boots, advised designers to consider the location and conditions in which they will be wearing their costumes.

She also recommended parents help children design age-appropriate costumes.

"I think taking into account your kids' activity level -- if they're excitable ... you're not going to want to outfit them in something that's going to fall off easily," Cosplay said.

Meanwhile, lengthening a skirt or adding a cloak to a costume can help teenagers avoid the kind of unwanted attention a risqué costume can attract, she said.

"Oftentimes, if you just incorporate the most iconic parts of a costume, people are going to know who you are," Cosplay said.

Even if a costume is uncomfortable, the memories are worth it, Brown-Clements said.

"It's totally worth it for those three pictures that you take, and people are high-fiving you all day," she said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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32 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.