One of my fears has come true. I did a cosplay photoshoot and forgot a piece of my cosplay. Fortunately, it’s a very minor piece, and I honestly didn’t notice it was missing from the photos until 2 months later. I forgot to wear my blue choker in my Pokemon Go Trainer photos.
Though it’s not a big deal this time around, it is something I am always worried about when wearing cosplay. Every time I go to an out-of-town convention, I start having “did-I-forget-anything” paranoia. Forgetting a cosplay piece is not the same as forgetting something in a normal trip. I mean, if you forget your toothbrush, you can buy another one. You can’t just go out and buy a missing cosplay piece, especially one that you’ve custom-made.
I decided to put together a checklist and reference sheet for each cosplay that I still plan on wearing (which happens to be my 8 most recent cosplays). Each sheet lists every costume piece and what I should bring if I ever need to do an emergency repair. Some have reminders on how I should wear it, like which side an accessory hangs on or the order I should put on the pieces. I also include reference photos at the bottom.
Then I printed each out and stored them in a binder. Now when I go on a trip, I can just take the page for each cosplay I bring and reference it for packing and wearing.
I also organized my wigs. I realized that most of my cosplays use black or dark brown wigs, and well, when they’re all in bags, it’s hard to tell them apart. I went through and labeled each bag with the character’s name, so they’d be easier to find.
While doing that, I discovered that I own 12 extra wigs that I am not using for cosplay at all. Most were bought for cosplays I later ditched and didn’t do. Fortunately, I’m more careful about buying wigs now, but I need to figure out what to do with these.
Next on my list is to organize my sewing room again! If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember that a few years ago, I did a major overhaul of my sewing room. Well, that was great back then, but now I have way more stuff. I need more storage units and larger shelves. I also need to think of a better way to store some of my accessories and props.
Though, that is a project for another time! I’m focusing on a couple other rooms in the house first, and then I’ll come back to work on my sewing room again 🙂 I’ll be sure to write about it the next time I give it a make over!
I’ve never been a big cosplayer but I think that might change. I’ve talked with a friend about doing a cosplay of Sailor Pluto at some point, either that or Sailor Mercury.
But I’m really glad that you’ve developed a system for staying organized and making sure you have everything. I’m sure it’ll make everything easier in the future
Wow! I love how organized you are. I would be interested in hearing about how you put some of your outfits together, since you said they were handmade. I can also see how it would be easy to mix your wigs up. I think it’s a great idea to put them in separate bags and also to make a checklist of all the things you need. That way it’s just unjustified paranoia and not justified paranoia haha.
And your sewing room is really impressive!
Thanks Rezina! I have a cosplay blog that details how I made my costumes if you’re interested 😀
http://cosplay.silent-white.com/
Oooooh thanks for sharing! I’ll check it out 😀
That’s the worst fear I have: missing an item for my cosplay! Glad you got organized!
Love your photos as well as your cosplays <3 And that's a really nice way of keeping your cosplay pieces in order! You won't miss them when you need them 😀
As for the unused wigs, how about selling them on a cosplay community site? I'm sure there are several cosplay websites or forums where people share, buy, and sell cosplay pieces. If your cosplay pieces take up too much space after you are done taking pictures of them, it's a good way to clear up the space for more cosplay pieces you're going to make later!
I have a penchant for organization and I love seeing people organize their stuff! I’m sure you won’t forget any cosplay pieces in the future!
Maybe you can try to sell your unused wigs online? I’m sure a lot of other cosplayers would love to buy them 🙂
Wow at your sewing room! I aspire to achieve that level of productive clutter and wish I know how to sew well also!
Omg Cat, this is crazily organised! Being someone who loves being organised, I admire you so much for this! I think having that checklist organised like that is such a great idea and can be applied to other things too – not just cosplaying! In fact, I might do something similar for my holiday outfits xD
I wouldn’t have noticed the missing choker myself tbh! I think it still looks “complete”! Don’t worry ?
I totally get you! Even though if it’s something minor, if I make a mistake or forget it, I treat it like it’s the end of the world X___X Well, not to that extreme, but I do become paranoid after and triple check myself to ensure it doesn’t happen again. With a cosplay item, it makes sense that you wouldn’t be able to replace a custom-made item. So creating that checklist and reference sheet is a good idea! The template is so organised. What did you use to make it? It doesn’t look like one of the Microsof Office software . . .
That’s a good idea to organise the wigs, too, especially if you have multiple ones in the same colour. Hope you’ll get your sewing room organised! I would love to see h ow you end up organising it ^^
Thanks Tara! I totally do the same thing where I triple check my things, especially when it comes to packing. I just put the checklist template together in Photoshop 🙂
Even though you forgot a piece of your cosplay, at least it’s the blue choker rather than something bigger… Like the jacket :’). It would be bad if you forgot something and you’re out of town @__@.
I love how you organized your checklist/reference sheet! It’s sweet and simple while giving you a good glimpse of what you need to complete the outfit. You’re really organized with storing your wigs! You can just pop it out and it’ll be clean + neat. Hope you’ll find a use for those extra wigs! It’s awesome that you have the whole room to dedicate to your cosplay prep :D. Your collection of lanyards from events is pretty neat. The fabric organization is on point with grouping everything by color! (I love the white fur….)
Ah, that must be so annoying having that paranoia, but also the relief when you haven’t must be nice!
Reference sheets are a great idea 🙂
I love how organised you are and I definitely need this sort of organisation in my life!
RE: Gudetama – omg, I love it too. I honestly relate to it so much.
Organizing reference sheets is a pretty genius idea! It’s an amazing way to keep track of what you need and because they are in sleeves, you can use a dry erase marker to check things off while you’re packing.
I’m suffering from fabric envy. I just want a good stockpile of fabrics that I can use whenever I want/need them for something.
LMAO that sewing room is a nightmare! Good Luck! I have been so lazy and havn’t sewn a dang thing in months. orz
That is a good idea with that checklist – though I need one for more than just cosplay. One time we made it all the way and realized we left our bathroom bag, so no soap, shampoo, razors… uuggg we had to find the nearest drugstore. LOL
This is amazing! I love how organized you are, especially with the costume checklist! I’m not a cosplayer but I can relate to your fear of forgetting stuff – forgetting even the most minor things would freak me out!
It’s great that you’re organising all your cosplays! I love the idea of a cosplay binder. The photos look fantastic and it’s a great way to remember what you need.
I’m so bad for putting bits in boxes and never finding them again, probably because I don’t go to enough comic cons. I really need to start putting my wigs away too. They always get ruined because I don’t store them properly, which means I end up wasting money on new wigs!
Good luck organising your sewing room!
I hardly even noticed that you were missing the choker until you had stated it. I think you pulled it off super well.
I’m in awe…. of your mad skills, and your passion for cosplay! Just to make the costumes are a production, and you’ve done it! The organization of your wigs, costumes, and accessories are inspirational, and I hope we’ll be able to see more! 😀
Your sewing room is so full of colour! I love that you have a dedicated sewing room, but I am also not surprised given how much work you do on cosplays. ?
Ahh, it is a shame you forgot about the neck piece but also a little funny that you didn’t notice until later on. Still, I can imagine that the lack of it in the photo would irk you as the outfit not being completely complete! Maybe you could Photoshop it on? ?
I can imagine it must be really important to remember what wigs and pieces go with which cosplay outfit. It definitely pays to be organised. It’s good you were able to identify some wigs you no longer use, too. I don’t know what you could do with them apart from possibly dyeing them in a colour you may need later on? Not sure if that would work so well though, might be easier to buy a whole new wig!
Good luck when it comes to organising the room ? I would definitely love to read about how you do it!
You sound so organized! I am sure you’ll never forget a piece again 🙂 good luck when you decide to tackle the sewing room.