I want to cosplay...

[Tainii]

...but I don't have any money to do so since I'm only 16, and my parents don't exactly approve of my fanaticism of anime. I've been watching anime since I was four, and I go to two anime conventions every year, and I even picked up the language through watching it so much (I'm pretty good at Japanese! sweatdrop ), so yes, of course I'd be an enthusiast!

That aside, I want to know if there's a way to convince my parents to buy me a cosplay or two, or if there are any easy DIY cosplays that don't need wigs! I'm a tiny Asian girl, if that helps. ^^;  

[Kairanha]

Cosplay shops online comes down to this:



You get what you pay for and with the cheapest routes the quality is really lacking. Cosplay is an expensive hobby. My last setup easily cost around $400 between the actual outfit itself, custom made boots, colored contacts, the wig, cosmetics, ect.

I didn't really get into cosplay until I was an adult and out on my own already so no one in my family really had a say in the matter so I don't know what to do for you there. For the cosplay itself, as Rubai said, try going for characters that wear street clothes and try finding something like looks similar and see if you can modify it to make it more accurate. The cheapest way to go about cosplay is to pick up some fabric and start from scratch. Sewing can be a useful skill at times.

Find out if there are any anime clubs in your area. Within your school or local colleges and try and find someone already established as a cosplayer and see if they would be willing to give you tips and/or help you build an outfit.  

[Commander Sigma]

If you can't find the exact kind of shoe you are looking for, don't sweat it! Make a boot cover that will match the cosplay you have in mind. It requires some sewing, though:

Tutorial link: http://aatoss.livejournal.com/5571.html

I am probably going to be doing that for my Ruby Spears Proto Man cosplay. The protocol is slightly different than the game version 'cuz his boots are form-fitting rather than ballooning out, which rules out the polyurethane foam some people use for typical Proto Man cosplays.  

[tsubasanyan]

If you can't spend too much money why don't you try to find a character that you like who dresses pretty normally. I mean, who wears clothes you can find on a normal store of your city or that you can customize a little to make them look like the character ones?