[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by MissMisa

I have no idea, since I don't live in America. Unless you've lived in Japan and America, I don't think you'd be able to tell accurately. It's a pretty logical assumption to make considering Japan pioneered cosplay and such. But anyway, I'm not sure so I'll just take your word. $1000 isn't £500 anymore, it's £690 now.

I do live in both and I have costumes from both countries. A simple costume here will still cost you around ¥10,000 (school uniform, gundam uniform, etc) and go up from there for complexity in props. American costumes typically cost more because they are more complicated. Since no one really does costuming for sitcoms/dramas like anime fans do for anime in those genres, the costumes are not as simple.

Eh, for currency, good yardsticks in any case. Once Americans start spending again, the dollar will rise again and things will level out. That's right, people. In a recession, no matter your country, you need to spend MORE, not less. Counterintuitive to the cashstrapped, but it's true.

In England, there are basically no resources for cosplay alone. Everything has to come off the internet [unless you make it yourself of course] and you can't always be sure of the quality when stuff comes from the internet. [Wigs/Shoes etc] There might be the odd store at a convention but nowhere near Japan or America.

You're the Brit, so I'll have to take your word on that. I know nothing about England's subcommunities.

I don't see the problem in calling it cosplay when that's what it is... especially when the people who take the most interest in it are the 'anime/j-influenced subcommunities.'

Eh... Not true. Costuming started here as soon as people started war reenactments. And what those in the anime/j-influenced communities would consider cosplay started at book/fantasy/SF cons in the 1970s. Those individuals number in the many thousands, just take a look at any World Con, Megacon, or my Fleet's home con, Dragon*Con. You're talking 20,000 people, most of them in costume, few of them anime cosplayers (especially since an Anime specific con is in the same city only a few weeks later).

Now, again, I speak for America. I have no idea, maybe cosplayers do outnumber costumers in England. However my experience in several cities, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, etc, say that the cosplayers are still the minority of convention going costumers in America.

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