Science fiction conventions and various adult alternaproms may never be cool to people my age (the mid 30s range) but they are undeniably popular. Perhaps this is because “cool” is no longer “cool” and we all finally matured enough to know bracing our dorky, spazzy sides allows us all to have a lot more fun at any age. Because of this rising popularity – I can’t swing a stick without running into a friend passionate about cosplay – more people of all body types are getting into it.
This has led to multiple web comic strips and television blips highlighting pained reactions to people running around in Spandex, some of which fits, some of which doesn’t. I’m no hater1, and I’m not about to tell someone who truly derives from it to skip the Spandex because of a belly. But I also prefer not to do this to myself, because while I’m not in any way ashamed of my body, I also find that overshare such as Spandex that highlights my features badly counts as an act of disrespect for my body.
What you see above is from Goth Prom 2010. The theme was “Seven Deadly Sins.” Damncutekitty and I both went as Wrath, although obviously I took it to a different extreme. Crystal bought her dress at a thrift store and has hand-altered it many times. I have owned the dress I wear in the photo since 2001, and I think I bought it in one of Fashion Bug’s infinity of clearance sales. The boots are the ones from Avenue.com, and the faux pearls came from Goodwill. I did not carry a purse – I jerryrigged a wrist wallet to my bra strap, and attached a camera to my other strap.
My husband took this photo. Yes, that is arm chub you see there. Would you make something of it with someone with that face?
Also, my friend Brenda (who, by the time this post runs will be a newlywed!) went as Vanity. The night was marked with her frequntly asking me if she still had a bird on her head.
I was by far one of the most extreme costumes there, and it all fell to the makeup. It gave me the excuse I’ve always wanted to draw on my own face with lipstick!
Since cosplay is becoming more common, plus size friendly cosplay outfits are becoming more of a challenge. I plan to follow damncutekitty, who loves attending scifi cons, and since I live near the site for Convergence, any other plus cosplayers that are OK with being photographed – off the con site2 – let me know.