So I decided that 2017 is the year where I do things that I would say I would do yet never get around to. Cosplay is one of said things. I don't know anything about cosplaying except from bits and pieces I vaguely know from friends who are fond of it. I've never sown, dyed a wing, or anything so this is a completely new and foreign experience for me. I've separated all the main cosplays I want to do in order of difficulty and have created this thread as a sort of 'mega' thread for all my questions, concerns, and updates.

Realistically, I won't be able to cosplay all of these in one year but I would like to at least do two of the beginner level cosplays and possibly an intermediate level cosplay too. (I'll be adding some more cosplay ideas; these are just the first that came to mind). With all that said, lets begin!

Easy/Beginner:
1. First up is...Black Canary:
This outfit is so simple that it's only a closet cosplay since half of the components of her outfit I already own:

Spoiler:

What this outfit needs:
~Brown wig (I'm black and a blonde wig wouldn't look good on me).
~Leather Jacket.
~Black neck collar.
~Black mask (optional).
~Black gloves.
~Leotard.
~Biker shorts (optional).
~Fishnet tights.
~Combat/Regular black boots (length size can vary).

2. Classic Lara Croft:
Another cosplay that can be done through mostly regular clothing:

Spoiler:

What this outfit needs:
~Brown wig or use own hair.
~Red circle-framed glasses.
~Light Blue tank top/racerback.
~Brown shorts.
~Brown combat boots.
~Fake dual pistols and gun pouches.
~Large belt.
~ Long white sport socks.
~Backback.

3. 2013/ROTR Lara Croft:
Another cosplay that can be done through mostly regular clothing. The more difficult parts of the cosplay would be towards her gear and the makeup bruises.

Spoiler:

What this outfit needs:
~Brown wig or use own hair.
~Green jacket (Seen jackets exactly like this at Hollister).
~Light Blue tank top/racerback.
~Brown cargo pants.
~Brown combat boots.
~Fake bow/quiver, knife, pickaxe, and gun.
~Pouches.
~Bandage wrap.
~Makeup.

Intermediate:
1. Batgirl

Spoiler:

What this outfit needs:
~Brown wig.
~Faux leather jacket.
~Leather jeggings.
~Yellow combat boots.
~Yellow gloves.
~Side Pouch.
~Bat mask.
~Cape.
~Makeup.

Advanced:
1. Yennefer of Vengerberg
While it doesn't seem that complicated on the surface, this outfit has a lot of details that would have to be handmade or I would have to pay someone to do for me.

Option 1:

What this outfit needs:
~Black wavy wig.
~White blouse.
~Black Vest
~Leather jeggings.
~Leather gloves.
~Knee-high black boots.
~Makeup.
~Handmade stuff.

Option 2:

What this outfit needs:
~Black wavy wig.
~Black shirt (with feathers sewn on).
~Corset.
~Skirt.
~Scarf.
~Leather gloves.
~Knee-high black boots.
~Lace stockings.
~Makeup.

2. Wonder Woman - The myth, the wonder, the only reason I'm even starting to cosplay.

Spoiler:

What this outfit needs:
~BRUH I DON'T EVEN

#cosplayhelp

Yaaaaay!  I think you are at the right starting place with doing closet cosplay. So far, just about all the costumes I've done, I've done Closet/Goodwill cosplay.  Even if you don't have a sewing machine, some things can be easy to do by hand. The best thing for me when I'm not sure how to go about something is to just google it and look for tutorials or if someone has made the costume before to see what they did. A lot of fandoms usually have sites or tumblrs dedicated to compiling cosplay tutorials and stuff. Looking up that kinda stuff helped me with a Steven Universe cosplay I did earlier this year.


For Wonder Woman, I would start looking up armor cosplays and tutorials. You'll essentially either have to make it out of craft foam or thermoplastic such as Worbla. Personally, while Worbla can make some amazing armor and cosplays, I would maybe wait until you feel more comfortable in your skills with constructing a costume. My friend decided to get worbla for our Saiyan armor cosplays and there were lots of learning and tbh my finished product wasn't that great (but it was still ok since i was i a group). If she hadn't offered to buy the worbla, Iwould've just saved my money and gone with craft foam which is much cheaper and a bit more ok to trial and error.

That all said I think the more experienced cosplayer could give you better technical advice than me. xD  The resrouce thread has links to a lot of tutorials and wig stuff if you wanna start looking things up: http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t13030-cosplay-resource-index-thread

So far I've bought my wigs either from cheap China sellers on ebay or from www.amphigory.com  There are tons of other good wig places to buy from as well. If you plan to style a wig, main thing is to make sure its heat proof so you can use heat methods to do any styling.

That said...just start doing it. Also Deadlines. Like an upcoming con. xD That might help you to actually get things done. I look foward to seeing what you do. Yaaaay!!

Thank you for the advice/help Brit! Much appreciated.  I'm thinking I might dress up as Lara Croft for my birthday. This idea was kind of spontaneous since I'm think of having a small get together for it but if I do it, I'll definitely post pics here.

Have you tried different colors of blonde wigs before? Platinum can work really well with dark skin from what I've seen! It won't be that canary yellow but neither would a brown wig so worth a shot if you haven't tried maybe?

Oh also, I second Brit's suggestion of deadlines. A Birthday costume is a good start :3. For the more intimidating costumes you'd like to do, finding and commiting to a group for a con or some other event is a great way to lock yourself into it and gives you less room to come up with excuses .