Are you a Cospuritan?

^I've been lurking in a lot of Cosplay forums lately.
In one of my lurking sprees, I came across the term COSPURITAN or COSPURIST.


Ever heard of it?
This definitely was something new to me so I read on.


From what I gathered. A Cospuritan is some one who believes that a Cosplayer should be the one who makes his or her own costume. A Cospuritan and a Cospurist is the same. It is the contraction of the words Cosplay and Puritan / Purist. And that everything should be exactly the same with the character being cosplayed, like no artistry or no heavy set cosplayers doing thin characters or dark skinned cosplayers doing fair skinned characters. Above all, the COSPLAYER MUST MAKE THIER OWN COSTUMES, too. Well you get the picture, a cospurist believes that every part of the cosplay must be PERFECT or MADE BY THE COSPLAYER THEMSELF.

Brother, me, Nikki and Minami doing the "LO FACE"

Here is my two cents on the matter.






There is no harm in adding that personal touch to a cosplay. If it looks good and makes you happy and still keeps the essence of the character being cosplayed then go for it!


If you want to cosplay a certain character but you think you dont look like the character then still go for it if you really want to and if you believe it will make you happy. Don't let your weight or the color of your skin stop you from having a good time, the trick is to find a way to make it all work and look for ways to make it flattering on you. After all, you don't want to be walking around in a "cosplay don't" now, would you? ahehehehehe


And lastly, so what if you did not make your own costume? I'd like to meet the person who has naturally green hair or can make their own wigs fiber by freakin' fiber.


There is nothing wrong with store bought costumes or having other people make your props and stuff. Some people are just better at some things. It's cosplay! Costume and role play, it did not specify that a cosplayer must make his or her own costume otherwise it would be called You-must-make-your-own-costumes-play.

Ian as Gakupo and Me as Meiko

But! It is indeed commendable when someone can sew and make their own costumes. It is very admirable seeing other people's skills but I don't think it is that necessary. That's their thing, they have the skills so they use it. It gives them a sense of self accomplishment and come on, who wouldn't want recognition from a job well done? So you can make beautiful costumes, that's great, good for you!


So you have other people help or do it for you, that's still great! At least you're helping others earn a living, but what's bad is if you take credit for other people's work. Now that's a no-no.


Here is where we get a little touchy.


Some people seem to think that you are not a Great Cosplayer if you cant make your own costumes. I personally can't sew (especially with a machine! The horror! The horror! aheheheeeh) but that has not stopped me from cosplaying. If you think I am a fail then that's your opinion but I don't think I am so that's that. I leave you alone and you leave me alone. No harm done. But if you think that I am doing a not so bad job then thank you very much^^

Me as Belldandy

I do believe that most Singaporean cosplayers are awesome! They make their own costumes and they seem to have a knack for choosing characters that really fit them. But probably not all Singaporean cosplayers can sew, that's why there are a lot of Cosplay Shops (shops that sell cosplay costumes and related stuff) in Singapore, (and in Japan, too) duh, they are there to meet the demand.


In the forums and blogs that I've been lurking in. A lot of people are saying that Japanese cosplayers are super awesome cause they make their own costumes and that if Alodia ever went to Japan, she would be mud compared to the Japanese cosplayers cause she can't sew and no one would take notice of her.

Alodia as Haruhi Suzumiya photo by z3LL

I'd just like to clarify that I am not an Alodia lover nor am I an Alodia hater. She did make cosplay popular in the Philippines and she does have high quality costumes after all. And I will admit that I was in super awe of her when I first entered the cosplay scene but now that I've heard about Jin Joson, the Tux team, Jesuke, Kaika, Yaya Han, Lilly Xandra and lots more, I have come to realize that there are also others worth admiring.


So don't go saying that Alodia is mud, if you do not know Alodia the person, not the cosplayer.
And if you know nothing about cosplay in other countries. Because although the Japanese like D-I-Ys (do it yourself), not all Japanese cosplayers make their own costumes cause there are a lot, and I mean A LOT of Cosplay shops and costume rental shops in Japan. I would know, I am half Japanese and I've been to Japan. And she would probably get a lot of attention there cause she's pretty and has nice bodily assets that Japanese photographers would love to take pictures of. 



So, think about it. Are you a cospuritan?

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thanks for reading!

 jaa! visit me again, ne!

     arigatou! (*^3^)/~

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