I like watching YouTube cosplayers make their outfits and props xD that's my contribution to the cosplay community

This will be interesting to see. How mamy of us readers have dressed up? I keep thinking I'll scrape up a Kisuke Urahara cosplay one year but it never happens.

By the way, looking into the history of cosplay is interesting... people have been cosplaying (as defined by people attending conventions in costumes as fans) for a long time but the real history is hard to parse.

Adam Savage pointed out to a man who showed up for a sci-fi convention in a cardboard robot costume back in the early 20th century.

One of the more official sounding sources gave credit to a woman in 1904... but she was born in 1904 so who really knows? Though 1912 seems to have had a contest at a convention so maybe that was the start?

Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, "The father of science fiction" who predicted several large technological breakthroughs years before they were made) set up a huge dinner in 1877 and several guests showed up as characters from his novel. I don't know if they were paid to do that or not.

Regardless of the origins, it's cool to see how far things have come and how good the costumes are now.

Been a while since I had something to say on a poll, but Yes, I made my costume and/or prop

Anime Boston 2010, I went as Matsushiro Ken. The hair was all-natural (I have a pretty large afro)! I didn't have to go as far as sewing, but I found and slightly modified some basic clothing to I found at The Garment District (a cambridge clothing store that's almost like a thrift shop), including manually pulling the studs out of a pair of biker gloves I found. Every morning of the convention I went to the grocery store to buy a loaf of french bread, which ended up being most of my food over the course of the day!

It was a fun experience lol

there ain’t no comic con experience like a childhood impromptu Luffy costume.