Dressin' Up

I had a friend ask on FB what the worst cosplay ideas ever were. I chimed in how it’s weird when creepy old guys dress as characters from children’s cartoons despite not having any children with them. One of his friends commented: “There shouldn’t be any age discrimination in cosplay. People can wear what they want and if you don’t like it keep walking.”

I said that if you can work it, go for it regardless of age, gender, or species. But if you’re middle aged, balding, and with beer gut, you should not be dressing as Sailor Moon or Twilight Sparkle.

On FB I described it as a strange sight to see. On here I’ll straight up say that even by cosplaying nerd standards it’s fucking weird.

I have no doubt there are some fierce bronies and pegasisters who can rock awesome costumes and look good doing it. At Awesome in DC I saw Mom as Misty, dad was Brock, the little boy was Ash, and the baby in the stroller was Pikachu. It was awesome. All of the costumes were realistic and flattering. I still regret not getting a picture.

I’ve seen women pull off amazing Sherlock and guys do gorgeous Disney princesses. I’ve seen men easily in their sixties make disco era Elton John look understated and they were fabulous. I’ll even praise a good furry or brony/pegasister costume.

BUT If you look like Ron Perlman or Saul Rubinek, you need to figure out a way to do Sailor Moon that is less than screen accurate. Otherwise it will be impressively unflattering, frakking bizarre, and verging on creepy. You cannot have mutton chops and pull off Flutter Shy, maybe Apple Jack if you had overalls.

If you can work it, go for it. If you can’t pull it off, you’re fair game for a laugh. Others are thinking it, I’m saying it.

Music: Protectors of the Earth by Two Steps from Hell