Rant about people using expensive fabrics for budget cosplay

I keep seeing folks in this group post their builds with $40 a yard fabrics and calling it a budget cosplay. That's not budget, that's just making a costume. A real budget build uses thrifted sheets, old curtains, or clearance bin finds for under $5 a yard. I spent $12 total on my last cosplay from the Goodwill on Broadway here in Nashville. It took three trips over two weeks to find the right colors. Why do people insist on calling it budget when they're clearly spending more on fabric than I spend on groceries in a week?

3 comments

3 Comments

rodriguez.cora2mo ago

Honestly, your post reminds me of this time my neighbor tried to call her Halloween costume "thrifted" but she bought a brand new silk robe from some boutique in The Gulch. Tbh, I think people just like the word "budget" because it makes them feel thrifty even when they're not. Real budget cosplay is digging through the bins at the Goodwill on Charlotte Ave and finding a sheet set that's not too faded. Ngl, it took me four trips to find a decent blue for my Sailor Moon cosplay, but I got the whole thing for under $10.

paige_harris2mo ago

Wait, FOUR trips to Goodwill just for a blue sheet? Girl, you are dedicated lmao!

jason7329d ago

Wait, I have to ask - is it really that deep though? Like, we're talking about a blue sheet for a costume, not curing cancer. Four trips to Goodwill on Charlotte sounds less like dedication and more like you might have some free time on your hands (no judgment, we all do sometimes). I mean, I get wanting to save money, sure, but at some point isn't the gas and time worth more than the sheet itself? The whole "real budget cosplay" thing feels a little gatekeepy to me, honestly. Let people call their costume thrifted if they scored a good deal, even if it wasn't from the bins.