1. Get Inspired

To create a costume, first you need inspiration. It’s not always easy: you want to be original, you want to be sexy or cute, or perhaps, you want to do something simple? Where to get an idea?

Fortunately we have The internet and uncle Google is always there to help. Still, you need to know what to look for. If you’re doing cosplay, you have to browse through your favourite anime, computer games,  comics, or movies. If you want to do an original costume, here is what you can look up:

• various subcultures

-classic: goth, gothic, punk, cyber-goth, rave, steampunk, dieselpunk,  rockabilly, hippies


-exotic: Japanese cyber-punk, Japanese lolita, bousouzoku (motorcycle gangs), visual kei, fairy kei, mori kei, kigurumin, gyaru, yamamba 

Gothic inspired             -       Japanese cyberpunk

•  historical periods 

-Europe and USA: any period is fine, but most inspiring are the Egyptian period, French baroque and
rococo (think Marie Antoinette), the Victorian fashion and the “Golden Twenties”. Nice are also the 50-ties and the plastic 70-ties, or the 80-ties à la David Bowie. I personally don't like the 90ties for inspiration I think it's too recent to be inspiring – but why not?



-the world: Japanese Heian Period costumes, kimono, Chinese historical robes, Mongolian (think Padme Amidala- yes, some of her outfit was inspired by the attire of this gorgeous noble woman) – basically all of south-west Asia has some badass attitude to gorgeous colourful costumes

Rococo inspired costume           -               Chinese historical costume

• mythology: again, don’t limit your search to Europe! Dragons and fairies are nice, but have you ever heard about youkai or the vanara Hanuman? 

• native fashion: but be respectful! Remember, national costumes usually have some deeper meaning, therefore don´t mock or satirize 

• haute couture: although the clothes as such are un-wearable (except on the catwalk), you can still get inspiration regarding colour combinations, materials, accessories, or just an overall feeling 

Dragon Lady byThierry Mugler      -      Russian isnpired kokoshnikov (headdress)

• circus, ballets and carnivals: think Cirque le Soleil, The Swan Lake or the Venice carnival. Don´t be afraid of clowns. Great source!

Venice carnival masks

• burlesque and vaudeville: You don´t have to go all Dita von Teese to get some great ideas. Look up Ziegfeld Follies for some gorgeous hair-accessories ideas, listen to Emily Autumn to get high on colours. You can also look for grotesque, bizarre or decadent 

Ziegfeld Follies, The Dolly Sisters

• drag scene: be honest, Drag-Queens have some fabulous make-up and shoes. But don´t forget also Drag Kings- women dressed as men. Already Marlene Dietrich knew that cross-dressing is sexy. So the all-women Japanese theatre group Takarazuka, which can show you how to look stage masculine

• (not only) old movies: it´s not only Marylin. For some crazy ideas watch movies from Fritz Lang, or with the amazing actress Theda Bara. Clockwork Orange and other LSD inspired movies can’t hurt either. And of course, you absolutely mustn’t forget Tim Burton.

Frank-n-Furter, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

• nature and animals: because not only furries wear tails and cat-ears. Look at peacocks. Peacocks are wonderful. And paradise birds. And autumn leaves. And.......

• some obscure sources like the artwork of Giger, fetish and BDSM scene

Peacock make-up      -       Fetish Costume

You don´t have to copy the outfits one-on-one. Maybe you just need some idea for your bracelet, or what about trying a neck corset? Can I combine gold with deep purple, accentuated with azure? Here are some examples of my own costumes and their original inspiration:

-rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

Left is the original costume, right is my take. Notice how the pants are knee-lenght, because I wanted to show off my wonderful white platform boots



-Japanes kimono meets punk

Left is a snapshot from the video clip Kimono jet Girl by AAA (that´s why the bad quality), and right the variation we did with a friend of mine. We varied the kimono colour combination and the wig.

-Drag Queen (why yes, also women can do Drag Queens)

Here the inspiration is not so obvious - because this is a mix from vacious sources. The horns are an idea from Selia (left), a Japanese singer and performer, and the rest is rococo with a flavour of drag queen.

Also, to give you some further incentives you can visit my inspirational blog on tumblr, where I’m posting cosplay and costume pictures or various kinds.Check for daily update!