Closet Cosplay Challenge

​January 9-10, 2016

Last month I asked my followers for some closet cosplay suggestions. I had a whole weekend of nothing planned so I figured I could handle one or two casual cosplays. 24 hours after the post was up, I had a ton of suggestions. My weekend just went from casual and fun to full on crazy (but still fun).
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​This is the insane list I had to tackle:

Hawkgirl
Misty
Scarlet Witch
Any character from Star Wars
Barney Rubble
Quail-man
Black Widow
Jaina Proudmoore
Sailor Mars
Bananas in Pajamas
Fem Doc Ock
Yoko
Miss Martian
Raven
Madame Vandersexxx
Glinda the good witch
Veronica Lodge
Willie Nelson

Okay, here we go! Starting with Hawkgirl, I drew her wings on a roll of wrapping paper and taped them to my wall. The cowl is made out of cardstock cut and taped together. I painted it with black acrylic paint and yellow fabric paint, because those were the only ones I had. I wore a yellow tank top folded up to show off some sick flab, err, I mean ab... Green leggings on the bottom and a black belt. The wig is a not-great-quality wig I bought for a future cosplay.

I'm not sure why I've never closet cosplayed as Misty before. I'm pretty sure everyone has. She's such an iconic character! The costume has a pretty simple breakdown; short shorts, yellow crop top, orange hair in a side pony. My red suspenders are just scraps of red fabric draped over my shoulders.

Scarlet Witch was pretty easy. I did both versions in case I liked one over the other. I ended up liking the modern Scarlet Witch from the Avengers the best. I wore my black wig, heavy makeup, a red rain jacket and my black dress. Done!

I sadly skipped the Star Wars character. I wanted to do Jar Jar Binks because it was an inside joke with my friend, but then my silly idea didn't seem practical in the end so I passed. 

Oh god, Barney Rubble. This character seems easy enough, right? WRONG. I wore a wig base backwards to get the short hair effect. I had some extra brown fabric draped over my shoulders to make his tunic type thing. The problem with this cosplay was that I am not a short man with a large head. So this one turned out totally ridiculous as you can tell!

I didn't think Quail-man would be that fun. But once I started layering clothes and making the belted headband, I just had a blast being a goofy character! I stole some beige pants from Riley and layered up with some white shorts. I wore a green long sleeve and cut the Q out of some scrap fabric from some old bed sheets I had. The cape was made from the same red sheet. The belt was the trickiest part of the costume, because believe it or not, my waist is not the same size as my head. So I looped the belt into the last hole and then used a binder clip to hold it tight in the back!

Black Widow was hella easy. Black long sleeve shirt and leggings to create the bodysuit. Painted cardboard circles taped on to the shirt for the belt, and the classic red wig.

I did not want to do Jaina Proudmoore. There were so many layers on her costume, with tons of gold trim. I thought for sure this would be a huge failure, but somehow I pulled it off! I wore a white tank top and a long dark blue skirt as a base. I found a bunch of old blue scraps of fabric which I draped over the skirt in different colors and layers. I saved the biggest piece for the cape/shawl thing. I cut up some strips of yellow fabric to make the gold trim. I draped it over the blue scraps and a few on the shirt to make it look less plain. I wore my blonde wig and draped the blue shawl over top and then pretended I knew how to pose like a mage.

I'm so proud of my Sailor Mars cosplay! If it weren't for my big red tutu, this wouldn't be half as successful. I paired the tutu with a white tank and some white gloves I have for a future cosplay. I wore my blck wig again and the head piece was made out of cardstock painted with fabric paint. It was just taped to my forehead for the photos. I used a small scrap of fabric bunched into a bow and pinned in place. The sailor collar is just two strips of red fabric draped over my shoulders. I could have put a bit more effort into that.

​Bananas in Pajamas is actually pointless to attempt without a full set of pajamas. I had an idea for the banana part and everything, but I knew I couldn't execute it, so I passed again.

Fem Doc Ock was a total blast! I drew the arms out on wrapping paper, just like Hawkgirl's wings. The red dots on the arms are the front side of the wrapping paper cut into circles. Since it was a female version, I had free range to edit the costume as much as I wanted. I wore a black shirt folded up (a sports bra), and some leggings on the bottom. I wore a short black wig because it seemed the most bad ass of all my wigs. The necklace was an extra feminine touch. I just had to use it because it was a Christmas gift. The vest was a modification that I preferred over the long trench coat as seen in the movies.

Yoko was pretty fun, although I felt pretty naked in it. Let's start from the bottom up. I just wore a pair of grey shorts I had with a white belt. I just wore a black bra and cut some flames out of those same red bed sheets. I tried taping it to the bra but it didn't stick well. The black gloves were originally bought for a future cosplay. I pinned my red wig up into a ponytail. I made the little hair skull out of cardboard and painted it with white and black acrylic paint.

I was disappointed with my effort on Miss Martian. I could have done her better. I was upset after the face paint I had was very light on my skin. After that, plus a full weekend of cosplays, I was getting pretty exhausted. So I pinned on my cape made from future cosplay fabric, pinned on some red scraps across my white tank, and put on my short black wig. This cosplay is mostly thanks to photoshop.

Raven! Oh, how I love Raven. This one was okay, getting the hood right was hard and I still didn't get it quite how I wanted. I wore my black long sleeve shirt with my grey shorts hiked up. I re-used the circle belt from Black Widow to make the belt for Raven. I re-painted it to match better, and I made the brooch for her cape the same way. I wore my long black wig and I kind of like how it hangs under the hood in front. The cape is purple material for a future cosplay. It is too light in color, but hence closet cosplay; you work with what you got.

Madame Vandersexxx is a cosplay I am planning for CCEE, and I have the material, it would be easy to mock up. But I didn't want to spoil my future cosplay with a closet cosplay. So another pass.

Glinda was an alright cosplay. I loved making her crown and making my face all glittery and glam. I was sad that I couldn't make her puffy sleeves, but I recovered with lots of gems and a pink shawl across my shoulders. The skirt was made from tons of extra fabric from an old project. I also could not make this as puffy as I wanted, but I think my glam Glinda still did the trick.

I thought Veronica would be an easy cosplay, but I felt like a combination of the wig I used and the pose I struck made for an awkward photo. To quote my friend, "I thought the semi retarded but totally stuck up look was perfect for the character."

And last but not least, Willie freakin' Nelson! I had a pretty good idea going into it how I would do it, but I did not realize just how amazing it would turn out. It was so ridiculous and awesome at the same time. Who would have thought I would look so good in a beard! I used some face paint crayons to draw on the wrinkles and the beard. I braided my blonde wig and then put on my bandana. I borrowed the guitar from the roommate and then just pretended to play to my non-existent audience.

Overall, this experience was quite fantastic. I had tons of fun putting everything together, and I only skipped three of the suggested cosplays! I am definitely looking forward to this experience again.

Comment below with some of your favorite/best/worst closet cosplay achievements!

Check out my newest closet cosplay challenge from May!

*kiss kiss*