5 Modesty Tips for LDS Cosplayers

Hey everyone!

Honestly, my favorite part of this pic is the Mexican Deadpool

I don't know about you guys, but I'm so excited for Salt Lake's Comic-Con in a couple of days! It just gives me another excuse to dress up in fun outfits and check out the other costumes. 

Half the fun of going to events like Comic-Con and movie premieres is dressing up as your favorite characters. Cosplaying has gained quite a bit of popularity in the past few years or so, and we see all types of cosplayers, which is great! (It's also fun to walk around in your outfit and see other people's reactions.)

This pants make me look really short. Well, shorter. 

Unfortunately, we LDS cosplayers tend to have a bit of trouble reconciling our belief in modesty with some of the cosplays we'd like to do. For girls especially, it can be difficult to do cosplay and still be modest in dress. I have noticed that in recent movies, especially the superhero ones, female costuming has gotten a little better (more practical) but I know the struggle all too well of finding a good cosplay without having to give up my values of modesty. Over the past few years, I've found some things to consider, and I've learned some tricks. 

Fair warning: this is addressed mostly to the girl cosplayers (sorry guys), since I have more experience with female cosplay than anything. 

Also, let me be clear that I'm not condemning anybody if they choose to wear a revealing cosplay outfit, whether they're LDS or not. If you feel comfortable doing that, then great! I just know that I'm not comfortable wearing those types of outfits, and it goes against my own values. And I know a lot of girls are in the same boat as me. 

So in honor of Comic-Con, here are my tips to dressing modestly and having fun with cosplay.  

1. Modify the outfit. 

The cosplay purist will frown at this, saying that you must stay true to the outfit, but I tend to focus more on the idea of the cosplay, rather than recreating it perfectly. I've also noticed that modifying the design of outfits is gaining more traction; I'm seeing steampunk versions and zombie versions of cosplay all over the place. I think people are learning that getting creative with a costume doesn't diminish the value of the cosplay.

If you can still stay fairly true to the character, a little modification here and there won't hurt the overall idea of the cosplay. Some costumes may only require a little modification, like lengthening a skirt a bit, or pulling up the neckline, or just adding pants. 

The Joker cosplay took a while to put together,
but I love it!

2. Dress as a male character (or as a female version of the male character)

When I had my pixie cut, I found that dressing up as male characters worked better for me. It was easier, and compared to female outfits, most male outfits are fairly modest. (It was also fun to see how much I could make myself look like a guy.) 

If you don't feel comfortable with cross-dressing, just do a female version of that character. (like a female Jack Harkness, or a female Han Solo.) I've dressed up as Mario and Ash Ketchum, I've done female versions of the Joker and Samwise Gamgee, and I'm currently working on the Blue Spirit costume from Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

3. Look for older/newer versions of characters for different costume options. 

This probably applies more to superheroes and comic book characters, since there are so many different versions of them. But if a particular character you want to dress as has a revealing outfit, check out an older or newer version of them. The chances are the different costumes may have something less revealing. 

A good example of this one is Scarlet Witch. The comic version of her has a pretty revealing outfit, but the MCU version of her outfit is actually fairly modest and doable. 

My ninja turtle cosplay! And my brother. :) 

4. Dress up as a nonhuman character

This may sound weird, but there are plenty of nonhuman characters you could dress up as. (Like Pokemon, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Yoshi, etc.) With these characters, you would usually end up with a full body costume, so modesty isn't much of an issue.

The downside is many of these costumes can be bulkier or harder to put together. So if you do decide to do a nonhuman cosplay, be prepared to put a lot of time into it.

5. Do a character from a book

With book characters, you have more leeway with costumes. The trick/challenge is making the character recognizable enough. Props tend to help, and getting other friends involved to dress up as other characters can help it be more recognizable. Plus, it's fun to do group cosplays!

I don't have a lot of experience cosplaying book characters, but if you have a specific character in mind, look them up on Google. Chances are other cosplayers have come up with their own versions of the character, and it may give you some ideas. 

Cosplay examples

Having trouble deciding on who to dress up as? Here are a few lists of cosplays to get you inspired. 

Modest cosplays that require little to no modification

• Any Lord of the Rings characters (Arwen has some beautiful dresses)

  

  My first attempt at cosplay was Harley Quinn!

• Disney Princesses (Cinderella, Belle, Mulan, Tiana, and Aurora have some great outfits.)
• Harley Quinn (her original outfit from Batman the Animated Series) 
• Maria Hill from The Avengers (though she may not be that recognizable on her own)
• Black Widow from MCU
• Scarlet Witch from MCU
• CatWoman from The Dark Knight Rises
• Raven from Teen Titans (The animated version. Add pants/leggings if you don't feel comfortable wearing just a leotard and tights.)
• Chihiro from Spirited Away
• Zelda, or Sheik from The Legend of Zelda (Both outfits are pretty intricate, just a warning) 
• Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle
• Kim Possible from Kim Possible (just do a full black shirt instead of a crop top) 
• Katanna from Suicide Squad (the movie, just do a full shirt instead of cropping it.)
• Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Suki from Avatar: The Last Airbender (her Kyoshi warrior outfit would be pretty cool to do.)
• Pretty much any girl from Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Batgirl from the Batman: The Animated Series
• Rey or Leia from Star Wars
• Mabel from Gravity Falls
• Princess Peach or Daisy from Mario Bros
• Lady Siff from Thor
• Sakura or Hinata from Naruto
• Any Power Ranger

 Male cosplays you could do female versions 

• Any of the Doctors from Doctor Who

  

  My hobbit cosplay. I know I'm not looking at
  the weeping angels, so I'm very dead. 

• Captain Jack Sparrow
• Any of the dwarves from The Hobbit
• Any elf or hobbit from The Lord of The Rings
• The Joker
• Batman
• Mario or Luigi (a group cosplay is fun with these characters!) 
• Any of the Jedi (just do basic Jedi robes and a lightsaber) 
• Zuko, Aang, or Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Captain America (or any of the Avengers) 
• Deadpool
• Ash Ketchum from Pokemon
• Any male character from Naruto
• Dipper from Gravity Falls
• Haku from Spirited Away
• Howl from Howl's Moving Castle (that one would be pretty fun, actually) 

We felt this moment was too good to pass up. Jurassic Yoshi!

Nonhuman cosplays 

• Any of the Transformers (these ones are pretty intricate and crazy)
• Pikachu from Pokemon (or any pokemon, really)
• Any of the ponies from My Little Pony
• Yoshi from Mario Bros
• ShyGuys from Mario Bros
• Zombies from any zombie game/movie/comic
• Bill from Gravity Falls
• Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle (not sure how you'd do that one, but you could get creative)
• No Face from Spirited Away

So there you have it. Remember, the trick in cosplay is to just have fun with your outfit. So get out there, get creative, and maybe I'll see you at Comic-Con!