Some days, you have to channel your inner Wonder Woman. Or Batman.
You can, of course, do this without changing a thing about your external appearance, but sometimes dressing the part helps.
Enter casual cosplay.
When you cosplay, you want people to know you’re dressing as a character, and ideally people recognize it. Anyone who has done cosplay at a sci-fi convention knows the thrill of someone shouting out your character’s name, or asking to take your picture because you did a great job with your costume.
If you are an adult doing casual cosplay as you go about your daily life, you don’t want to look like you’re wearing a costume. I don’t want a coworker to know I’ve gone to work as Sherlock unless I let them in on my secret. When I indulge in casual cosplay, it’s just for me.
I have four casual cosplay outfits I’ve worn at work, and, no, I won’t tell you what they are. Some days I wear them because I’m feeling playful. Some days I wear them because I want to feel powerful. Some days I wear them because I feel like I have nothing else to wear! I’ve also worn superhero socks under my trousers, my nerdy little secret, but I have the most fun with my clothes when I arrive at work dressed as one of my fictional heroes.
If you’re the sort of person who can put together fabulous outfits with ease, you may already have some ideas about how you could casually cosplay a character. If you, like me, are a little less skilled in the fashion department, you can find all sorts of inspiration on the Internet if you search for “casual cosplay,” “everyday cosplay,” or “closet cosplay.” You can throw in a character’s name if you have someone specific in mind. You’ll find a lot of far-from-subtle outfits, but some people put together wonderful cosplays that capture the essence of a character perfectly without looking costume-y. It helps if you pick the right character. It’s hard to cosplay Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service without looking exactly like her. On the other hand, many Pokemon are easy to cosplay in secret, probably because they aren’t human. Unfortunately I don’t really feel the need to express my inner Bulbasaur.
There are bloggers who specialize is casual cosplay ideas. The Nerdy Girlie is one of the best; she does cosplays on everything from Doctor Who to the Harry Potter series.
There are also some good articles on the subject. Jada Young put together some of the best work-focused cosplays on the Internet. I especially like her Deadpool and Loki outfits. Geek and Sundry has an article with some Force Awakens cosplays that are beautifully subtle.
This week, I challenge you to get creative and think of a way to secretly dress as someone else for a day. You may enjoy it so much that you’ll make it a permanent part of your work wardrobe!