All Aboard the Cosplay Bandwagon!--With Mango Sirene

Manga Sirene tells it like it is. I know when I first started costuming it was pretty lonely in rural VA in the late 90s. I agree with her about 95%....except for: "It is not a beauty pageant or popularity contest"-- I would like this NOT to be true but unfortunately it seems these days, that with professional models getting into it, it has become this. HOWEVER there is something much more important about having "band wagon cosplays" which is...

 THE FANDOM MATING CALL! When you're not in costume, how do you find out if someone could maybe be your friend? You don't know if you have anything in common right? Not when you're in costume! Wearing a costume is holding up a big sign saying "this is one of my interests/favorite shows/favorite characters, be my friend!" Yes that's right, your costume can be your ice breaker TO MAKE FRIENDS OMG! This is how I met two of my very best friends, from wearing steampunk costumes and joining a steampunk costuming group. This is great for us shy people. When you walk up to someone in a costume you know that you (should....unless they're a professional model in a costume they didn't make and have no idea what it is..learn from my fail) have something to talk about! This has rarely failed.

 There's also what Uncle Yo calls the mating call which is yelling "I love [insert your fav fandom]" in a crowd or in a line. IN theory other fans would yell "Yep!" like in an auction. You can also (sometimes...) use this to see the AGE Of someone. This isn't always the case, but you can probably guess that someone wearing a costume from the 80s-90s is probably close to their 30s, or has a friend that age or...may have a parent that age. Either way, most likely they are over 18. This helps me when I'm at a con because I honestly have no idea what kids under 20 are into but I"m learning thanks to my students.