Costumes - Not Just for Kids

Yesterday was Halloween. My family and I were uncertain about how many trick-or-treaters we would have at our door, as the numbers have been seriously declining over the years. I like to track this sort of data. The first year I counted was 2012 and we had 135 people. In 2014, we had 98 trick-or-treaters. In 2015 we had 121 visitors. In 2016 we had 95. In 2017, we had 90. In 2018, we had 84. In 2019, we had 36 and last year we had none. However, it's not the candy that makes Halloween special for me; it's the costumes.

If you know me, you know I adore costumes. I updated my costume database and I discovered I own 218 costumes. I enjoy dressing up so much that I typically wear two costumes to school when it's October 31 (or the day closest). This year, I was a fly in the morning and some sort of duck/chicken/pelican/bird in the afternoon.

By the way, I made the bird beak mask and it actually moves when I talk. Thank you @ShannieMakes on Facebook and Instagram for the great pattern and tutorial. 

I try to use costumes on more than just a single day a year. I like to make and wear costumes for conventions, and if I can incorporate a costume into a conference presentation, then I do it. (Doug Peterson can attest to this. I've lost count of how many costumes I've worn to ECOO and OLA. I brought an entire suitcase of costumes when I went to AASL.) 

I mentioned my love for costumes in the last of the lecture series that AML produced for Third Age Learning Guelph. It was a very short talk, so I didn't get to explain about why exactly I like costumes and cosplay as much as I do, so this blog will be an opportunity for me to elaborate.

Mental Health - Empowerment

In this article from Inverse, studies suggest a fascinating hypothesis:

These findings suggest even superficial exposure to superheroes might impact our desire to help others. So what happens when we ramp up superhero associations?

Our physicality can impact our behaviour. The subtitle of the article says it succinctly: superhero cosplay (can) make you a better person. When you adopt a heroic persona, you are more confident and act more altruistically and heroically.

This article from Quartz talks about dress-up more in the sense of formal vs casual wear, but it still suggests that our clothes influence how we act, and "dressing up makes people feel and seem more powerful and impacts their thinking and speech".

I'm a pretty extroverted person in a family of introverts. When we cosplay together, I notice my eldest can strike up conversations with strangers, accept compliments more, and speak up and out. It increases her confidence, as this blog associated with Rowan University asserts.

(This photo was taken by Kirill Kovaldin, a photographer. His website is www.alfaprophoto.com)

Creative Outlet and Coping Mechanism

Dressing up allows me to be creative. I love designing outfits, either by sewing fabric or searching thrift stores for clothes that match. 

I located lots of articles that focus on the benefits of children wearing costumes (such as this one from Sigikid or this one from The Genius of Play or this one from Healthline). In these examples, they talk about imagination and expanding communication skills.  Imaginative expression boosts problem-solving and self-regulation. 

These rewards are kid-focused and one needs to refine search keywords to replace "costumes" with "cosplay" for more adult-focused results. That Rowan University article from above suggests that people can relate to the characters they cosplay and can learn from their struggles. A recent York University article on the subject mentions the fulfillment that comes from expressing oneself in a way that is socially acceptable, yet pushes boundaries. 

Other great articles that extol the virtues of cosplaying include this one from BiNews, this one from Trans4Mind, and this one from NPR. 

(This is last year's school Halloween costume - I was a squid.)

(This is a costume my daughter sewed - it's Ralsei from Deltarune.)

There are many other reasons or benefits to using costumes, as this thread from Cosplay.Com shows. I wrote that media experiences such as wearing costumes makes me feel

• powerful
• seen
• creative
• connected

Cosplaying and costume-wearing needs to be done with adequate considerations (no "cultures as costumes" or blackface attempts, please) but when done appropriately and with forethought, creating and wearing costumes can be fun and rewarding for many.