Some of them could be good... Maybe something simple like a Dragonball Z gi, that's hard to mess up.

But I'd watch out because most of them are made cheaply yet overpriced. If I wanted to buy a pre-made costume I'd find one from someone on Etsy who'd take commissions and has pictures of their work, or find a cosplayer online selling their old costumes (with photoshoots of the actual costume.) Attention to detail is important to me.

Personally I think most of the fun of cosplaying is making the actual costume And then being surrounded by others at a con, admiring their awesome cosplays and knowing how talented they are to have made it!

I think it depends on the skill of the person as well - I'm pretty good with foam builds but my fabric skills are pretty crap - that said I can sew and usually have a go before I go ahead and have something commissioned.

Weighing up the worth of it is the big thing like people have already said - you can spend a lot on a costume which you leave open to someone elses interpretation on what you are asking for so you take that risk on board as well.

So long as you credit your commission to the people who made it I think that is the biggest thing to me - taking credit for someone elses work is not on and I think you'll get just as much respect for a well thought out and accessorised costume that someone else has made for one that you made completely by yourself if you're open and honest about it.

I guess the flipside of this is that my umbrella costume was probably 70% shop purchased (and by which I mean scoured teh Earth for - those trousers are hard to come by!) but put together thereafter, compared to an iron man costume there's little construction invovled and then even less so with say an attack on titan titan morph suit - again it's horses for courses I think.

But when you're all together - nothing matters!

I commissioned someone to do my first big cosplay costume, and I got lucky that they did a wonderful job with it. It was pricey, but well worth it on the value side. On the other hand, I didn't feel nearly as accomplished, since all I was doing was wearing it. Even though my current costume I'm working on won't be as well made, I already feel good about what I've managed to accomplish, through a lot of stumbling and fumbling.

That said, while I have a lot more respect for the folks who can craft their own costumes, I don't look down on the folks who buy theirs either. Like somebody told me, a good costume takes one of three things: time, skill, or money.

I have nothing against people who buy their costumes. I just know that I feel pride in people appreciating my work. There is alot of elitism not only in cosplay, but also in the nerd/geek world at the moment.

This makes sense. I had actually considered buying a costume a few years ago because I am, by no means, a craftsman. I adore and admire those who do their own and I don't think less of someone who buys their costumes. It's for fun and the love of a character. The courage just to do it had always been admirable to me.

I would like to create my own though, purely for the pride of doing so and learning something new.

There are some awesome cosplayers on there. Hope it turns out well!
I've considered buying a dark Phoenix costume, myself, as I do not trust myself with stretchy material and have zero sowing knowledge

As long as you commission from a reputable person and you are happy with the costume and feel great in it, all is good! Even some of the most talented cosplayers I know commission things from time to time. For instance, maybe you are good at props but you suck at sewing or the other way around? Cosplay is about showing your passion for something. Whether that passion is the character, the craft itself or both doesn't really matter. It's different from one person to the next. For instance I know a guy locally who commissions a lot and spends thousands of dollars per costume. Spending the amount of money he does, no one can say that his love for cosplaying is any less than someone who makes their own.


That all said, if you plan on commissioning and you want a top notch costume, do your research and be prepared to fork out some cash. If you don't have a lot of cash, there are some other creative options as well. For instance, I have two girlfriends (they are a couple actually) who put together costumes from mostly thrifted items. It's pretty amazing what they can put together, it's a skill all of it's own.

tl;dr

Love what you do, do what you love. Have fun. Don't be concerned about others. It's your hobby, no one can tell you how to enjoy your hobbies.