Japanese Gothic Costumes (& other related frillies) Gallery - Page 18
As with many youth subcultures, a person usually has to conform to certain rules before they can truly be considered a true Japanese gothic. The rules and fashion faux pas' differentiate between the Japanese and Western cultures, but the penalty for breaking them can be harsh and excluding in both cultures. In the west, online communities have appeared that exist specifically to point out where people have misunderstood the fashion. The general consensus is that the fashion represents luxury, beauty and time taken over one's appearance, and so when people use the style as fancy dress, or wear cheap, revealing outfits (one of the main rules of this style is modesty) they often end up being criticised on these communities. Many western gothic fashions have ventured into Japan's gothic look, combining revealing clothes with white lace and ruffled skirts, but these attempts are almost always rejected by those who frequently dress in the fashion. Most will either buy from Japan or make their own clothes, and as a self proclaimed Japanese gothic would tell you: "cheap lace and frills does not equal Japanese gothic".
Cosplay is a popular hobby of teen-aged girls in Japan, and is also prominent amongst anime fans worldwide. Sometimes, cosplays can be very good; with a well-crafted, well-fitting costume that looks like its original reference.
Such cosplays often require hours of hard work, and considerable seing talent.
Other times, cosplays can be horrendous; especially when fat, balding, middle-aged men decide to cosplay as Sailor Moon, or when a costume really doesn't fit the wearer.
Cosplay is mostly used by Anime and Comic fans that like to dress up as their favorite characters and go to conventions or other themed events. The costumes are usually home made and will include all the accessories the characters has (weapons, luggage, pets, etc) . Strangely, it’s not uncommon to see Males dress up as female characters and Females dress up like Male characters.