I didn't start cosplaying until I got into college. I don't know how they'd feel aobut it now, other than me spending money I could be investing for the future.

My mother was actually very supportive of me until she found out how expensive it can get. Cue me having to get a job and pay for all my own supplies leading to a few years of delayed and/or shitty cosplays.

However, I talked her into a budget, and then she payed for half until I moved out.

When I first started a few years ago (in high school), my parents thought I was trippin' balls. Because I was a noob, and didn't know what I was doing, I wasted/ruined materials, bought fabric I never used, etc.
I won them over when they finally saw the finished product of all that work, though. Now my mom brings home random materials/props and cool fabrics from thrift stores that she thinks I can use. I have even given her a reference picture so she can keep an eye out for find certain parts of costumes. Win

>>3895821
wtf?

Your parents help you pay for your hobbies?
Is this normal in cosplay? Is that why it's such a messed up fandom? Everyone is an overgrown spoiled child?

They were like wtf at first.
Then they realized I was buying a bunch of tools and realized they could get me to fix stuff.

When I finish a prop, I see a sweet ass sword handle I had to make out of wood. They see it as I have the skills to replace a bit of the wooden trim on the floors. We all win, they sometimes buy me a power tool that'll help them get something fix (Like a miter saw).

As for costumes, they just let me know that they support me and really wish I'd make regular clothes sometimes. Which isn't a bad idea really.

>>3895824
Half. I was in high school at the time anyways.

And yes, it's VERY normal. Ask almost all of the teens at conventions. Their parents pay for at least parts of it if not all. And if they don't, you can tell because the fabrics they use are usually awful in comparison to someone with more money.

I'm out of college now, and this was in the late 90's anyways when I was still in school. So it's not like I'm a 25 YO manchild (or womanchild in my case) living in my moms basement. I'm actually a successful adult.

Ever since I moved back in with my mom, it's been "SAVE YOUR MONEY SO YOU CAN USE IT WHEN YOU NEED IT". I've BEEN doing that. My cosplaying powerlevel is low, since she only seldom sits there and watches me sew and doesn't know how much I could spend on a costume, no matter how cheap. She just gets on my ass for flying to another state (California) for a convention. When I came home from Youma, she yelled at me as if she was disappointed I spent money and had fun, despite it being in the same state we live in thus was far cheaper.

Mum always thought it was pretty nifty because she loves to sew and used to make my Halloween costumes when I was little, but she had her reservations until I said I'd pay for all my stuff, and didn't expect her to pay for anything. She thinks it's real neat-o and helps me make things since I'm sewing derp, and occassionally will bring home something for a costume I said I needed, like brown leggings. I'm trying to convince her to cosplay something at least once, but it's not working. Boo.
Dad thinks it's nifty, and mostly uses it as an excuse to show me off more. |:

My mom wtf'ed when I told her me and my sister were going to cosplay 'two male cartoon characters who we assume are in love.' lol

Now she thinks it's awesome, and supports it.

My dad is an over controlling asshole who used to take the money I earned from my job out of my account if he didn't think I was spending it properly. Cosplay counted as not spending it properly. His excuse to have linked accounts at first was so he could easily pay me back for school supplies, but then he started abusing it. Feels good to be in college where he can't tell what I'm spending money on.

Now maybe I can actually finish a cosplay for once.

My parents didn't really care. I even managed to get my mom to go to "Geek Con" (as she so affectionately put it) one year. Her thoughts are, "Well, its better than you doing drugs."

My Mum put a photocopy of my Belle costume up on the wall. She also has the booklet from the barbican workshop and a flyer from the cosplay ball put up on the cabinet. She's not very good with words my Mum, but I can tell she's proud. .. :)

She's also quite observant. She found a book of the clow in a toy store once and got it for me, lol.

Not all parents are useless! Being able to make costumes is actually quite an impressive skill to the average person afterall. I think we take it for granted way too much here.

My parents have never really cared about me cosplaying, but unlike everyone else I know, they've never contributed ANY money for me to buy costume supplies or attend conventions, I've always paid for everything 100% myself and made it all myself :/ I wish they'd help xD

My dad is kinda derp with cosplay. I will be wearing a suit and he'll say "hey, you look really sharp in that! Awesome!" or my Org XIII coat and he'll say "You look really good in that. Your hair looks nice. Look at those contacts!"

My mom on the other hand is really cool. She helps me with sewing a lot and she watches all the anime we get the costumes from. Her favourite anime is Samurai Deeper Kyo, even though I tell her it's not that good. She also enjoyed Sengoku Basara(Fave character = Shingen lol) and Weiss Kreuz. She also loves Spirited Away like any mother. She plays Monster Hunter Tri online and must have clocked over 400 hours in it so far. Also used to play a ton of Starcraft, Phantasy Star Online GCN(lvl 150 offline only), Animal Crossing, and Mario Kart 64.

Sorry. I love talking about my mom because I am pretty proud of her. I had to run to a friend's house once during the final boss battle of PSO and I handed her the controller and she beat it for me while I was gone. I love her, lol

My family supports it. I'm not harming anyone, I travel all over the country, and I'm doing something I love.

My mom likes helping out, especially if I have a shit ton of accessories to make. She always asks me if I need help when I tell her I'm working on something. She's always been crafty herself, so it's a sort of bonding experience when I go to her place and we build accessories for my cosplay together.

I'm an adult. Doesn't matter what they think, nor do I care.

I think they're mostly just relieved I'm not making them watch anime with me anymore.

/lonely only child

My mum's used to be a seamstress, so she loves helping and buying em random patterns... Pisses her off when I spend a lot of money on stuff though.

My dad's fine with it, though isn't impressed with some of the female characters I do... He'd much rather me crossplay to 'stop horny boys staring'. he doesn't give a shit about how much I spend, given that it's all my own money from my job.

Grandparents love the costumes I'm make, and think it's lovely that i know how to sew. I don't think they're so keen on the crossplay side of things but meh. Haven't told them how much it costs...

All in all, my immediate family are awesome and supportive! :D

My mom likes it. She's completely unable to sew, but her mother was a seamstress, so she likes watching me sew. She doesn't like coming to fabric stores, though, because I get anal about finding the best fabric and spend well over an hour comparing things that look the same to her. She bought me a nice sewing machine for my eighteenth birthday.

My dad thinks it's a bit weird, but he prefers it to me being a binge-drinking party animal like he was when he was young. He and my paternal grandmother went 50/50 on a dressform for me one Christmas.

My stepmother dislikes it, but she hates me to begin with. Last con I went to, she asked me "Aren't you too old for dress-up?" When I told her most of the attendees were in their early-to-mid twenties (I was 18 at the time), it changed to "Aren't you too young?" She bitches about anything I spend money on, though. STFU, I have a job. (She also bitches about the cost of my tuition. I attend school on loans. She doesn't contribute anything to my tuition payment.)

My paternal grandmother likes it. I'm including her, since I lived with her through most of high school and that's when I got into cosplaying. She was a seamstress and still sews all her clothes. She taught me how to sew. She doesn't quite understand the motivation behind it, but she's impressed by the craftsmanship and the detail.

My parents call them 'weirdo conventions'. And they laugh at me.

Good to know my parents are grounded in normal society XD

Still if I ask either of them they'll help out with making things, and Mum'll offer on her own sometimes. Although she's kind of paranoid about it all turning into some kind of porn/fetish disaster...

If only you knew, Mum. You are so never coming to a convention.

One of my very first cosplay excursions was a terrible, terrible costume with one of my friends, who was also in a terrible costume.
We went to the mall with my parents, in cosplay for no fucking reason and walked around for about an hour being catcalled and made fun of, because we were the only cosplayers there.
My parents were pretty embarrassed, but when we were in the parking lot afterward and my super-alpha dad told me that he never would've had the balls to do that.
They're not exactly proud of it, but they do admire my tenacity.

My family has always been into costuming, and it was my cousin's fault that I got into anime anyway.
So it seemed like a logical jump to get into cosplay.
Mom keeps asking for photos of 'your cute little friends and you dressed up in those cute costumes!' to show her coworkers. I will never understand this.

My dad is pretty proud of it and is really happy when the character I'm cosplaying has a big prop because he's like YES I'LL DEFINITELY HELP... Not that you need me to but yeah... I'll help.
And he goes on business trips a bunch and goes out looking at stores and then comes back and tells me that he saw a store with the figures that looked like that one cosplay I wore that time but he didn't remember what she looked like so he didn't get one, but tells me where the store is so if I go there I can check it out.
He's pretty cute for an old dude sometimes. I'm pretty sure he just goes out of his way to look for figurines I want. He also usually picks out my fabric because I'm pretty terrible at it.
My mum is pretty happy/proud with it too and is absolutely amazing at finding good patterns. She also watches Vocaloid videos sometimes if I tell her about one that I like. She also looooooves my wigs and thinks the costumes are "adorable". She watched the whole of Kyouran Kazoko Nikki with me.

My parents are used to me being a huge nerd so they didn't ask too many questions. Mom likes to see pictures of my costumes, mostly I think she likes that I'm getting out of the house and being productive. She's also willing to help me with sewing, since she has more experience than I do, especially with following patterns.

I'm surprised that she never asked why I bought a breast binder, though. That's usually something a parent would be concerned about, but she's chilled out as fuck about almost everything.

My parents disowned me over cosplay. :|
oh well, catholics. whatcha gonna do.

I was 'unusual' growing up, so it wasn't unexpected or weird of me to start cosplaying.

At first my Dad thought it was really bizarre/waste of time, but he's blatantly told me it's better than alcohol/drugs/etc so I suppose he approves. He just doesn't like to be around the costumes, just likes seeing me doing something.

My mom thinks its neat that I'm sewing and likes seeing what I make, but aside from that my parents don't really acknowledge my costumes aside from thinking it's cool that I can make crazy outfits and giant props.

I'd never tell them how much I've spent on my costumes. I know they wouldn't take it well, at all. My mom has been known to pick cheap fabric for me, just because it was cheap, but I couldn't imagine her views on $20-$60/yrd materials.

My dad likes it since I like doing golden and silver age /co/splays. My mom likes it because I'm not doing crack.

>>3897731

I completely forgot. >>3897707 reminded me of the first and only time I've crossplayed. My parents freaked out because they thought that I wanted to cut off my breasts and become a man. It's was kind of funny at the time that they panicked that much, but it kind of makes me sad that they're that close-minded about that sort of thing.

>>3897723
Same, the first time I cosplayed my mother told me to stop, and when I confronted her and said it was a hobby I'd like to keep up she said it was "demonic and unhealthy" and also called me "unhinged".

After a lot of persistance I managed to get my parents to understand it isn't pure escapism, just a nice way for me to do something creative and get some fun and recognition out of it for once, instead of things I make just sitting in a cupboard.

I remember the first time I sewed a dress from scratch at home and my mum went "Wow, so you actually can sew"... And also the first time she saw a photo of me in cosplay through facebook and went "I guess that's pretty well made..." Felt good man.

Now it's accepted, but still a taboo subject. Luckily I live away from home, but I would never mention it or do anything cosplay related while at my parent's.

I was raised by my grandparents and they're cool with it. They don't entirely understand it beyond the fact that it's a costume but they put pictures of me up all over the place and always ask for pictures so they can show people.

My mom (technically grandma but I call her mom) would probably like to see me cosplay girls more often. She just doesn't understand why I want to crossplay and she glares at my compression vest.

My mom got me into it- I was one of those 'awww kid in cosplay' kids in the 90s. She promptly left the scene to have three more kids and I was just kind of stuck with her obsession. Now she thinks it's cool, but she's kind of weeaboo-ish, and I've long-since given up trying to explain things to her. She's in the SCA and has been trying to sew for years and is super impressed that in less than a year, I became better than her at it.

My stepdad... doesn't really give a shit. He watched Gurren Lagann with me (he's the one that made *me* watch it, really), and liked the idea of me cosplaying Viral, but that was about it.


Now, the parents I currently live with are a bit weird. They're in the 'as long as it's not drugs' brigade, but my stepmom also worries about fetishists, creepy guys, raves (which I tell her don't really exist), and drugs at cons. If she only knew, right? She thinks it's weird and just sort of endures it.

She also thinks that my crossplaying is a mad dash into transgenderism and refuses to see me as anything other than a FtM lesbian (...straight person? I don't know the proper term). But whatever.

My dad cracks a joke about dead animals (my wigs), decapitated heads (my wig heads), and how much they freak him out when he first walks in my room. I don't think he's ever looked at a single one of my pictures, but that's okay.

Uh... my aunt thinks I'm pretty mad talented, and she's been really cool with letting me use her sewing machine and crashing at her house to do last minute costumes. And my grandma just thinks it's cool that I started caring about my appearance.

Ah first my parents kept saying that it wasn't normal and used to always have a go at me and try to get me to not go to events.

Eventually they got over themselves because I was going to cosplay wether they liked it or not.

I do wonder what would happen of they saw how much I spend :D ...

My mom's cool with it, I think she's hoping that if I go to enough cons eventually I'll find a girlfriend (thinks I'm gonna be FOREVER ALONE and is probably right). She works in a building right across the street from the WSCTC where Sakura-con is held, and one year I visited her office in cosplay, she introduced me to her boss.

My stepdad doesn't have any problem with cosplay, I think he gets a little weirded out by the wigs but offers to help with stuff and saves things he thinks I might be able to use for making props/armor/whatever.

My mother is slightly ashamed, but she always makes herself feel better by saying "Well, better a friday night spent with a bunch of geeks than at some party getting high"

...Ironic.

My parents have actually helped me with costumes before, my dad gets a bit annoyed at how much money I spend on my expensive hobbies, (cosplaying something from 40k means not only do I cosplay, I also play 40k, two expensive things in one) but hey I'm working for the money.

>>3897827
I think the general area is so used to Sakuracon by now...
My mom drives the community transit buses that go through that area, and she, year after year, has to explain to new drivers that NO, these people are not dangerous, and NO, that is probably not a real gun.

I never got the "well at least you're not out partying and getting hammered in bars" line cause uh, I do that one too, lol.

I did get the "stop spending money. Also don't try and make this you'll screw it up entirely, get a shirt that looks close enough" line. Thanks for the support guys! They 'got it' more afterwards though.

Mom is cool with it, helps me with some props too.

My parents work at a hotel where the local con is held, so, uh, yeah. They're cool with it. They think it's geeky but they respect all the cosplayers who put effort into it.

>>3897723
I'd actually like to hear the long version of this story, if it ain't too painful to tell. My extended family isn't hardcore Catholic but those of us who are older and/or live in the midwest tend majorly towards conservativism, so I know the attitude and I'm curious on the take.

That SUCKS though!

>>3897886
Haha, sure. It's not terribly interesting though.

I was about 14-15 when I started cosplaying and it first all I did was conservative and closet cosplays, and I never told my parents. They knew that I was into an anime, and got really mad whenever it was mentioned and checked my history constantly to see if I was watching it online [of course, I did private browsing though] My sister knew, and disapproved a lot, but she helped me sew and helped keep it quiet. I actually went to my first con by sneaking away from church camp, lol. They freaked out when the found out, but I just said I had gone to see some friends. That got me banned from all electronics and they refused to let me see anyone outside of my family.
After that cooled down about a year later, I'd finally decided to man up and tell them about cosplaying and how I wanted to go to a big anime con a couple hours drive away. I even showed them my cosplay [Miranda from D.Gray-Man, so modest as fuck] and well, they flipped out. I remember my dad screaming at me and my mom calling me 'devil child' and 'betrayer of christ' etc etc. But eventually, with promises of attending church nightly and praying for hours and a whole bunch of repenting bullshit, they let me go. And, well, I got kinda cocky. In a moment of stupid teenage rebellion I decided last minute to cosplay Misty, and it was thrown together on the way there. I never thought they'd find out. Well, pictures were taken and they did, and they told me to leave the house and never come back. Never seen 'em again although I see my sister sometimes since she moved out.

I'm living with my boyfriend atm, and his family have pretty much adopted me like a daughter and they're all nerdy too so it's okay :D

My mom helps out a lot (With the sewing and the funding, so.) She also goes with me every year to AI to keep track of me. Ironically, the second year I went with strangers. (Best experience.) The third year wasn't so great, but I knew mom was trying to care.

Though I get the feeling August just turns into (THAT TIME OF THE YEAR). She did complain when she had to pay for 60 dollars worth of fleece for a coat though, which I understand.
I really need a job.

And dad really doesn't care about anything I do.
Whatever.
/wishing it weren't true.

>>3897918

That sucks if it's true.

Also - your parents are NOT sane people.

My mother alternates between being proud of me, telling me I've "wasted" my talents or outright being a hardcore bitch that complains about everything from my finances (I fund all my own cosplays) to fabric choice and why don't I use my sewing machine anymore.

Since being unemployed I've had to not make anymore new costumes, and my goal is to move the fuck out as soon as I'm gainfully employed again. I really can't take her bipolar, control freak shit anymore and I have no where to even put my damn sewing machine ever since she allowed my deadbeat asshole of a brother to move back home and use the sewing room as his crashpad.

>>3897918

I want to shake your parents.

My mom was an original Trekkie and traveled to Japan and China a lot when she was my age so she's pretty nerd-tastic. She's very crafty and helps a lot for m costumes. My dad gets grumpy but helps me out with big props.

My parents question why I spend so much money on them, but ultimately love that I have something I'm interested in that works as a "marketable" skill. My mom loves that I'm learning girly things like sewing and knitting and my dad jokes that I finally have traits that make me easier to marry off. My mom loves to look at my wigs and go through my sewing patterns and old fabrics, stuff like that.

My sister's think I'm a raging dorkfaggot, but they have me make them dresses sometimes or fix their clothes, and my younger sister lets me dress up my nephew and bring him to the local con I staff one day a year, so it's not like they HATE it, they just see it as another nerdy thing I do like liking Star Trek and collecting action figures. No harm no foul.

>>3898022
I'll hold them, and you punch.

>>3897866
Hah, that's cool. Yeah people pretty much seem to take the con in stride for the most part.

i told them- its this or drugs

In high school I wasn't allowed to get a job, parents wanted me to focus more on school. So, they paid for the costumes and con entrance fees and with the babysitting money that I saved, I paid for everything else.

Once I got into college, I was expected to pay for everything on my own. And I have been. Of course, this means I'm pickier with my fabrics and my costumes run a little more on the expensive side. But, I prefer doing everything myself.

My parents care about my happiness, but there's also three other kids to think about on their part. My Mom enjoys me telling her about my costumes and watching me sew. My Dad always asks if I'm being responsible with my money. It's nice to have the support, but know they won't try and be overbearing with it.

Dad is totally chill with it.

Mom gets mad at me for procrastinating, even though it doesn't effect her.

She also flips out every time I get a new wig.

I buy my own shit, life is good.

My mom said it was okay as long as I didnt turn into a Trekkie.

'you gonna be doctah when you older, not louce costume makah!" louce, meaning 'lousy'. i love my asian family and their strong accents.

my mum wants me to STUDY 100%, and my Dad thinks wearing dresses at knee-height is showing too much. "Why you want get a boyfren, you too young" I'm 18. "you get married to spencah, he a good boy" somebody I've never met who my Dad is set on me getting together with, through a friend of his at work...

So yeah, they pest me all the time and do not want me cosplaying.

My parents are still thinking I'm a weirdo, but my mother taught me how to sew, and about fabrics and stuff. I have my own job and my own money so that is not a problem.

>>3898516
Wow, your life could totally be a sitcom. Write it and make a profit!

My parents hate that I take my daughter to cons with me and my boyfriend. she's three and loooves going, we make her little outfits too sometimes. we've taken her three times now, but we're young parents so my parents are still involved and still worry.

they secretly love her outfits and such. and it's such a big thing to go to cons in the UK now that it's almost not so 'strange' for us to be going, a lot of/almost all of our friends go too :) so the grandparents are getting used to it!

Mom complains that it's stressing me out, that it has no purpose, etc. And then I wear the thing and she forgets all about it and tells all her friends.

So. IDK, pretty chill for the most part, so long as I pay for it myself.

My parents think I'm nerdy as hell, but on the whole I guess they're cool with it.

My dad likes to get a rise out of me by comparing cosplay to being a furry. It shouldn't work, but it does, every time.

It was kind of a weird situation for me. When I got into cosplay, I was already an adult (25) but had moved back in with the family after the factory that I worked at shut down.

So I started going to thrift stores and looking at the discount fabric at the fabric stores. Took me a full year after that, to get a decent looking costume together.

1st con I went to, I had such a good time and didn't want to leave that I drove home in costume. They didn't talk to me or acknowledge that I existed for a week.

Now, it's still kind of a touchy subject (for some reason) but for the most part we get along. All they care about is that I made it there and back ok, and that I had a good time and I get spared the stupid questions about what goes on at a con.

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