In 2050 people will be cosplaying shit from 2050.
Or older stuff for nostalgia.

Fuck are you retarded?
Or do you just not comprehend that stuff will continue exist?
Or do you honestly think this generation invented cosplaying?

if dragon con and other conventions are any indication, they won't give a fuck and will do it anyway

>>5333682
Not OP, but the current generation really popularized cosplay and reinvented it to mean something to the wider society other than campy Star Trek jumpsuits.

>>5333691
>popularized
>reinvtented
>still didn't invent
I suppose next you're going to tell me that Steampunk is new too, right?

I think there are a lot more of the "older" cosplayers out there than most people realize! I myself am well into my 30's and I'm still very active in cosplay. I've talked to a lot of others who are my around my age and still cosplay too. We just aren't very open about our ages because of the drama it seems to cause:( I'm not brave enough to self post, but those who know me are always very surprised to learn my age. I think it all boils down to what you can pull off, image wise that is:) Not everyone looks their age:)

Seems like your real question is:

Will old people dress like teenage characters?

The short answer is yes. There is a tendency for these costumes to worn as satires (think of Man-Faye but without the public decency concerns).


The answer for your actual question of what will happen to the current generation of aging cosplayers; there are two popular choices.

The first choice is that they give up cosplay. Cosplay takes more time and energy than most working adults are willing to put into a hobby. Also, some people "outgrow" cosplay and look back on their cosplay years as a phase. It seems that outgrowing cosplay happens to girls more than boys. I could write a term paper on why I think that happens. My evidence is that I've been going to cons for over 10 years, and I see the same guys in cosplay year after year. There have been a lot of girls that have dropped off the map. There are quite a number of girls that I knew from the con scene back in the early 2000s who have said they've otgrown their phase. There was one girl who was such a weeaboo (5 years of college to learn japanese; the year she dyed her hair bright pink) and now she's the manager of a Foot Locker or something like that.

The second choice is to keep with it and go for super-detailed costumes or "joke" costumes (much like the guy in your picture). We could suppose that after dressing up for 10 years, you get really good at costuming or you start to take yourself less seriously. Many of the guys I've seen stick around have costumes of both types.

Ive seen this come up a few times and I've always considered it myself.

I'm pretty sure I'll grow out of it, at least for me hobbies come and go pretty regularly, I've been on the cosplay train since what, 08 was my first year I think. So it doesnt feel too long in the scheme of things, but to me thats a good chunk of time so far. And I realize my tastes starting to change a bit, I've always favored style over character and yeah a lot of styles I like are worn by younger characters but as I grow older my style preference changes too and I'm sure it will evolve more.

Our generation didnt invent cosplay by a long shot, but you cant deny it hit a really big boom in the last 5 to 10 years, and it's still growing. Idols will grow older and fade and new ones will take their place, that's really how it goes in most generes. I dont see how cosplays going to be too different.

I'm sure plenty of people will do it into their older years, and there are currently older cosplayers, they are just fewer in numbers in comparison to the younger crowd.

I know quiet a few people who have gotten into this conversation with me. To me the question always holds up into a bit of sadness. Like I was as a kid, I didnt really want to grow up all that much. I did and I'm happy with who I am now, but like wise I still dread the day I'm older and I feel a bit of remorse when I start to think I'm not going to e able to pull off the characters out fits I really enjoy as I grow with each year. But I guess the point isnt to dwell on whats going to happen but enjoy it now. Cosplay those younger characters while you can and enjoy it to the fullest, this isnt to say older cosplayers cant cosplay younger characters it just gets harder and harder to pull off well as time passes.

>>5333333

Don't mind me

>those wrinkles around your eyes that creep in once you hit your 20s

Wait, what? You have either been tanning or smoking way too much.

>>5334935
Er, no, lots of people get little wrinkles around their eyes when they hit their 20s. I don't know many people without them unless they're asian.

>>5334935
>implying genetics has nothing to do with it

Everyone has wrinkles around their eyes, the more mature you get, the more defined or saggy they become and that's why people start to notice.
If I wear undereye concealer I have to put a skin primer on first otherwise the wrinkles under my eye will crease the makeup.

We had this conversation at Ikkicon. We pointed to old guy cosplaying the best master Roshi ever and said we would be cosplaying characters like that when we get old.

>>5335296
As a 23 year old white male, I can tell you that I do not have wrinkles around my eyes.

>>5335345
And I'm willing to bet you do.
Post good def close-ups of your eye regions or gtfo.

>>5335345
I'm 24 and I got carded to by a rated-M game. My brother is 31 and still has a baby face. I'm not bragging, I just feel like it's compensation for us not finishing puberty until our 3 year of undergrad.

Also chiming in to say that most cosplayers, even very well-known ones, are older than you think. I'm 30, and all of my very active cosplayer friends are also in their late 20s and early 30s. We all cosplay appropriately, often doing older anime characters and a lot of comic and sci-fi cosplay. As the shortest and youngest looking of the bunch, I still tend to do younger characters because I'm usually asked. I don't think it's too weird, at least I hope not. It's not like any of us actually act in-character.

I've always fantasized about being an old lady and cosplaying Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle or Prof. Mcgonagall from Harry Potter. Not very realistic but hey, it might happen.

I'd say once I hit mid 30s I'll probably have kids, maybe they will be into cosplay. In which case, it wouldn't be too odd for me and my kid to do a cosplay. I could take whatever crafting skill I'd have at that time and focus it onto my kid, and hopefully they'll like cosplay from experience or something (Without me forcing it on them of course!)

Looking back at 2004 cosplays to the cosplays now, you see an increase in skill. Judging from the past I'd like to assume that cosplay can only get better in the future. I do think our grandkids will look back and laugh at us, but I also think that if cosplay is going to get a lot better than what's normal for us, then cosplayers in the future will look back at us and laugh too.

Who knows, maybe in 20 years we'll be planning an elderly cosplay group or something! Haha!

>But age wont be a problem for me because I will spend eternity looking 12.

Pic not related by the way.

>>5335348
23 year olds don't have wrinkles dumbass. How fucking old are you? :/

>>5335348
Sure is underaged and uneducated in here.

I'm 26 and just today someone thought I wasn't a day over 18. So yeah. We're older than you think.

I just figure once I get to a point where my age becomes obvious, I'll stick to costumes with masks and such that totally cover my face. Which is actually fine and dandy because I usually prefer prop building and generally appreciate those sorts of characters' costumes more anyway.

It depends on how you age. Like for instance Yaya has aged poorly but Miyu's looks have improved with age. It's about genetics and how well you take care of yourself.

>>5335833

eh, I'm 22 and I'm starting to get little ones around my eyes.

white folk age fast, generally

>>5336302

oh, I don't smoke and I have been passionately against tanning since I was a teen. eh.

I'm 24 and I don't have any wrinkles, really. Even my mother who's 45 only have a few fine lines.
Does it really depend so much on genetics? I can understand white people usually having thinner skin aging a bit faster, but is there really such a big difference within the white ethnicity?
I've always thought it was a matter of living healthy and staying out of the sun.

>>5336467
It's what other races say to make themselves feel better. Sour grapes, you know?

>>5336467

genetics are really strong; for instance my mom has always been thin and able to eat whatever she wants, even now and she's like 54.

I'm the same way, gaining weight is really hard for me even when I try. my mom and I have the same waist measurement even- 26 inches.

I also act a lot like my dad and I wasn't raised around him at all. go figure.

No age barrier can defeat this cosplayer. Not even the god of death.

Considering my propensity to cosplay as live action characters who really men in their mid to late 30's with a great deal more crows feet and laugh lines than I currently have, I think I'll do fine once those lines start showing up..

>>5333680
They become the creepers of the future.

What a cool grandpa, I love Ruri. I would observe his mannerisms from a distance to judge whether or not he is mentally deficient or perverted and if not I would strike up a conversation with him.

I'm starting to "outgrow" cosplay, I guess - I'm 23 and I have bills and responsibilities that keep me from a hobby that takes a considerable amount of time and disposable income to participate in. I still like the idea of cosplaying, but there are more important things to deal with as a young adult.

Also, I live in Florida, and everyone here knows that Florida is infamous for a disproportionate amount of young, immature con-goers. I feel old at conventions.

I don't think I'll ever stop altogether, I still like to build replica props occasionally, but more for display than cosplay.