A lot of people have been asking me where I get my cosplay stuff, and it’s a pain to answer them all individually, so I’m writing a journal on it >D<
First up:
Wigs
Ummm, over the past few months of me being a serious cosplayer, I have accumulated a number of wigs >3<
I buy most of my wigs from ebay, they have some really amazing, good quality & cheap wigs on there. I don’t think I’d survive being a cosplayer without ebay c’:
My L wig, I bought ages and ages ago, from a one off shop on ebay that I haven’t used since. Not for any particular reason, I just found loads more cheaper and better ones */and I can’t remember which shop ><*

My crappy, really short pink Sakura wig, I doubt any of you want to know about, but I got it from Claire’s Accessories for £7, and I only got it because *ninja-kittycat really wanted to do a photoshoot, and I didn’t have a wig */none of us even had cosplay, or proper wigs, so the photos were crappy, but good memories :3*
My Light/Reiichiro/Sora wig, I got from a party shop because I needed it in a hurry and didn’t have much money
But it is quite good quality for how much I paid, it was only £8 plus £4 postage, and it came in like, 3 days
I can’t find the shop name for that either, sorry But it was just one of those online UK party shops, you’re way better off using ebay

My Near/Hunny wig, Sakura, & Natsuo I got from: [link] a shop called wigfashion on ebay, and that is by far the best supplier I’ve found. Even though they ship from Hong Kong, the delivery is really fast, it only usually takes about a week and a half for me
Their wigs are really amazing, they do every colour and length you can think of, and their prices are absolutely insane *in a good way * They range from about £15-£25, none of them are more expensive than that, I don’t think. They do really long, short, choppy, layered, bangs, straight, curly everything. But they don’t sell really spiky wigs *like Sora from kingdom hearts for example* but they do a HUGE range of colours and styles. That’s the shop I would recommend most, and they are the best I’ve found

I really recently bought a wig for Kaoru from Ouran/Ichigo from bleach, and it’s from a very popular wig shop on ebay, Cosplay Wig: [link]
Everybody that has used them recommends them, and they are apparently a really amazing wig shop. The wig I got is really good quality, but their wigs are quite expensive. Mine was about £20, but many of them aren’t much cheaper than that, and the really long ones range up to about £50. They do customized character wigs that are already styled, and some of those aren’t too expensive actually. Obviously, the really long wigs tend to be more expensive, and they also do clip on ponytails, pigtails, etc etc. They are really good quality, and styled very well, so if you’re looking for a very good quality, particular wig, then that would be a very good place to go c’:
I had a few issues with getting my wig, because it didn’t come for a month after it was supposed to, but there were a few postal strike going on, and I haven’t used that shop before, so I’m not going to judge them on their shipping times

My Ritsuka + Seimei Aoyagi/Tasuku/Shinobu wig, I bought from Jennifer cosplay on ebay: [link]
It is a very good quality wig, but the wigs at that shop are quite expensive. That shop is really good, they mostly do cosplays and props, but it is really expensive. They are good quality though, so it’s worth a look~

Props
The cosplays I’ve done don’t really use props, Sora has a keyblade, but I don’t actually have one
But ~dudeeitsclairebear does, she bought it from MCM last May, I always borrow hers
The shop that I got my Ritsuka wig from is good for props, but they are really expensive. Most props I use are just lollipops, or sweets, or a parasol. You can get Chinese parasols from Chinatown, or really cheap on ebay for like £5
For a lot of the pairings we do, me and *ninja-kittycat use my long handcuffs, they are really simple to make. I bought some metal handcuffs from amazon.com *don’t get plastic, or they just snap* and then bought a long chain from homebase, and attatched the extra chain to the cuffs c’:
One of the most popular cosplay props people need are cat ears & tails, those are really easy to come by. I buy mine from this shop on ebay: [link]
They were only about £5, and they sell other props there too like paws, and necklaces and stuff
If you need different coloured ears, then you should buy white ones and dye them, because it’s really hard to come across ones the right colour, or they’re bloody expensive =w=
I haven’t done many cosplays that need proper props, but when I do I’ll do another journal and give you guys some good shops
One of the best & most useful props you can get is fake blood it’s about £2 from your local party shop, and you can use it for just about anything XD

Cosplay Costumes
Some of my cosplays are just closet cosplays, you can just get cheap stuff from charity shops & when they’re all put together, it makes a cosplay, Ritsuka Aoyagi for example.
But for most cosplays, they require an actual costume~
For me, I do prefer making cosplays, because I like the fulfilment you get when someone compliments you on something you made all on your own, and I’m just quite a hands-on sort of person. It feels nicer when you’ve made it yourself, but the problem for me is, I’m not very good at sewing yet
For an amateur costume maker, like myself, until you’ve developed your skills, I’d suggest this:
For someone like Sora from KH II, or someone with quite a complicated outfit, it’s much easier to buy it, and you have a grantee that it won’t be messed up *providing you buy from the right person *
But for someone like Sakura Haruno, you could probably make yourself, because it’s quite simple.
What I do is, if it’s cheaper to make, and it’s not overly complicated, then I’ll make it, but if it’s really difficult and expensive to make, then I’ll buy it :3

The problem with buying cosplays is that you’re not 100% sure that it will fit you right. It’s better if, like most shops on ebay, you can give them your measurements, and they custom make it for you. And most ones that don’t custom make, give the sizing chart, and you should always look at that before buying *0*

This is a really awesome cosplay shop: [link]
Their cosplays are about half the price of what they are in Tokyotoys or something, and they’re just as good quality c’: I got my Sakura dress from there, and *ninja-kittycat and ~dudeeitsclairebear have both bought a few cosplays from there. They ship quite fast, and they do up to really large and small sizes too :3
They don’t do every single cosplay, but they do have quite a big range, but sometimes it takes the piss when they have one costume from an anime, and not the other one *AHEM LENALEE AHEM*
They also sell some props and a few wigs on there too, check it out >D<

So far, I’ve only actually bought about three or four costumes, the rest of them have all been made, or other parts of costumes put together, but these shops look quite good on ebay, they have good prices, and a wide range of stock, so have a look c’:
[link] *this is the shop I got my Ritsuka wig from* They sell loads of awesome props, and shoes but they are quite expensive, but the cosplays they sell aren’t too badly priced, they’re about what most people charge, but they have a really wide range
[link]3686 that shop is quite strange, it sells all sorts of non-anime stuff, but the cosplays they sell there are well priced, and they have a really cheap Yuki-cross cosplay
[link] That wig shop is AMAZING! The wigs are a little pricey, but lots of them are really cheap, and they’re supposed to be really good quality, they look absolutely amazing! I must buy one from there….
[link] That’s a really awesome shop that *ninja-kittycat told me about, they don’t sell costumes, but they do commissions, and they have really cool t-shirts, you really should look

If you don’t want to make a cosplay, but it’s really expensive to buy, try being imaginative first. For instance, Ouran HSHC, you could just get a blue blazer, and iron on a patch from ebay, that’ll save you tonnes of money.
And also, try party shops too, they usually have really snazzy costumes, and for good prices~
Try charity shops too, they always have awesome stuff that you can use for cosplay

Contact Lenses
I’m not actually allowed to wear contacts until I’m 18 [/darn paranoid mother ><] so I can’t really be much use in that department, but before you sue contact lenses, ALWAYS get your eyes checked first. And if you’re under 16, you can get it done for free, so you might as well. You could have serious problems if you wear contacts without getting a check, so don’t risk it and get them checked.
I have heard this is a good place to get good quality lenses from: [link]

So, If I find anywhere better for cosplay, wigs etc then I’ll put up another journal, I hope I was of some help!
If there’s anything else you want to ask me, then feel free, and I’m always happy to help c’:
[/I hope I didn’t ramble too much >/////<]
Happy cosplaying!~