A Cosplayer’s Guide to Online Costume Shops
Want to cosplay a specific character but it’s either A.) too time consuming and detailed to have done in time or B.) you just don’t know how the heck to make it? Look no further than at some of these trusted cosplay shops that I have had experience shopping from.
Sometimes I find it more cost effective and less stressful to order cosplay online. In some cases I’ll use it as a base to build on or I’ve had some arrive perfect and needing no additional alterations. Below are the ones I’ve had good experiences with and order from frequently when they have a costume I want to try out.
Pro Cosplay
https://www.procosplay.com
ProCosplay is one of many online retailers who offer high quality costumes and the option to have the costume tailored to your size. ProCosplay is known by many cosplayers to offer some of the best super hero costumes on the market. I have purchased two costumes from them: Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel costume and was not disappointed.
Located in China, shipping took around 2 weeks to arrive in the US. I worked with their customer support to provide measurements to have the costumes custom made to me. Being in China, I would receive emails late into the night as while I am asleep, they're awake and working. I wanted to mention this as many people leave bad reviews regarding their customer service and don't take into account that they are not located in the US. So emailing them does take almost 24 hours due to the time deference.
ProCosplay offers a wide assortment of costumes from film to television and gaming that you're bound to find something there to fit your needs.
I do highly recommend paying the extra money to have the costume custom made to your measurements as, being from China, the sizes can be off. I will note though that on the Doctor Strange costume I ordered, I still had to take the costume in a bit more and the pants didn't fit me. This was due to this costume being made to fit men sizing when I am a women. The Captain Marvel on the other hand fit me like a glove.
Online and all over social media, you can find examples of costumes ProCosplay offers. If you're on Facebook, you can check out their ProCosplay Fans Facebook group where people can discuss and leave reviews about their purchases on the website.
Here's a quick summary:
Pros:
High quality costumes
Affordable prices for quality
Great community presence
Responds to emails in a timely manner
Offers custom sizing
Fast shipping given it's from China
Cons:
Depending on your body type, some costumes may not fit right even with custom sizing
MicCostumes
https://www.miccostumes.com
A quick search on Amazon for cosplay and you may have already stumbled upon this shop by accident. MicCostumes is known for having good quality and affordable costumes. And with them having an Amazon store front, their costumes are some of the easiest to get ahold of when you are on a time crunch.
Many of the costumes from MicCostumes are made from spandex or 2 to 4 way stretch material making their costumes a bit plus size friendly as compared to other Chines based costume shops. As a curvy girl, I always struggle to find costumes that fit my bust and waist. And many of these Chines based companies with their sizing and stiff material choice force me to go up to 3XL and then heavily alter the costume to fit me. But since MicCostume uses so much stretch fabric in their costumes, I can order the size closest to my measurements and have it fit correctly.
Though you’ll find a good selection on Amazon, if you check their actual retail store, you’ll find a larger selection of costumes.
One thing I do like with this company is they do partner with independent artist to offer unique takes on characters. For example, along with the regular versions of, let’s say, the characters from Demon Slayer, they also have swim wear, winter, lingerie, and pajama versions of those character costumes designed by the artist they work with. So if you’re looking at cosplaying a character but with a twist and is affordable, defiantly check out the fun crazy collaboration costumes they have.
Do note that if you do order from their retail store and not Amazon, give yourself at max around 2 months for shipping. I’ve had most of my costumes alive in less than a month to the States. But in some cases such as around Halloween time, it can take up to 2 months to arrive due to demand from the holiday season.
Here's a quick summary:
Pros:
Amazon Shop
Comfortable and stretchy material
Extremely affordable options
Cons:
Stock varies due to popularity
Slow shipping due to location in China
DokiDoki Cosplay
https://dokidokicos.com
DokiDoki Cosplay is a unique cosplay shop in that they offer high quality costumes for cosplayers at an affordable price. Unlike most costume or cosplay shops that have a large inventory of costumes at your disposal, DokiDoki only carries costumes of current/more popular series and characters at the time. This allows them to focus on the quality of the products over quantity. So if you see a costume you want from DokiDoki, you may want to grab it sooner rather then later as they may no longer carry it by the time you decide to buy.
Based in China, shipping from DokiDoki was surprisingly quick given that I placed my order during Chinese New Years and in the middle of the covid pandemic. From China to the US took 2 weeks and that was with the cheapest and slowest shipping option. (Though it is worth mentioning that it sat at my local post office for another 2 weeks thanks to covid. But if things were normal it would've arrived on time.) Tracking was a bit odd as it was done through the CNE Express app called Shop. But this could also be accessed through the web with the help of Google Translator.
DokiDoki does a phenomenal job with supplying cosplayers in the community samples of their costumes to show you 1.) they are a real company and 2.) to show you the quality of their costumes. That was how I stumbled upon this shop as I was looking online for Demon Slayer costume reviews and found them through a sponsored video.
From wigs to shoes to full costumes, DokiDoki is truly a one stop shop for cosplayers looking for high quality costumes at an affordable price.
As mentioned earlier, DokiDoki only carries popular series and character costumes as to focus on the quality. Many of the same costumes come in different quality levels. According to DokiDoki's website, costumes can come in 3 levels:
R - a costume made from basic materials and minimal accessories
SR - a costume made from higher quality materials than an R and is more detailed
SSR - the highest quality costume they provide made from the most expensive fabrics and usually comes with all accessories needed to complete the look
Quality also affects price as an R costume will run you $30 while a SSR can run anywhere from $80 to $130.
A huge key point that is most likely the reason some people don't order from DokiDoki is the sizing. Being from China, the costume sizes can be very off. Many of the costumes I looked at purchasing I just barley fit into what they consider to be an XL based on their size chart. Where I am from, their XL would be a M in the US. So if you're like me and are a lady with a lot of curves and sporting DDs, these costumes sadly may not fit you. Some I have been able to get away with as the costume was made from a stretch material like spandex. But others I couldn't get into and sadly had to be sent back.
Here's a quick summary:
Pros:
High quality costumes
Affordable prices for quality
Great community presence
Showcases their products through promotional cosplayers
Fast shipping given it's from China
Cons:
Only makes costumes for popular characters/series
Sizing is in Chinese and only goes to an XL which is a US M
Uwowo Cosplay
https://uwowocosplay.com
This is a cosplay shop I wish I could shop from more often as their cosplay is extremely high quality and made well, But due to their limited sizing options and me being on the curvy side, pretty much nothing from this site fits me. BUT! Since so many of my friends that can fit into their costumes have such great experiences with this shop it is worth bringing up if in case you find that you fit their size chart.
Also based in China, Uwowo specializes in high quality costumes. But in order to keep up with this quality, this costume shop will only produce certain costumes for a period of time before discontinuing it to make room for newer ones. For example, back when I was hunting for a 2B costume from Neir, this was one of the shops to pop up for me. I was so excited to have stumbled upon Uwowo as the reviews were amazing and the shop themselves uploads videos of the costumes being worn so you know exactly what you’re getting. But to my misfortune, I had just missed the window to order and the 2B costume was no longer available. So something to keep in mind if you find yourself shopping from here. If you see it and it’s in stock, get it because it may disappear forever.
***UPDATE ON SIZING*** When I last purchased from this store back in 2018, the largest size they went up to was a L, and in some cases an XL. But since then they have added a Plus Size Cosplay section to their site with costumes available up to sizes XXXL. Definitely like that they are listening to their customers and making cosplay more accessible to other body sizes.
Here's a quick summary:
Pros:
Probably the best costumes on the market for quality
Price is extremely fair for the quality you receive
Great community presence
Showcases their products through promotional cosplayers
Have begun to offer larger costume sizes
Cons:
Only makes costumes for popular characters/series
Though now they offer some costumes in Plus Sizing, it’s not available on all costumes (mostly just the popular ones)