Missed Halloween? Round Two! Cosplay!

As a fashion buff would say, “One day you’re in, the next day you’re out.”

Shelby Day knows this as she steps onto a floor surrounded by thousands of people looking at her outfit, snapping photos as she walks by.

Only, her floor isn’t a New York runway. Instead, it’s a convention center in Hampton Roads, and her outfit is a costume of Nia, a character from the Japanese anime series “Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann.”

Day, a fashion design major, is just one of many young Americans who have embraced the Japanese cosplay culture.

“It’s dressing up as your favorite character from movies, books, video games, anything,” she says.

This sub-culture spawned from Japanese animation – commonly referred to as anime – and video games.

The name cosplay is short for costume play. The trend started in Japan when fans of anime movies and video games attended conventions dressed as their favorite characters.

As the popularity of anime, video games and Japanese culture rose with American youth, cosplay became a part of the American convention scene.

Virginia hosted two conventions in October, which Day attended to show off her latest labors.

The costumes worn by the cosplayers require months of work and can be expensive.

Day’s most recent costume, a replica of Dante, the main character from the popular “Devil May Cry” video game series, took months to complete.

“It was the costume from hell,” she said.

The reason the costumes take so much time, she says, is the attention to detail that is required to impress those at conventions.

“People might dress up in something they may look bad in,” she said. “(People) judge you on how well it’s made, how innovative it is and how much you look like the character.”

Day’s work has not gone unrecognized. She was featured in Anime Food Magazine and has earned the title of intermediate cosplay designer.

“I need to win two more competitions to move to master,” she said.

The idea of cosplay supposedly started in Tokyo around the Harajuku train station. The true origin of the craft is debated, but Harajuku is commonly credited with its inception.

The Harajuku style is akin to costume design, and cosplay was born from this odd fashion movement. Inspired by anime, and eventually video games and other media, fans began to craft costumes that were identical to those of the characters they enjoyed.

Some of these costumes include vampires, robots, soldiers, knights and other mythical creatures.

“Think of it as Halloween but not a costume bought at Kmart,” Day said. “The costumes are extremely intricate; they are almost like works of art.”

In addition to having to make a cosplay outfit that resembles the character, a cosplayer must also look the part.

Internet sites such as 4chan, which devote a whole section to cosplay, are notorious for ridiculing people whose outfits are poorly done.

“I always pick someone I can physically and emotionally pull off,” Day said. “I once saw my picture online and people were saying I wasn’t skinny enough to be that character.”

Some might consider this a harsh criticism because she is not over weight.

Day sees these sites as constructive criticism rather than Internet flaming.

“You can look at the comments and see what you could do better, or how you could have changed the costume,” she said.

To some, the idea of dressing up as a video game character would seem childish or immature, but for a cosplayer, it’s all part of the experience.

“It definitely is a fashion,” Conley said. “If it’s not ‘chic’ or popular in France, then they don’t call it fashion, but I believe (cosplay) is.”

The atmosphere of a convention is similar to that of a fashion runway show. The attendees are models, and as they pass one another, they snap photos of eye-catching costumes. The photos are then shared online with millions of cosplay fans. Some cosplayers have become famous for their costumes.

“People at the local conventions know me,” said Day. “I’m just doing it for myself though.”

While some may use cosplay to attain Internet celebrity status, for many it’s just a hobby. Conley, Day and Woodard enjoy cosplay as a social event, a way to bond with friends.

“In real life (my friends and I) have a bond, so we dress up as characters that have a bond,” Day said.

Woodard and Conley, who are dating, have used their relationship as a creative tool in choosing their cosplay costumes.

“We dressed up as Tifa and Cloud from Final Fantasy VII,” Conley said. The two characters are part of a love triangle throughout the video game.

Despite the hard work required and the stigma of participating in a “geeky” hobby, Day’s love of cosplay remains strong.

“I hope when I am 30, I am still doing cosplay,” she said.