This is my concept outfit! | My personal views on concept outfits and my outfit for the Ultra Expo

Have you ever heard the term "concept outfit"?

To put it simply, it's fashion inspired by a specific character.

Since cosplay aims to become the character itself, it feels like copying everything from the costume to the hairstyle, but my personal view is that a concept outfit doesn't involve wearing the character's actual costume, but rather aiming for a vibe that feels like them.

I wrote "personal view" because everyone has such different ideas about concept outfits, which often leads to online arguments. I feel like this has been happening a lot lately.
I like watching cosplay and I like concept outfits too, so I don't want either of them to become a source of conflict...

If I may share my own thoughts, cosplay is about "recreating" your favorite character, while concept outfits are not.

In cosplay, you study as much as possible to look like your favorite character in order to recreate them.
That's why you wear a wig, change your makeup from your usual style, and of course, wear the same costume as the character.

When I see cosplayers, I can feel how much they study to recreate their favorite character, and it really comes across that they love them so much.It's love, isn't it?

On the other hand, for a concept outfit, you might incorporate your favorite character's member color into part of your fashion, or put together an outfit with a similar vibe to what they wore.
But I think the key is that at first glance, it looks like normal fashion.

Personally, what I find interesting about concept outfits is that the outfit shows where everyone finds the "essence" of their favorite character.

Whether it's the character's image color, whether they are cute or cool, or a specific style like Japanese, Western, or Chinese, there are many elements, and how you incorporate them is up to each individual.

It's also fun to imagine at events, "I wonder if they coordinated this based on that character?"
That kind of shared understanding among people who like the same things, a sort of insider feeling, might be what makes it interesting.

Now, I'd like to introduce the Ultra Heroes EXPO outfit of the author who has been rambling on here.

First, the one from when I went last month.

Since it's an Ultraman event, I thought about going with Ultraman colors, but I couldn't quite pull off red and silver, so I went with red and white.
The bag I used as the silver element is from 3COINS. I love 3COINS.

And today's outfit.

Pretending that the tricolor scheme is retro-cute, but personally, I'm very much conscious of Zero (lol).

But I feel like I put together something quite cute, regardless of Zero. I like it.

When it comes to concept outfits, it relies heavily on personal perception, so it can be quite difficult to judge.

However, you are not allowed to walk around in cosplay without permission, and the cosplay culture has been protected by following those rules. That is why, within the community, people get quite sensitive even if someone is just wearing an outfit that others might mistake for cosplay, regardless of whether the person themselves calls it a 'concept outfit'.
(This isn't limited to cosplay; otaku culture is quite like that in general.)

These days, otaku have finally gained some social standing and are having fun, so it makes me sad—as someone who has been a closet otaku for many years—to think that this kind of accumulation of controversies will make life difficult for otaku again...

I hope we can enjoy both fashion and being an otaku.

I will share my thoughts on the second half of the Ultraman Festival I attended today at a later date.
It was incredibly fun, so I want to write about it soon!

[Update]
I have also written my thoughts on the second half. Please check it out.