Cosplayer’s Survival Kit

It’s not uncommon for something to go wrong while wearing a costume. The trick is learning how to handle it with what you have on you. I’ve worn a range of costumes from armor to body paint and they all require a few basic principles when out and about. If your character has a bag of some sort as part of their costume, you’re in luck. For the rest of us who have to make do with our pockets or utility belts, it can be a bit harder.

The Empire didn’t exactly issue your average backpacks to the clones, so when it comes to my armor costume, I have to rely on someone else to carry my emergency supplies. In this case, I get the individual sized super glue packs at the Dollar Store and I pre-cut some duct tape in the color of my armor. That’s really all you can do when you have a hard plastic build. Zip ties are great to keep on hand as well and are Empire approved.

If your build has some soft parts where you can store a few necessities, here is what I suggest you keep on you.

My personal favorite emergency kit item is an emergency sewing kit I found at the Dollar Store. It’s just small enough to fit into my Batgirl pouch, but large enough to hold everything listed below, with some room to spare. The clear bag makes it easy to check your supplies quickly.

A few things I added to this kit are:

– Hand sanitizer to keep the con crud away
– A contact lens case filled with paint for touch ups (get one that screws shut)
– Cotton balls (for applying paint)
– Small comb (you want to look your best in the paid photo ops don’t you?)
– Needle and thread in the color of your soft parts
– Pre-cut duct tape in the color of your costume (next to C4, it’s the most useful stuff on the planet)
– The individual use size super glue (your local dollar store should sell something like this).
– Rewetting drops / spare set of contacts
– Chapstick

When it comes to snacks, I like to keep beef jerky, gum, and small candy that won’t melt. It’s not much, but when you’re hungry and the lunch line is an hour long, it will make a difference in your stomach.

For hydration, I’ve discovered that the squeeze and go apple sauce packets double as disposable water bottles. Freeze a couple apple sauce packets the night before and store them in your pockets the day of the convention. Once you eat the apple sauce, fill it up with water from the water fountain and you have a nice little stash to keep you from dehydrating.

Do you have a go-to item for costuming emergencies? Share it with us in the comments. We’d love some ideas on what to add to ours.