Unfortunately anon, cosplay elitism definitely exists - elitism and rude attitudes exist in society in general. It sucks but, there will always be people who need to view themselves above others and there will always be people who are unnecessarily rude. The reason some people get into cosplay sometimes is just purely for their own gratification. However it is something I strongly don’t agree with. Most cosplayers don’t have an elitist agenda; I cosplay because I’m a nerd and it’s fun for me, and all my friends are the same. Sure sometimes they get a bit of spotlight on their costumes and that’s rewarding, but it’s NOT what consumes them or why they cosplay.

I used to be friends with a girl who literally sat around and just picked apart every cosplayer who was cosplaying the same thing as she did. She would get so RIDICULOUS and petty about just reassuring herself she was the best that she really only seemed to have fun cosplaying when someone was patting her ass. I don’t think that’s an admirable trait, and I’m glad to say my friends now aren’t that way. It’s a shame because she was a great cosplayer, but an attitude like that can ruin it. 

Getting good feedback on a costume is really nice, especially because of the hard work you went through, but that shouldn’t be what drives you to cosplay and that DOES NOT give you the right to bash others or put them below you. Being proud of your own work doesn’t make you an elitist but being rude and mean DOES. So yes, while there are elitist attitudes out there it is definitely not the majority, there are tons of cosplayers who even when given attention aren’t assholes and still actually are just nerds having fun.

The only thing you can do is just cosplay and do what you want and not give a shit about others’ negative views. You can’t please everyone, not everyone is nice, but those people don’t matter. 

No we didn’t set up anything with the store we just went on our own with our photographer. Since it’s a personal project rather than anything commercial/buisness and also since Dylan’s is a very touristy place the store didn’t mind when we where there. Plus I feel like we behaved very well. The staff was actually really nice to us and wanted pictures with us themselves. 

We made sure to go right when they opened to try and avoid some crowds because we didn’t want to block traffic in the store. But in general, even when it got kinda filled, our photographer is extremely professional and so was able to take quick shots so we didn’t stay posed for long. Most of our shoot actually was on their top floor, which was emptier while we were there, where they have a dessert bar. We just took over a cupcake booth and corner and enjoyed snacks/ice cream while shooting along the booth/wall area. We were paying customers who didn’t get in the way at all so it worked out fine. Little kids actually wanted pictures with us and one staff joked, “Wow can we hire you guys as mascots or something this is great”. 
Overall definitely one of my favorite shoots to be a part of haha

Ah yes my giveaway is over! I should have made a post sorry! I’ve contacted the winner and am waiting to hear back! I will make a text post I guess confirming when it’s settled/confirmed!

Thanks again everyone for being awesome followers!