1st time at a convention (and new)

Heya eveyrone, totally new to the world of conventions and such but been watching anime for almost 10 years now. I went to my 1st convention this weekend in London and I'm just amazed at all the outfits I saw. I'm now thinking how on earth am I going to make a halfway decent one for my next visit! I hope to meet more of you wonderfully friendly people!

Welcome to MO. I just got back from my third con last weekend. Don't worry about it making the best cosplay out there just give it your best shot and have fun being looking like a character from a anime you think is cool. If you see someone who has a cosplay outfit on just ask them what it's made of and how they made it or if if they know of any websites that can help you learn some of the how to's. The people I met at cons seemed pretty friendly about helping others out with that.

Welcome :) Just start by watching youtube video, usually the most recognisable cosplayers will make step by steps showing how they made theirs. Once you do a few, you'll start taking the information and putting it into your own. Or go the easy route and buy from eBay or other online shops. The quality and appearance is usually amazing on eBay. Etsy is a really good site also hosting products made to high spec but for the quality it also comes with a hefty price. I'd recommend just getting clothes that look similar to what the person you want to cosplay as looks like then altering and adding materials to them to achieve the look. I say it's not about perfection but really about uniqueness of your portrayal to the character :D

Thanks for the welcome and the advice :) I think I shall be spending a lot more time on shopping now than I used to :P