A Guide To Formal Wear For The Discerning Cosplay Ball-Goer
Image heaviness - image-free!

Welcome to my guide to what counts as formal wear for the AmeCon Cosplay Ball. Please remember that
this is only intended to be a very rough guide, meant to give you springboards off to your own ideas. If you
want to use one of the examples from this page as your costume, then that's awesome, but do bear in mind
that many people will be looking at this guide and possibly thinking the same as you - "hey, I should totally
do that one costume that's on the guide". ;) I'm just going to cover the very basic guidelines you should stick
to when choosing your outfit, then I'm going to throw out examples in six different categories. So that should
be more than enough to get you started on making your plans. :D And remember! It doesn't have to be
cosplay! It just has to be ball-appropriate! And it doesn't necessarily have to be anime either! Many of my
random examples actually aren't from anime, so if you've always fancied perhaps cosplaying 'Lord Of The
Rings' or similar, or maybe even designing your own outfit, then please please do! (I know I certainly won't
be wearing anything found in any anime myself. XD)

Basic formal guidelines - for girls

  • no jeans, no t-shirts, no casual clothing.
  • clothing should be clean and well-presented.
  • armour is not considered appropriate.
  • above the waist - bare midriffs are unlikely to be
    considered appropriate. Bare shoulders, however,
    should be fine.
  • below the waist - skirts should be long and/or dressy.
    Trousers are fine, but should also be dressy.
  • feet - NO TRAINERS.
  • if not attending in cosplay, please wear what you
    would wear to a formal dance. This would generally
    be something like a nice dress. ^_^

Basic formal guidelines - for guys

  • no jeans, no t-shirts, no casual clothing.
  • clothing should be clean and well-presented.
  • armour is not considered appropriate.
  • above the waist - bare chests are unlikely to be
    considered appropriate. Open shirts may be fine,
    depending on the rest of the outfit.
  • below the waist - trousers should be dressy. Kilts
    may be worn, but preferably not traditionally. ;)
  • feet - NO TRAINERS.
  • if not attending in cosplay, please wear what you
    would wear to a formal dance. This would generally
    be something like a smart suit. ^_^

And now for the examples! I have six categories here, and ten examples within each category. Obviously,
there are many more costumes out there than the ones on this page, so don't feel limited by these examples!
They're just here to help people who genuinely have no idea what to wear. :)
(Please excuse the cheesy blurbs, btw. It's quite late at night right now. XD)

"Then you may take me to the ball..."

The most obvious place to start when looking for an outfit to wear to a ball is to see what characters
have worn to balls in anime and games before you. After all, what is more appropriate ball-wear than
a ball-gown?

Examples:
Rinoa - Final Fantasy VIII
Caska - Berserk
Deedlit - Record Of Lodoss War
Haru - The Cat Returns
Sarah - Labyrinth
Harry - Harry Potter
Hermione - Harry Potter
Ron - Harry Potter
Cho - Harry Potter
Krum - Harry Potter

Military Chic

They call them dress uniforms for a reason. When a military officer needs to show rank while
simultaneously dressing appropriately for a swanky evening out, then there can be no other
choice but their uniform!

Examples:
Squall - Final Fantasy VIII
Quistis - Final Fantasy VIII
Roy - Full Metal Alchemist
Sophia - Last Exile
Kaji - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Lady Une - Gundam Wing
Treize - Gundam Wing
Relena - Gundam Wing
Zechs - Gundam Wing
Noin - Gundam Wing

Kings and Queens and Coronations

It is probably not possible to get any more formal than royalty. And not just the clothing that
the royals themselves wear either, everyone gets dressed up for a coronation. So why not
dress like a king? Or at least dress like you're going to a coronation?

Examples:
Aragorn - Lord Of The Rings
Eowyn - Lord Of The Rings
Theoden - Lord Of The Rings
Arwen - Lord Of The Rings
Legolas - Lord Of The Rings
Peter - Chronicles Of Narnia
Susan - Chronicles Of Narnia
Princess Serenity - Sailor Moon
Relena - Gundam Wing
Garnet - Final Fantasy IX

Performing Arts

Any performer knows that how you dress is half the show. And the way some performers
dress, it can often be a lot more than half. Check out these examples to see what I mean!

Examples:
Celes - Final Fantasy VI
Julia - Final Fantasy VIII
Phantom - Phantom Of The Opera
Christine - Phantom Of The Opera
Brooklyn - Brooklyn: The Musical
Klaha - Malice Mizer
Nao - Kagrra
Mana - Malice Mizer
Dada - Velvet Eden
Kami - Malice Mizer

Mind, Body and Spirit

Never overlook the spiritual side of things when it comes to dressing up. In their long,
flowing priest/priestess/goddess/angel/other robes, these guys can often be more
appropriately-dressed for a ball than you'd ever realise.

Examples:
Yuna - Final Fantasy X
Seymour - Final Fantasy X
Belldandy - Oh My Goddess
Subaru - X/1999
Hinoto - X/1999
Umi - Magic Knight Rayearth
Suzaku no Miko - Fushigi Yugi
Priest - Ragnarok Online
Misha - Pita-Ten
Rein - Sailor Moon

A Smart Miscellany

Some outfits just don't fit into any category, but that doesn't stop them being great ideas for
ball outfits. Evening gowns, suits, miscellaneous; they all fit into this category!

Examples:
Aerith - Final Fantasy VII
Rufus - Final Fantasy VII
Aya - Parasite Eve
Tseng - Final Fantasy VII
Tifa - Final Fantasy VII
Anthy - Revolutionary Girl Utena
Haydee - Gankutsuou
Tuxedo Mask - Sailor Moon
Eowyn - Lord Of The Rings
Arwen - Lord Of The Rings