If you step back and look at the big picture, you’ll see costumes reach across the cultures of the world. We wear them for occasions such as Halloween, we make replicas of outfits worn by our favorite characters in pop culture and cosplay, and we wear them because of tradition and for rituals. It hit me this week while I was visiting New Orleans and learning about the time and money people pour into costumes for Mardi Gras parades. Sure, the feathered outfits are different than say, a Handsome Jack costume, but the work that goes into building them both is similar.

Anyway. Flip through this week’s Cosplay Friday gallery below to see Handsome Jack from Borderlands, an amazing Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII, and much more.

Bloody Mary (The Wolf Among Us) | Source: nomegusta83, photo by Mikhail Lynn

Convention season is winding down, but there are still a few more big ones on the horizon, like New York Comic Con. Are you working on costumes for that or other conventions? Tell me about your current projects in the comments.