Regardless of the personality of the person wearing the outfit, cosplay is an incredibly extroverted pastime by virtue of what it is: a human being walking around dressed as a make-believe character, usually from a fantasy or science-fiction universe.
That being the case, it's certainly not for everyone. At least not all of the time. But what if there was a way you could cosplay as your favourite character while still looking, for want of a better word, "normal"?
Enter Amanda McGinnis, and her site Console To Closet. While not strictly cosplay, in that they're not showcasing replica costumes, the idea is a great one, in that they're taking a character's outfit and "translating" it into modern fashion. Some of the outfits are even based on cosplayer's interpretation of a character (for example, when a woman has "crossplayed" as a male character, and modified the costume to suit).
Here's an example: Assassin's Creed III's Connor Kenway has his hooded battle gear transformed into women's jeans, boots and a couple of shirts. Hardly the same outfit, I know, but it's capturing the same spirit through its use of colours, items and materials.
Most outfits are for the ladies, but some - like Thief's Garrett- are for dudes, so everyone's covered.
We actually looked at this site a few years back, but I figured with the launch of our new cosplay site now was as good a time as ever to revisit and see what's been added since.
You can check out the complete collection on the site, which includes the one below, which is my lady's favourite.