Penelope has been cosplaying cosplaying since 2016. started from humble beginnings with closet cosplay and thrifting to now making most of her costumes by hand! she is self taught and still learning whatever she can. stumbling her way into her next sewing project, she's cryptic, she's a catastrophe, it's cryptic.catastrophe! 

Penelope's first cosplay was a closet cosplay of Canada from the anime Hetalia. "I just got a wig from a wig store near me [and] a red sweater that said Canada on it and was wearing jeans" Penelope says. She describes closet cosplay as "...just whatever you can find in your closet that is accessible to you to make into a costume." Due to her starting cosplay in this way, she found that thrifting pieces for cosplay became a love for her, and she continued the craft in this way. 

Because Penelope is a plus sized individual, she describes that a lot of 'store-bought' cosplays are usually not in her size, and so she has to be creative on how she approaches cosplay, which is why she turns to thrifting. "It ended up being better for me to go to out to stores...just anywhere and seeing what I could alter to make fit me or make to fit the character..." Penelope says. She also goes on to say that thrifting can be a great option for when it comes to cosplay to use the materials for different characters and to also cut down on the over consumption of clothes due to fast fashion. Finally, Penelope says that thrifted pieces can "...lift up the costume from being two-dimensional, which is a great resource." 

Penelope says that the best advice she can give for when people want to thrift is to make a list of all the pieces you are looking for. "...try to look for generalized things. ...button-ups are great [and] plain t-shirts. If there is something specific you need that you think you can find, write that down." Penelope says. She also gives the advice for others to look through used curtains or sheets to use as fabric for sewing projects. Penelope has gotten to a point in cosplay where she tends to like sewing a lot, and will get used fabrics for her projects. "I like to mix both [sewing and thrifting], really. ...So having them both at my disposal is really helpful, and helps bring my creations to life."

Additionally, Penelope describes how she draws a lot of her cosplays before going out to thrift or buy fabric for her projects. "I will go in and draw how I see [my cosplays] before I make them because it helps me get a sense of what the measurements need to be [and] what materials I will need." She explains that she has done this for both her cosplay of Garfield and for some of the mushroom like hats she has made. Penelope also explains that drawing out her cosplay helps her in the thrifting process as well, and helps her make a list of what pieces she will need as previously described. 

For cosplay competitions, Penelope tends to attempt to make the entire cosplay herself. However, this doesn't stop her from wanting to thrift certain pieces. When she competed as Buggy the Clown from One Piece, she states that she "...had some jewelry that I had actually thrifted and accessoried into her hair." She also states that she found trims and accessories at a local garage sale that she used on the cosplay itself. To make this as well, Penelope says that she even thrifted bedsheets to make a mockup of the cosplay first before even sewing it with actual fabric, and because she did this, Penelope states that this was what won her the actual contest. She says that for beginner sewers though to "...stick to your more stiffer fabrics. ...Stretchy fabrics are hell to work to try to work with and it takes a lot of patience to understand them. ...for any new fabric that you want to work with, play with it on its own, honestly."

Because over consumption is a massive problem in today's society, Penelope stresses that thrifting is a way that cosplayers can "...take a step back, and look at what we can do ourselves and see what is around us." She also goes on to say that thrifting "...gets my creative juices flowing. ...sometimes what you can find at thrift stores, even if its not exactly what you want, sometimes you'll find a piece that matches exactly the style that you need. And...you can even take those clothes apart and make those into your pattern." Penelope states that she believes that there are so many different ways that a cosplayer can use thrifted pieces, and it would make the community better if people utilized these tools. She finally states that thrift stores and garage sales are good, but that also people have the option of going on to sites, such as Depop, to find pieces or asking other cosplayers if they are selling cosplays or certain items.