The Complete Handbook of Costume Accessories

Finally, a reference that treats costume accessories as a discipline, not an afterthought. I run a rental house, and the chapters on material specs and maintenance have already paid for themselves. The breakdown of which plastics can be solvent-welded versus which need epoxy saved me from ruining a batch of vintage armor pieces. This is the book I wish I'd had when I started.

It's thorough, I'll give it that. The specs on thread counts and leather weights are exactly what I need for commissioning custom work. But I found the first chapter a bit slow, and the troubleshooting section assumes you have access to a full workbench. I'm a one-person operation, so some of the advice feels geared to bigger shops. Still, the glossary alone is worth the cover price.

I bought this for the business chapters, and they didn't disappoint. The section on positioning yourself against budget versus premium suppliers was a real eye-opener. It also has a very sane guide to pricing rental damage, which is something I've always muddled through. I did have to skim the more technical maintenance parts, but for my needs, this was a solid buy.

As a costume designer for a university theater program, I need students to stop ruining my accessories. This book is now required reading. The checklist in the selection chapter is clear enough for a freshman to follow, and the maintenance chapter on cleaning hats and restoring tarnished buckles articulates what I used to have to demonstrate every single semester. A few more photos would have pushed it to five stars.

A lot of solid information, but the organization makes it tough to just look something up quickly. I wanted a fast answer on how to size a baldric, and I had to read several pages of related material before I found the relevant measurements. The index is okay, but this is not really a quick-reference book. It's better if you plan to read it cover to cover, which is how I'm using it now.

The information is accurate and reliable, which is a relief after relying on vendor websites. My main gripe is that the tone gets a bit dry, even for a reference. I ended up rereading a couple of paragraphs to make sure I didn't miss a step. It also doesn't cover theatrical makeup accessories, which I think is a notable omission. But for the core items like weapons, jewelry, and headwear, it's the best technical guide I've found.

This has been my go-to for planning a professional cosplay build this season. I used the section on thermoplastic materials to pick the right type of Worbla-style sheeting, and I stopped wasting money on the wrong adhesives. The chapter on future trends is a little speculative, but the chapters on types and maintenance are worth their weight in gold. I expect to have this open while I work on every future project.

I manage a small property and costume shop, and I've already circulated the maintenance chapter to my staff. The instructions for cleaning steel and aluminum costume jewelry are exactly what we needed to bring our rental stock back up to standard. The section on supplier positioning was also very useful for our end-of-season purchasing. I just wish the section on wing repair had been a bit longer, as that's a constant headache for us.