The Cost of Cosplaying Gaara

This post is about Gaara's outfit, info on the Gourd is in the previous post. His outfit was very easy, but we really focused on the details here.



 Honestly, I don't remember the exact cost of materials, so I'm guesstimating.

The faux leather for his strap cost the most, but we didn't need much. I think it was like 1/4 yard purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics for $16 per yard, so only cost about $4, plus the little surplus we had was used towards something on a future prop. The 6 buckles are not functional, just for looks, and they were 50 cents each in downtown LA, so $3.

The white sash material was $2 at a thrift store, we still have enough to make like 5 sashes if we want... cut out two of the longest strips possible then sewed together and hemmed around entire edges.

The black shirt was in the bottom of my sister's drawer and we used black elastic we had and the leftovers from Temari's butchered fishnets and attached them to the sleeves, making it appear she has on a fishet shirt beneath. $0, oh yeah.

She also owned the sweatpants--used to dance in them but they got small. Perfect for Gaara, who's pants are highwaters anyhow. We just added elastic in the bottom to give it shape. In most references, you'll also see Gaara has pockets. We crafted them from spare black fabric and attached, also bought snaps for $4. They are fuctional.

Leg wraps were spare from my sister's camp kit when she taught how to make splints. We found a tutorial how to properly wrap them, they still come undone. Double-sided tape can be a cosplayer's friend.

The shoes...ugh. I hated making those. If you google, you'll find liz.spain's tutorial for making Naruto sandals---it is by far the best tut out there! Bought flip-flops for $1. Spent about $6 on Duck cloth. A few trials and lots of hot glue later, we have work-able ninja sandals.

I guess I should count this too--the Sand Village Headband was purchased 3 years prior to us making the cosplays for $25 from Hot Topic, cuz we were fangirls and wanted them. The headband was the most expensive piece of the costume! Could have made them, but honestly, the official ones are VERY nice.

I'll go into detail on the wig/makeup in another post, but the total cost was about $15.

Add in the approximate $15-20 making the gourd...
End result:

The black paper umbrella below was an added prop, given to us by a friend who worked a Salvation Army thrift store at the time. She thought we might want it, didn't even know we were on the lookout for one!

Total Price: $75-85

Bam. Gaara cosplay (first pre-skip outfit). On a budget.