Think I charge too much for costumes and only want to pay like $30-$50 for one? Well on this page I'll explain why I charge as much as I do along with other costume commissioners.
First off I would like to say that it is rude to look at a commissioners site and then yell at them in an email about the price being too high when you don't realize what it costs to make a costume.
There is alot to consider when you commission a costume and what the money is being spent on. Below is a list of things that has to be bought to make the costume.
Fabric- This can cost $60-$100 depending on the fabric of the costume. The fabric comes in 44-60" inch wide strips and has to be cut from pattern pieces. Fabric is sold by the yard and a yard is exactly 36 inches long. So a yard of fabric is 44-66 inches wide and 36 inches long. Each yard of fabric can cost anywhere from $6.99-$14.99/yard or more sometimes depending on the fabric. Shirts require anywhere from 2-3 yards, and pants about 3-4 yards and some coats can take more. So price varies depending on what you want.
Notions- This is thread, Zippers, buttons, and trimming and more which can cost $10-$20 depending on how elaborate the costume is.
Shipping- This means you have to pay the shipping for fabric bought online if your costume needs a specialty fabric. That can run you anywhere from $10-$12. You also have to pay for shipping for me to send the costume to you. That runs anywhere from $15 shipping for priority to almost $70 for next day shipping if the costume is being rushed.
Labour- This means you have to pay me to take the time to make your costume using raw materials. This means I actually cut out each pattern piece of fabric according to your size and sew them together. Making the costume takes up a lot of time and that is work which you have to pay for. This costs anywhere from $100-$150 or more depending on how elaborate the costume is. That is about 10-15 hours or more of labour spent and hard work done for you.
That just about covers why it costs as much as it does to get a commission done by me or other commissioners. The costume is custom made to fit you according to your personal measurements and is not mass produced in factories that can come out poorly made and not even fit right because their idea of sizes are different everywhere. Hope that explains it all. Thank you for looking at this page to help you understand better.
