Just wanted to say I'm gonna get on here soon and give people kigurumi roles. I wanted to post this just so no one thinks we're being exclusionary or anything. For me personally it just slips my mind lol
Went to my first kig meet this weekend! Got to meet so many really nice and funny people! Can't wait to do it again!
📷: @u/ksuus
Trying on some dresses I haven't worn in a bit. i couldnt get my bow to sit right in a single photo!!
This is geared towards newcomers...obviously
I've been seeing a decent influx of people joining the community. But i think the specific avenue people are coming from kind of affects their expectations about this hobby.
Just a polite PSA, a lot of this hobby is waiting and being patient. It's an artisan/craft hobby first and foremost. Each mask is a bespoke piece, it takes time. It's best not to come into this hobby expecting to have your first kig by next month. Or that you'll get it for cheap. I think people are viewing it similar to cosplay ( i mean it is a form of cosplay but hear me out lol). Cosplay nowadays is very accessible and common. You can throw a rock into a crowd and hit a few cosplayers. It's to the point that you can probably google any semi-popular game and find a company selling clothes or accessories for a character from it. Kigurumi isn't like that. This is still a very small and niche hobby overall. It's driven, for the most part, by individual creators working out of their homes, not medium sized businesses with access to warehouses. (Think miccocostumes).
All of that to say, this hobby isn't about finding the quickest, cheapest mask. Take your time. Figure out what you want. And please support the creators in this community. I've literally seen a small but very popular maker in another hobby I'm in shut down business forever because of how many people opted for cheap aliexpress dupes of their pieces. I don't want to see that happen here.
Simply put this will be a wordy post (with a few pics) on how to commission a kigurumi using Taobao (and a few other services)
Taobao can be called China's Amazon, but it's also commonly used by smaller entities to sell things. In this case Kigurumis. A lot of Chinese makers have a Taobao store front. It's pretty straightforward..if you can speak Chinese... For us kigus who can't, be ready to use a translation app or browser add-on as TB does not have an English option.
I recommend the Google Translate app on your phone, as you can translate photos. (Said translations aren't the most accurate, for a better translation use DeepL)
Additionally, TB usually won't allow you to look at a listing without an account, which in itself is a hassle to set up. I won't go into detail about setting up an account in this post, but I will show options for both having an account, and not.
Search Terms
Kigurumi is kigurumi even in Chinese, so no worries there. Below I will include a list of common words used along side "kigurumi" for search purposes.
| Kigu Terms | |
|---|---|
| 头壳 | Head shell |
| 皮 | Hadatai |
| 义乳 | Fake Breasts |
| 假发 | Wig |
| 壳反应 | Premade Character* |
| 乳胶 | Latex |
| Buying Terms | |
| 定制(头壳) | Custom (Head Shell) - Comission |
| 定金 | Deposit |
*I couldn't find a solid translation for this one, and I'm still a bit confused on this. From what I've seen, this term seems to be for parts for popular characters that already exist. For example. a maker may have a listing for the hair, face, or accessories of a Genshin Character that you can buy.
You can scroll and browse Taobao's listings, but I would reccommend a few places to find a maker more easily. Twitter, Kigguide.com, and XiaoHongShu. XHS is my personal fav, as a lot of Chinese speaking Kigus are very active there, scroll through the kigu tag and find a mask maker. Also XHS now includes English support and translations. So it's very easy to navigate.
Most makers are ok with you sending a DM on XHS, but some have specific ways they want to be contacted so please check their profiles to make sure. I've also run across a few makers that speak English as well, but be ready to use a translator as always to make it easier on yourself, and them.
You've discussed all the details you needed to to your maker, at this point they will probably direct you to a listing on their shop. At this point, double and triple check things to make sure you're doing things right, don't be afraid to ask your maker for help navigating their storefront.
In this case, let's look at a maker I'm interested in, HaaGau. On the right is their deposit listing.
You use this listing by adding it to your cart, and increasing the quantity to equal the amount the maker quoted. Assuming they do the same as others, first you will pay your down payment, and then closer to your mask being finished, you'll pay for the rest. (Again this may vary maker to maker)
Also a lot of kigu makers will include previous works as listings. these aren't actually for sale (Hence the 9999 yuan price). It's just a gallery. Do not buy these!
Now, this assumes you have a Taobao account, for those who don't. (And even those who do) This next method will be easier.
Enter SpreeNow!!
TB is very finicky and odd, so while you can technically ship out of China using it, sometimes it just won't let you. Like in my case.. but I'll get back to that.
The easiest method would be to use Spreenow, a proxy shopping service. Enter the URL for the listing in the search bar, and follow the same steps as above. You'll need an account for this website as well, but it's much easier to set up so I'm glossing over that.
Spreenow also allows you to directly talk with the people buying your orders, so you can message them and let them know you've already spoken with the shop, and whatever other details you need.
I've been using Spreenow for about a decade now, and have yet to have any issues with them.
Now for the more difficult method I used and hated.. Cainiao
If you do choose to purchase from TB and find you can't pay for the shipping, you can use Cainiao, another proxy to cover your shipping. I'm not gonna lie, I hated using this. It was very confusing, my bank got locked while using it (so maybe warn your bank before making any large purchase during this whole process lol). But I got my package sooo.
I won't go into how to use this service, since I'm not really recommending it, just including it just in case.
That's my guide, I'll edit and add info if needed. Bye!
