:rolling_eyes:
You're only talking about 1984 USA, not the Dark Ages or some Points of Light D&D setting.
Cars, roads, telephones (and phone books) existed.
The JCPenny & Sears catalogues were readily available.
Specialty catalogues as well (Dad had quite the collection for car parts as his hobby was restoring a '65 Mustang).
Yes, it took more work than an Amazon click, but you could get what you didn't have. And you could also get it faster than 6-8 weeks (UPS & FedEx existed)....
Also in small town American you had Fabric shop which sold costume patterns. You also had Grannys who ONLY HAD SINGER sewing machines who could be talked into sewing stuff for teenagers. DAMN Sacrosanct makes 1984 sound like 1884.
I'm pretty sure at this point neither of you remember what it was like in 1984. Saying you had to mail in orders and wait weeks for delivery isn't trying to make the 80s seem like the 1880s, it was the reality. You didn't have nearly as many shops that sold things you needed to make the costumes, you didn't have local access to specialty shops that specialized in those costumes, you didn't have access to technology or machinery that exist now that are used to make those costumes, you didn't have local access to the the paints, patches, latex, or other materials that are easy to acquire now, the list goes on. I've even provided evidence of what the best costumes of the time looked like (which are much lower quality than a group of 11 year olds in the show apparently created). So far, no one has been able to show a single costume from the 80s that approaches the level of what cosplayers are doing now. In fact, cosplay costumes now are often a lot better than actual movie special effects costumes were in the 80s and
those 80s costumes had full costume departments with budgets and live in LA, where they had access to the materials easily on hand. They certainly weren't preteens from small town America.
I'm afraid you're both simply wrong. I anxiously await your evidence that proves what you're trying to argue. Seriously, I grew up in the 80s, and I think you both need to go back and look at what the costumes were like, especially low budget movies from the 80s (because no group of pre teens in small town America is going to have the budget of Ridley Scott...) and costumes from conventions, because all the evidence disagrees with you.
By the way, my mom was a seamstress, and there was no way she was gonna make a bunch of movie quality costumes for us. For one, she'd say "I'm not wasting the time or material on all that nonsense for just one day". Secondly, she didn't access to the materials (official patches and other accessories). Thirdly, you need a lot more than just a home sewing machine to make a lot of those costumes. Fourthly, assuming she would do all of the above, if the local department store didn't carry the fabric, or enough of it (which is likely since small town stores didn't carry several bolts of cloth of the same material because it never sold [supply and demand in a small town], she'd substitute with whatever was there because she sure as heck wasn't ordering it from a catalog "What's that look for! This ghost wrestler or whatever it is costume looks way better with a purple vest and striped pants than that dull brown overalls!"
