Cosplay issue #1 : Reusing costumes, why I don't do it, and why I should.

So, I have a lot of issues. My brain likes creating problems where there are none, and when there actually are some, it blows them out of proportion beyond any reason. Well, I guess it helps me sometimes, it can be useful to be an analytic person, even in cosplay!
Anyway, I decided to write about a few of the issues I have with my costumes, and with cosplay in general. This will be the first issue and it's about reusing costumes after I've worn them to a convention.

To give you some background: I have been cosplaying since 2007 and consider myself a fairly active cosplayer. Since I started I have made  23 costumes (Holy Hotchner, I had no idea there were so many...) and during one year I have made up to eight costumes! That averages out at about three costumes a year... Pretty shocking.

So on to my point; why is this an issue? Shouldn't I be happy about being so active and making such wonderful progress. Haha no. If there is something I can be angsty about there is, and this time there really is.
My problem is this: Of the 23 costumes I've made, I've only worn three of them more than once! I mean most of my costumes I have had a separate photoshoot with, but other than that, they have just ended up taking way too much closet space in our tiny apartment.

So why don't I reuse them? Mostly because I tend to move from fandom to fandom really fast, and about three months after I've worn a costume, I am into something new, and would much rather make a costume from that series, than wear an old one. To put it shortly, I get inspired, very fast. Sure, there are characters I still love, but for some reason I didn't feel comfortable cosplaying as them.

Which brings me to the second reason: There are always so many God-damn issues with my costumes. I tend to focus so much on making it look  good, I forget that I'm actually going to spend a whole day, sometimes a weekend in them. So I rush through things, not really thinking about how it is going to work, how it's going to hold together,  and mostly how it is going to stay on.
An perfect example of this is my Ashe costume, I put a lot of time and energy into it, but in the end I couldn't get the leg armor to stay on and so it got sort of... destroyed. I've had similar issues with Cloud (whos shoulder armor refused to stay on) and the Smile version of Ciel (which it was impossible to go to the toilet in...).
The most recent one was my WoW costume. The pauldrons wouldn't stay on, even if I had created a system, and the leg armor made it look like I had pooped my pants when I walked... Note to self, that's not a costume you wear all day at a convention.
Anyway, bad planning has resulted in some parts of the costume getting completely trashed, and therefor I can't use them again, before I remake some parts.

Another thing that stops me from reusing some costumes is the quality of the work. I am improving fast, and most of my old costumes just don't live up to my standards anymore.  There are some that I still think are good, but there is always one part that I think sucks, and want to re-do. I've heard from other people that they are good, but naturally, I only see the issues...

 A good example of this is my Luneth costume, I adore this character, and I actually think I look good as him. Most of the costume I'm still pretty pleased with, not to mention it was awesomely comfortable. But the vest is a mess, and I would have to do a new one. Back then I was pretty pleased with it, but looking at it now, the fit is awful, and it needs to be a lot thicker. It also needs new buckles, real buckles, and not ones made out of cardboard and leather...

Back in 2011 :) I also need to wash those pants after sitting in the forest Dx

The last, but certainly not least, issue is that I used to only crossplay. Now however, I only want to do female characters, with maybe the exception of very few characters. Of all the male characters I've cosplayed, I think I only look good as Hayato Gokudera (who wears loose clothes that hide my girly body), Luneth (who my boyfriend still insists is a girl) and Cloud Strife (well, the crisis core version). I actually really like my Rufus costume, but somehow my face looks too round and girly for that costume...

Look, I can pass as a fifteen year old boy right? xD

Anyway where does all this leave me? What did I get out of writing all of this?
I guess it was kind of therapeutic for me. I was starting to feel really guilty about putting so much time and effort (not to mention money) into a costume, and then only using it once... It also kind of got me thinking about making costumes that are functioning well and that I would enjoy wearing more than once. Lets not dwell on stuff we may have or may not have done. Maybe all my crazy costume making actually has taught me something valuable? Maybe now I will put more time into the stuff that doesnt show, but keeps the costume on all day?

So now to you dearies! What do you guys think about this issue? Have you encountered it? Whats your solution to it?