Write for Us

Write for The Costume Rag

The Costume Rag covers the world of costume: cosplay builds and conventions, Halloween and fancy dress, historical clothing from medieval to Edwardian, goth and steampunk style, and the designers behind film and television wardrobes. Our readers make costumes, wear them, collect them and argue about them. If you have something to add to that conversation, we would like you to write for us. This page explains what we publish, how sponsored content works and how to submit an article.

What we publish

Cosplay: character build guides, wig and prop tutorials, convention reports, and round-ups of ready-made costumes worth buying.
Halloween and fancy dress: themed costume ideas, group and couples costumes, last-minute builds and kids' outfits.
Historical costume: Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, 18th century, Renaissance and medieval dress, plus vintage clothing and reproduction patterns.
Goth and steampunk: fashion, makeup, accessories and subculture history.
Costume design: interviews, film and stage wardrobe analysis, awards and the craft behind the screen.
Shopping guides: fabric, sewing tools, wigs, contact lenses, footwear and where to buy well-made pieces.

Guest posts and sponsored articles

We accept guest posts from cosplayers, costume makers, historians, designers, retailers and writers who know their subject. We also accept sponsored posts from costume shops, cosplay brands, fabric suppliers, prop makers, event organisers and other businesses with something relevant to our readers. A sponsored post is a paid placement written to our standard and is labelled as sponsored where disclosure is required.

Whether editorial or sponsored, every article we publish is permanent and indexed, and stays on the site as part of our archive. Links inside the body of the article are dofollow when they point to a resource our readers would genuinely want to visit, such as a product page, a tutorial, a pattern or a maker's portfolio. Pricing for sponsored placements is available on request. Once we have an approved draft, the typical turnaround to a live article is three to five working days.

Guidelines

Original work only. We check every submission, and anything published elsewhere or rewritten from another article is declined.
800 words minimum. Costume tutorials and round-ups tend to run longer, and that is fine as long as every section earns its place.
One or two relevant links. They should support the article, not interrupt it. Affiliate cloaking and link-only paragraphs are removed.
Pictures matter here. Send your own photos or properly licensed images, at least 1,000px wide, with a credit and alt text for each one.
No gambling, adult or pharmaceutical content, and nothing that promotes counterfeit goods.
An author bio is optional. If you include one, keep it to two sentences with one link, for example to your Instagram or shop.
We edit for house style, clarity and length, and we may change the headline. If we make substantial cuts we will send the edited draft back before it goes live.

Formats: a Google Doc link, a Word document or clean HTML, with images attached separately or linked from a shared folder.

How to pitch

Email [email protected] with the subject line "Guest post: <topic>". Tell us the working title, a short summary of the angle and why our readers would care, and include a link to something you have made or written before. Finished drafts are welcome. If you are asking about a sponsored post, say so in the first line and we will reply with current pricing and availability.

We answer every pitch, usually within two working days, and we are honest when something is not a fit so you can place it elsewhere.

Any other questions about our contributor guidelines can go to [email protected].