Last summer (of 2009) I visited Taiwan with my family. Before going I searched around online to see if there were any cosplay shops there, since I’ve never encountered any on my previous trips. I was curious to see whether Taiwan’s proximity to Japan meant some of the anime costuming culture would seep over. We did manage to find a cosplay shop, so I thought I’d share some photos with you. 
The store turned out to be in Xi Men Ding, an area I’ve heard described as Taiwan’s equivalent to Japan’s Harajuku. Below is a photo of one of the streets in Xi Men Ding so you can get an idea. :]
The shop is called Moe Point and is on the 3rd floor of a building called Moe Moe Center. It’s hard to tell there is a cosplay shop here since the first floor is a clothing shop. A bookstore (with a lot of manga) is on the second floor and a maid cafe is on the 3rd floor next to the actual cosplay shop. :p
The cosplay shop itself was pretty empty when I got there. They seemed to be in the midst of rearranging their inventory. I asked them about the shop and they told me it was one of two or three cosplay shops in Taiwan (I can’t say for sure since I lost my page of notes…).
There didn’t seem to be much else besides lolita clothing and accessories for sale, but it was exciting nonetheless since I’ve never been to any stores like this in the US. :]
I regret not asking what the setup in the corner of this next photo is for. I’m assuming it’s meant for dressing up and taking photos in.
And here’s a close-up of the glass case from the last photo, filled with mainly lolita accessories.
Overall the store was rather empty, but still had a large variety of dresses and styles. To me the prices were surprisingly high, but that may be because I usually shop in cheap clothing stores when I’m in Taiwan (you can’t beat a dress for less than 3 USD ;p ). Their prices were a little lower than what is charged when you purchase lolita clothing online from Japan, but not low enough to entice me to purchase anything.
Despite the prices, I’d still recommend visiting the store, if just to look around. The workers are friendly and informative and the clothing is super cute. :]
——————-
I really didn’t see that many cosplay related items while I was in Taiwan. There were the usual anime figurines, clothing, toys, etc but nothing particularly for cosplay. Mainly I only saw lolita clothing. It’s exciting to see how the fashion trend has spread. :] Here’s one last photo for you guys, of one of the few lolita shops I came across while I was in Taiwan.
——————-
Please let me know what you guys think of this post! Are you okay with it not being a How-to? Any questions, comments, or concerns are greatly appreciated!
