My Wonder Woman cosplay for Halloween
Some of you may know that I rock the Diana Prince look 95% of the time. Well, minus the jumpsuit and straight-laced office duds. However, this year, in my superhero reading, I've been trying to get more into Diana's alter ego, Wonder Woman - seeking out the seminal trade paperbacks and graphic novels centred on the first, greatest and most iconic of female superheroes.
What I've found, I've enjoyed thoroughly. Granted her storylines are hit and miss, but as a character Wonder Woman is great - a woman of decisive action (with a sometimes weakness for cake), who strikes the balance between warrior and diplomat with far greater ease than the other members of DC Comics' "Big Three", Superman and Batman.
Anyway, as I got increasingly into the character, I decided a few months ago that I wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman for Halloween, or my next themed birthday party. And seeing as I'm someone who believes in cosplay only if you can carry off the character's physicality with some decency (no flabby gut Kal-Els or rotund Jean Greys, please), I've been working towards "becoming Wonder Woman" since July. It was also an excuse to work off all the schnitzel and speckknoedel that I consumed during Austrian ski vacation and was unable to burn off as my late 20s metabolism slowed *hmmph*. Three days a week of 20-25 mins home boot camp, hour-long Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings and the occasional run skimmed off the inches (not so much the weight) so I would fit into my home-made/assembled costume.
For the record, not having the confidence to wear Wonder Woman's star-spangled panties, I created an outfit largely based on last year's high profile costume change and character revamp - where Diana finally dropped the broekies for far more functional leggings (and spurs, and a jacket, and a few other accessories).
Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that my costume was a hybrid of the old and new Wonder Woman looks, much like the preview artwork (examples here and here) in the lead-up to DC 52 - the highly anticipated DC relaunch that rebooted all of the company's heroes from September this year. For the record, despite her new pants appearing in the promotional artwork, it turns out Diana was back to wearing her patriotic hotpants during the first few issues of the comic.
Well. I can say a few things after my Wonder Woman cosplay experience.
1) Wonder Woman seriously lacks street cred when it comes to receiving a reaction while roaming around at an alternative nightclub's Halloween party.
2) It may be supremely geeky to say this, and I'm probably in the minority when it comes to this opinion, but dressing like a superhero does make you feel empowered... That is, until you're in a crowd and you come to the realisation that as much as you've worked out, Amazons still need height to be imposing. Five feet 4 inches (1.65 metres) just doesn't cut it as a native of Themyscira.
3) It's not until you actually wear the outfit that you really grasp the impracticalities of certain elements. Surprisingly, the worst costume component by far, is the boob tube. Simple acts like bending over or raising your arms are equally likely to cause nip slip. And if that's the case, throwing punches and twirling a lasso - typical superheroine stuff - are even more hazardous to Wonder Woman's modesty. Unless she's using magic underwear glue, of course. The lengthy bracelets, meanwhile, are severely limiting to arm movement.
Anyway, here finally is a selection of photos of me as Wonder Woman. Now don't forget to vote for me in the SA Blog Awards 2011. I gave you cosplay, people ;)
What I've found, I've enjoyed thoroughly. Granted her storylines are hit and miss, but as a character Wonder Woman is great - a woman of decisive action (with a sometimes weakness for cake), who strikes the balance between warrior and diplomat with far greater ease than the other members of DC Comics' "Big Three", Superman and Batman.
Anyway, as I got increasingly into the character, I decided a few months ago that I wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman for Halloween, or my next themed birthday party. And seeing as I'm someone who believes in cosplay only if you can carry off the character's physicality with some decency (no flabby gut Kal-Els or rotund Jean Greys, please), I've been working towards "becoming Wonder Woman" since July. It was also an excuse to work off all the schnitzel and speckknoedel that I consumed during Austrian ski vacation and was unable to burn off as my late 20s metabolism slowed *hmmph*. Three days a week of 20-25 mins home boot camp, hour-long Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings and the occasional run skimmed off the inches (not so much the weight) so I would fit into my home-made/assembled costume.
For the record, not having the confidence to wear Wonder Woman's star-spangled panties, I created an outfit largely based on last year's high profile costume change and character revamp - where Diana finally dropped the broekies for far more functional leggings (and spurs, and a jacket, and a few other accessories).
Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that my costume was a hybrid of the old and new Wonder Woman looks, much like the preview artwork (examples here and here) in the lead-up to DC 52 - the highly anticipated DC relaunch that rebooted all of the company's heroes from September this year. For the record, despite her new pants appearing in the promotional artwork, it turns out Diana was back to wearing her patriotic hotpants during the first few issues of the comic.
Well. I can say a few things after my Wonder Woman cosplay experience.
1) Wonder Woman seriously lacks street cred when it comes to receiving a reaction while roaming around at an alternative nightclub's Halloween party.
2) It may be supremely geeky to say this, and I'm probably in the minority when it comes to this opinion, but dressing like a superhero does make you feel empowered... That is, until you're in a crowd and you come to the realisation that as much as you've worked out, Amazons still need height to be imposing. Five feet 4 inches (1.65 metres) just doesn't cut it as a native of Themyscira.
3) It's not until you actually wear the outfit that you really grasp the impracticalities of certain elements. Surprisingly, the worst costume component by far, is the boob tube. Simple acts like bending over or raising your arms are equally likely to cause nip slip. And if that's the case, throwing punches and twirling a lasso - typical superheroine stuff - are even more hazardous to Wonder Woman's modesty. Unless she's using magic underwear glue, of course. The lengthy bracelets, meanwhile, are severely limiting to arm movement.
Anyway, here finally is a selection of photos of me as Wonder Woman. Now don't forget to vote for me in the SA Blog Awards 2011. I gave you cosplay, people ;)
"English, motherfucker. Do you speak it?"
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