Selina Kyle: Catwoman

“You’re catnip to a girl like me. Handsome, dazed, and to die for.”

At the beginning of this month, I did a costume for a kickass Marvel Comic character, Mystique. Now, with my second-to-last costume for the Month of Masquerades, we have another kickass comic character. From the DC Comic World: Selina Kyle – AKA: Catwoman

While this costume was not as labor intensive for makeup as Mystique, I did take the time to do something I’ve never done before. I created a hood with “cat ears” from scratch.

Boy was that an adventure…

That being said, I am so proud of how this turned out, especially seeing as it started out being hand stitched. Luckily for my fingers, I purchased a sewing machine, which saved me countless hours of work. I followed a pattern for a steampunk version of Catwoman and modified it as I went. It had to be adjusted multiple times before completion, but I was proud of the end result!

“I am Catwoman. Hear me roar.”

As for the rest of the costume, instead of doing a one-piece suit, I thought I’d go with a more “street” version. Pleather pants, pleather top, and pleather jacket, paired with some killer boots and a lace mask.

My initial idea for the location was to find a fire escape. The more I thought about the look (sneaking around, dressed all in black while wearing a mask), the more I thought it might get the wrong attention. And I didn’t feel like doing much running in those shoes.

A friend suggested using the top of a parking garage so we could see the city beyond in the background. We happened to find one nearby, and after searching for a place to park, made our way to the roof.

Our timing was perfect as there weren’t too many people around, and the sun was just starting to set. We worked quickly, though I did forget some minor details I would have loved to add if I hadn’t been rushing. But I’m still pleased with what we were able to capture in our limited time frame. Especially seeing as it wasn’t the easiest outfit to maneuver in.

A GIANT shout out to Sam for taking these shots for me. I couldn’t have done it without you!