WWII Costumes that are MARVELous

So it is no secret that I am not the best at keeping up with social media. So, better late than never, right??? Here are the builds my husband and I did for Phoenix Comic Con 2013.
Each year we pick a couples costume to make and wear. For 2012/2013, my husband chose to make a historically accurate WWII Captain America cosplay. He was driven by his disappointment of Marvel's "Captain America: The First Avenger" 


and decided he could do a better job then the movie. I tossed around the idea of doing Peggy Carter, a generic officer in the military, or a HYDRA agent, but on a creative design whim, I had the idea to create an outfit for Black Widow (if you didn't know,she is my favorite) I thought it would be a fun challenge to create my own concept for her. 






 



Paul began researching WWII American paratroopers while I looked at Russian winter uniforms from that era. It was fun reading up on fabrics, accessories, weaponry and more. I am a bit of a history buff and I always  like to have a good knowledge of my character and the environment she/he came from so I just dug in! I also asked the amazing Meredith McClaren for help and she translated my ideas into art!

We wanted to make the bulk of the costume ourselves, but at the same time, we purchased quite a bit of the accessories though, to add a real world feel; vintage gear from that time period, as well as some replicas (Paul has an aversion to taking an antique and spray painting it if he can avoid it, he prefers to use them in their natural state).

So, after researching, and figuring out what would be bought and made, we began building patterns for jackets and pants. I wore my wonderful Ushanka for inspiration. It also kept me warm in the cold Phoenix spring lol. (I just really liked it) For Paul, we used a men's khaki pant pattern, adding the pockets, the tuxedo stripes, and the knee pads. For the jacket we used a  shirt pattern, going up in sizes and added the panel on the front and striping the bottom half. For Black Widow, I used a basic women's pant pattern adding on the tuxedo stripe and for the top I found a "British invasion" jacket pattern that I altered the collar on. My wonderful husband sewed almost everything on his own, only needing my help for a few things. I being the amazing seamstress I am, was rushing to get everything done the days before con. I am such a procrastinator. Listen up everyone, do not be like me. Get it done early so you are not stressing right before. Something I need to learn, and soon!

So after much bleeding, screaming, laughing, and fun we finished. The process was educational and as always was a lesson in enduring. We had a wonderful time at con and learned that our hard work was to be inspirations for some attending artists. So, if you see the likes, of us in comics or pictures, it is just an exciting and fun adventure that is my life with my amazing husband.

If anyone is interested in a commission, please feel free to contact me via  Facebook.
We do costume commissions as well as make props and more!
For more of our work check us out in our Arizona non-profit, Project Hero