DC Comics/Superman

Kara Zor-L has been on my to-do list for many years, but I always somehow hesitated to make her, be it the design (it’s more intimidating craftsmanship than you’d expect!) or the event, but my first trip to San Diego Comic Con felt like the right place, and when I saw her redesign in New 52 with the battle armor, it screamed to be made. Functionality with a twist on a classic design, who doesn’t love that! Plus, all the seams and lines on the new leotard are a keen breakaway from her vertical seams with a flattering design in mind. I simply could not be happy with any wig I styled for this outfit, so I ended up dyeing my own hair a few shades lighter for it because it had the right cut at the time. In my mind, it’s still too dark for Kara, but was a more natural look. It was super fun to take photos with Steff as adorable Super Girl!

Because I anticipated doing a lot of movement for all the action poses that generally come with a comic character, I used a sports performance spandex and lined it in itself, patterning the suit from scratch. The seams didn’t show up as prominently as I’d hoped, in hindsight I should have used piping. The armor was inspired by RuffleButt Cosplay’s tutorial for fabric covered foam armor, and patterned the plates to fit in-line with each other, but also have that bit of space to be flexible and move with me. Turns out ponte is a great, thick stretch fabric for this and was available in the right shade of blue. I also kept fabric choices in mind for the cape, using a bright raylon so it could look natural in its movement for posing and in the wind.