Dress up As Black Widow from Iron Man 2

With her staple black catsuit, bullet bracelets, and fiery red mane, Black Widow is a striking character. The look she sports in Iron Man 2 matches the force of her take-no-prisoners personality and makes for an unforgettable costume which you can easily and cheaply recreate using a few simple items.

Steps

Creating the Catsuit

1. Find a long-sleeved bodysuit or leotard. These tend to offer a snug fit and are available anywhere from H&M to dance apparel stores. A jersey material will work well once you accessorize the look.
   • You could also wear a long-sleeved black shirt. Try to get a V-neck or scoop-neck style shirt that fits closely around your body. Tuck the shirt into your pants to make your look more seamless.
2. Wear a pair of black skinny jeans or leggings. These should fit you snugly. Ideally, the material will be leather; however, you can still rock the Black Widow look with black jeans.
3. Wear knee-length leather boots. The boots should be black, have three buckles that wrap around the leg at three different heights, and have either a low or wedge heel.
4. Complete the look with a black moto jacket. The jacket should have a front zipper and fit you tightly. A leather jacket will most closely resemble Black Widow’s look, but a pleather or suede material will also work.

Accessorizing

1. Create bullet bracelets. Finding pre-made bullet bracelets will not be an easy task, since they are an unusual item. However, you can create your own a number of different ways:
   • Purchase a bullet belt from an online retailer like Amazon or from a costume store. Cut it so that it is small enough to fit around your wrist, and superglue this smaller section of the belt to a black bangle bracelet. You will need 2 bullet bracelets, one for each wrist.
   • Spray-paint crayons black and gold. The coloring should be gold from the pointy, coloring end of the crayon to the middle and black from the middle to the flat top. Let the paint dry and superglue the crayons to two bangle bracelets. Similarly-shaped items, like toy drop whistles, will also work well when painted.
     • You can buy gold Crayola crayons in bulk from an online retailer like Amazon. This way, you only have to paint half the crayon black.
2. Find a thigh holster. This is an accessory that adds to Black Widow’s edgy, unique style. The thigh holster should wrap around your hips and will ideally have three pouches, as in the movie. You can find a thigh holster online by shopping for SWAT or Tomb Raider costumes at stores like Spirit Halloween.
   • You can also look up holsters at an army supply store like OPSGEAR or Army Surplus World.
   • Alternatively, you could superglue a black cell phone pouch to a black heavy-duty strap and tie the strap around your thigh.
3. Get a fake gun. You can purchase a prop gun online from a store like Replica Airguns or from a costume store. A cheaper option would be to purchase a toy gun - even a water gun - and paint it black.
4. Wear a buckled belt. In addition to the thigh holster, Black Widow wears a belt that sits higher on the waist. This belt is broad, made of cloth, and has a plain silver quick release buckle in the center. Amazon sells heavy duty law enforcement belts that resemble the one worn by Black Widow, but a regular military-looking belt will do.
5. Add fingerless gloves to complete your look. You can find a close approximation to the black, leather biker gloves worn by Black Widow at most stores which sell motorcycle accessories. A cheaper option would be to wear cloth fingerless gloves.

Perfecting Hair and Makeup

1. Try on a red wig. Online retailers like WigIsFashion or wigs.com sell red wigs for around $60. Choose a style that is slightly wavy so as to most closely resemble Black Widow.
2. Dye your hair. While more time-consuming and permanent than wearing a wig, dyeing your hair can look more realistic. Black Widow’s hair color is a burnt red, so aim to find a dye that is not too flashy - the more natural the color looks, the more believable your costume will be.
   • A semi-permanent dye, which you can buy at a retailer like Sally Beauty, is a good option if you want to wear the costume multiple times in the span of a few days or if you want a temporary change of look, as it will last you three to six weeks but won’t flake.
3. Apply lipstick. Black Widow’s wears minimal makeup, so all you have to do to get the right lip color is apply a medium pinkish or peach lipstick. Try to choose a lip color that subtly enhances your own rather than one that is too bright or that looks unnatural.
4. Put on mascara. Black Widow doesn't wear much makeup, but a generous amount of mascara does make her eyes stand out. Double-coat your lashes or add fake eyelashes to enhance your Black Widow look.
   • Line your eyes with black eyeliner for even more definition.
   • There are several tutorials on YouTube that you could use to guide your eye makeup application - simply look up “Black Widow makeup” to get the most relevant results.

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Sources and Citations

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