Batgirl Batgirl New for 1997 was the original (or at least most familiar) version of DC Comic's Batgirl. This is a costume I've wanted to make for some time (second only to Spider-Woman) but I didn't know how to tackle making the utility belt and cowl. Finally (like everything else), I just took a stab at it and eventually came out with this. The first cowl I made (see below) was constructed from a frame of buckrum covered with hand-sewn material. This was the first time I experimented with a cape, and it took a bit of trial and error to get the shape right. The material for it and the cowl is bridal satin, a very beautiful, shiny fabric but extremely prone to fraying on the edges. The boots are part of the bodysuit with shoes fitted inside. The fabric for the bodysuit was a thicker lycra that was dyed to the appropriate colors. The mask and wig are my Rita mask. Can anyone identify the inspiration for the first picture below (batgirl2.jpg)?
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each picture.
I spent the best night of the year in San Francisco's Castro District, running around in my Batgirl costume with 20,000 or so of my closest friends. You can read all about it in the November 1997 issue of The Mask Mailing List. This shot here (on left) was taken prior to our going out.
In April 1998 I created a brand new cowl using latex. Sculpted in clay over a Kerry face, I then made a two-part mold in plaster and slip cast the complete latex cowl as one piece. By carefully painting the exposed "skin" areas, it gives the effect of having a "skintight" cowl that conforms to the face, just like in the comic.
