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With Halloween fast approaching, virtually everyone is either getting their costumes together, or at least thinking about what they want to do. Everybody finds their inspiration in different ways, and the best part about it is that there are no wrong ways to approach it. Arguably, the most popular venue for inspiration is the movies- and there has been no shortage of great characters to emulate in the past few years.

There is one particular actress who I believe has made quite an entrance into the movies and made her mark on our hearts as some very iconic characters. Zoe Saldana has starred in some amazing movies that have blown all of our minds, and played characters that have supplied the nation with inspiration for some not only awesome costumes, but very recognizable ones as well. I think the fact that the great ones are science fiction makes her and her characters even better.

Neytiri – Avatar

Left: http://crazy-frankenstein.com/avatar-wallpapers.html
Right: http://avatarcostume.com/

In 2009, Saldana starred as Neytiri in the movie Avatar, and like, love, or hate the movie, everyone knows the look of the aliens that took that 3D screen by storm.  With the right wig and makeup, this is a really hands on and fun costume idea. Though the movie isn’t incredibly recent, Zoe’s performance brought this character to life, and that image will be recognized for a long time to come.  The best part about it though: it’s blue!

Lieutenant Uhura – Star Trek Into Darkness

Left: http://geekgirlreview.com/tag/star-trek/
Right: http://wholesalehalloweencostumes.com

In the same year, Zoe costarred in the new Star Trek movie, and followed it up in the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness as Lieutenant Uhura in 2013. Another visually stunning movie in outer space, Zoe graced the USS Enterprise with her beauty and charisma. This costume idea has significantly less makeup involved and even though people will instantly understand the Star Trek reference they may not get Uhura right away, but if you can figure out her ear piece, you would nail it!

Gamora – Guardians of the Galaxy

Left: Heyuguys.com
Right: moviepiolot.com

The last on my list (but most certainly not the least, by any means) is Zoe’s most recent adventure in the 2014 Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy as the beautiful and deadly Gamora. Yet another outer space action thriller (I’m starting to pick up on a theme here), this is another costume idea that would greatly benefit from accessories, like boots, gloves, and even that awesome sword. Personally, I do think that if you are going to go for a costume like this, commit to it and do the full face paint. Think about it, how often do you get to make green look sexy?

Zoe Saldana has brought so much to the big screen, and because of the great work that she does she has inspired some fantastic costumes. The diversity between every one of her characters is perfect as well. Even though the persona work she does with every one of them is so unique, it can be boiled down to a more basic level: each one is a different color!

There are so many cool ideas out there and these are only 3 of a single actress’ roles that we took a look at. Remember, Halloween is about creativity, individuality, and just having fun. It doesn’t matter where you are getting your ideas from, because if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. If you want to be one of your favorite super heroes, go for it. If you want to be a potato, knock yourself out. Even if you just want to be a specific character because you love the actress that played her, do it. After all, like they say, impersonation is the greatest form of flattery.

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The comic verse has hundreds upon hundreds of female super heroines and supervillains. How many can you name? Really, if you’re not a super comic geek, really take a moment to think. As you begin running through the list, you may find that it is shorter than you might think. Catwoman, Storm, Jean Grey, Rogue, Super Girl, Wonder Woman, Black Widow.

The problem is that the majority of women get the bulk of their DC and Marvel knowledge from television and film. And unfortunately, comics adapted into a film medium tend to focus on the same male heroes over and over again. (Iron Man, Spider-Man, Batman, sheesh!)

It begs the question. What do you do when you need to find the right superhero costume for a party? You have two options.

Option one is to go with what you know. While this method is certainly valid, it does tend to result in the party being full of women dressed as Catwoman. Good if you want to get away with cat burglary. Not too cool if you want to flaunt a badass costume.

For those of you hoping to dress in a unique costume, go with option two: the lesser known heroines and villainesses. Here are a few badass comic women to kick start your imagination.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is a criminal in the batman universe. She’s an eco-terrorist who isn’t afraid to get her hands a little dirty in her quest to save the environment. Her primary weapons are toxins she derives from the plants she loves, often administered via kiss.

Due to her appearance in the original Batman movies, she is one lesser known supervillain who has premade costumes available. For those peeps who want to skip the pre-made costume, you can transform yourself into Poison Ivy with:

• a red wig
• a green dress
• green tights
• leaf appliques.

Batwoman

Batwoman has been a part of the super hero universe since the 1950’s. Her back story was fairly pedantic.  A wealthy heiress who used to be a circus performer decided that fighting crime was the thing to do with her never ending supply of money. In 2006, the DC universe revamped the Batwoman character. The newest version Kate Kane is an ex-military officer turned vigilante.

Regardless of her origins story, it can’t be denied, her crime fighting get-up is bad ass. As a very obscure superhero, you will have a very hard time locating a pre-made costume. You’ll have to create this costume from scratch. To become Batwoman you need:

• a red wig
• black leather pants
• a black long sleeve shirt with the red bat sewn onto the chest
• red boots
• red elbow length gloves
• a red and black cape
• a black mask

Huntress

In some iterations, Huntress is the child of Batman and Catwoman. In others, she is their contemporary, mob princess Helena Bertinelli. In 2002 Huntress appeared in the 2002 television series “Birds of Prey,” par for the course dressed head-to-toe in black leather. (Unfortunately the show did not make it past the first season.)

With Huntress, you have two different costume options: the comic or television crime fighting get-up. In the comics, Huntress wears a traditional Bat costume. In the television series, Huntress attempts to deny all connection to batman, so the costume is more unique. The comic costume consists of:

• a black shirt and pants
• a purple belt
• purple boots
• a purple cape
• a purple mask.

The television costume consists of:

• a black trench coat
• black boots
• leather pants
• a leather shirt

Poison Ivy, Batwoman, and Huntress are only three more villains in the pantheon of DC super heroes and villains. Still that’s four more costumes that may prevent you from becoming a super hero doppelganger. If none of the heroines seem to be your style, don’t fear- there a hundreds more to choose from.

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A girlfriend and I were out for lunch, and I was (like I always am) talking about upcoming costume ideas, specifically for Comic Book Day, where each of the comic book stores gives out a free comic book for dressing up. She didn’t really say anything and then she said… and I quote “I don’t really like dressing up, I don’t understand the obsession,”

GASP!

WHAT?!

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!

After the initial shock- I began to listen to her point of view. Sure, I still don’t understand how she could feel that way, but at the same time, I think that it may be a common feeling among ‘those that do not dress up.’

She explained that it seemed like a lot of work to be someone other than herself.“It’s expensive, time consuming, and I really just don’t understand the point of trying to be someone other than myself. The media constantly tells women to look, sound, and act differently, – I think that Halloween promotes that same attitude. I like myself; I don’t need to dress up as someone else. Also: I don’t like candy.”

GASP!

What?

You don’t like candy?

How is that possible?

She continued: “Also, anytime I go to the store to look for a Halloween costume, I come back disappointed. I can either be a witch, or some random animal or object made sexy.”

Well, she just said a mouthful there.

For the first time in my life… I didn’t really know what to say.

I wonder how many people feel this way. How many potential Halloween party goers are missing out? I am now on a mission to find her an easy, inexpensive, non-baring costume. AND provide a party with healthy foods instead of candy!!!!

Some healthy treats are:

Now for the hard part…

White T Shirt

Two T Shirts

Hat and Apron

Although my friend doesn’t like Halloween, or candy… she and I have been friends forever! Which means, she is generally open minded to my geekiness, and she was more than willing to try out the skeleton shirt idea, and enjoy some healthy snacks on a random Tuesday night. At the end of the night she did not say “Oh my god!!! Let’s do this every night forever, for the rest of our lives!” However, she did say she would do it again.

Progress.

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Disney has a way of casting good and evil in such a way that that a small child you genuine hated the evil villain and you really loved the pretty princess. However, recently there has been a revamp of the lady villains in some of these Disney princess movies, telling a whole new story to the previously told tale.

Maleficent

“There was a legend of a dark and powerful fairy and her curse on a sleeping beauty”  and the story line goes into depth about Maleficent and her elegant, and powerful character.

Not only was the story-line of the female villain revamped, but so was the look! The clothing got a little tighter (it’s Angelina Jolie, they couldn’t not) and she was given large, feathery, evil looking wings! Pretty awesome!

Ravenna- The Queen

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves differ from Snow White and the Huntsman not only in the action, but also in the dynamics of the queen’s role. The Charlize queen sucks the souls out of young girls to stay young, The Queen, in the new version is overarching more beautiful than the new Snow White.

My favorite wardrobe alteration is changing the crown and headpiece. Allowing the face, and neck to be shown better emphasizes the beauty, and her thick golden braids appear crown like.

The Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts is known for her awful temper. “Off with their heads!” In the new version, the temperament is the same; however, the wardrobe is wonky and different on all of the characters. The makeup is drastic, the weird shape of her head compared to body is different, and overall is more gothic than the cartoon version (no surprise, what with the new movie being a Burton film).

Although, I am not a fan of the makeup, or alteration of body I do love the costum revamp. What beautiful beading!!!!

The lady villains have definitely been revamped in the newer premiers, some for the better, and some for the worse- either way the beautiful costumes, and intricacy of makeup and detail are costume worthy!

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The season 7 premiere of Mad Men is upon us, and just thinking about the chauvinism, sexism, and gender stereotypes I am squirming. It’s a love hate relationship really. On one hand I love the beautiful costumes the ladies wear, accentuating every curve and every feminine characteristic is wonderful. On the other hand- quotes such as, “it looks really complicated, but a man made this simple enough for a woman to use” (in regards to the typewriter) I find rather disgusting…yet… also very funny. Like I said, it’s a love hate relationship, don’t judge!

If you haven’t gotten to enjoy a season, or seven, of Man Men you should know that it takes place in the late 50’s, early 60’s in uptown New York. This show is a must see drama that highlights a past culture of excessive drinking, smoking, adultery, anti-Antisemitism, racism and homophobia. And the best part, as you can probably guess, are the curve enhancing feminine costumes from the 50’s and 60’s. So today I am going to show you what it is about those costumes that highlight the stated gender roles in Mad Men, and often times in society.

The upper echelon society in the early 60’s was all about status. What you drank, what you smoked, and certainly what you wore all were symbols of your status.

 “Men like scarves, and it wouldn’t hurt to show your ankles”- Jone Holloway-Harris 

This fashion advice is stated time and again throughout the show. What it really means is that the fashions of these days were very gender specific. Women wore things that were feminine and that men liked. If the man you work for liked legs, show your ankles (remember, class was key) and show off your feminine figure whenever possible. These include belts to cinch the waist, a strategically placed brooch to draw attention to your best assets, a tea length dress, and always, a pair of heels. Accessories were also important to each outfit, always over accentuating the femininity of an outfit. This includes neck scarves, pearls, and other statement jewelry.

Hair and Makeup

Hair, much like a good housewife was always neat, tidy, and tame. Hair scarves, bows, and waves were more than acceptable. Evidently sleeping in hot-rolls is the go to for this look. The makeup was a little less tame. Although the eye makeup is rather limited, mainly eyeliner, a hot lip was a must. Red, pink, and nude are all acceptable, but always in matte. Make sure to also focus on bolder eye brows a bit of mascara for that doe eye look.

We live in such a wonderful time, most often free from gender roles and oppressions but I do love the outfits from the late fifties. So, any chances I get I dress up like Betty Draper! Enjoy the season premiere on April 13^th, and don’t forget to have an old fashioned with me!

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Sexy Super Woman

I was daydreaming about superpowers the other day… or more precisely, the superpower I’d want the most. My hands down first pick would of course be flying, and I think most people would appreciate that ability.

But, my second choice may surprise you. No, it’s not time travel, web slinging, or mutton busting. I woudn’t want anything too powerful, like LOTR’s “one ring to rule them all”. I’d be in risk of going all Galadriel over the potential power and yelling out all shall love me and despair and no one wants that. No, if it were up to me, it would be to have the power of Wonder Woman’s golden lasso. When Queen Hippolyte gave it to Wonder Woman she said,  “This is the Golden Lasso. Besides being made from an indestructible material, it also carries with it the power to compel people to tell the truth. Use it well, and with compassion.”

I can think of a few million uses for that superpower! I’d be able to get answers to all of my burning questions, like, “Hey Jimmy Kimmel! Who ate all of the Halloween candy?!” or, “Who approved the ‘Honey Boo Boo’ television program?” Yes, it really would be a pretty fantastic power  to have. Since we’re talking about super powers, I’ve noticed a trend that I am fond of, namely the offerings in women’s Halloween section aren’t just bar wench and French maid anymore.

Catwoman

Saving humanity (well, at least for Halloween) just got a little sexier, and an additional boost of female power because this year’s line up of women’s superhero costumes is something to take to the streets about. I’ve kind of looked down my nose at superhero costumes on occasion, I’ll admit it. (Sorry about that every actor and kid who wore the Robin outfit.)

There’s Harley Quinn, Hit Girl, Super Woman, Wonder Woman, She-Ra, Cat Woman, Spider-Girl, and several dozen more warriors, crime fighters, and assorted other bad-guy catcher getup’s.

These costumes can be toned down for conservative events, vamped up for a girl’s night out, or used to get you the first place prize at the costume contest. Ladies, as girl power gets recognized, the costumes behind the trend will get you recognized, too.

Harley Quinn

There’s something to be said for running around pretending to be a little more powerful than you are, I think. For you moms out there, it’s good for your daughters to see you as strong and powerful, and its good for them to view themselves that way, too. So, keep that in mind when shopping around during Halloween. As far as I’m concerned the only costume missing from the women superhero line up is Fried Green Tomatoes’ Mrs. Threadgood and Evelyn.

TAWANDA!!!