If you’re ready to find out how to rock a Black Widow costume for your next convention or for Halloween, look no further. This is the “beta” version of my Black Widow costume. It’s not perfect. There were definitely bumps and bruises in figuring certain things out – which is why future posts will detail all the changes and upgrades that I’ve made. Still, this version was popular, looked good, and managed to get me featured on Marvel.com for Costoberfest. I also happily rocked this version at DragonCon 2014.

You can always shop all aspects of the Black Widow look on my Beautiful but Deadly Amazon list for easy reference!

I started with a basic Leggs Avenue Cat Suit because, well, it was cheap. I will also say that it’s super stretchy, which made it pretty comfortable to get in and out of. I modified it for SHIELD purposes with patches very similar to these, secured with E6000. The only problem with that is that I kept catching the darn things while taking my purse on and off. No, I couldn’t figure out a way to go entirely without a purse for a full day. Underneath I wore some cheap Shapewear from Walmart that’s really super comfortable along with a regular bra and panties. Upside is that despite being skintight, Black Widow isn’t something that shows off a lot of bare skin, so you can keep it pretty comfortable underneath.

I got the upper belt at Sam Moon. It was a basic stretchy belt, which I then added the “Widow” logo to. You can find something similar here. I made the logo out of craft foam. Yep, the cheap kind from Michaels. I’ve modified it slightly, but that baby is still in business a full year and a lot of wear later. I’m pleased. The lower belt is a Deluxe Nylon Swat Belt purchased as is from Amazon. It’s perfect. Already had the pouches and everything, which really appealed to my lazy nature.

CLICK HERE to download your own copy of the template I used to make the layered Widow logo for my belt. The link will take you to the shop, but have no fear, the download is 100% free.

The thigh holsters were Halloween grade velcro things that came with plastic guns. I spray painted the guns black and, I’m happy to say, am still using them. The holsters, however, were a disaster. They slipped, they wouldn’t stay shut (I’m not tiny, tiny things do not fit me well), and ultimately I didn’t end up wearing them most of the con because I didn’t want to be in a homicidal rage the whole time.

The boots I already had – a discount pair from Walmart that are YEARS old and that I adore. The fingerless gloves were also courtesy of Amazon. They’re pretty comfortable, cheap, and they’ve held up well so far. The Widow’s Bite bracers were made using this toy bandolier from Amazon. Note that since you can actually make several bracers from one bandolier, it’s a good thing to share with other cosplayers if you know any. All I did for the first round was spray paint the bullets (I didn’t bother removing them from the bandolier – yes, I probably should have. Yes, I have upgraded them since, and there will be more on that in future entries.)

Hopefully this is helpful (feel free to ask below if I missed something!) and that you enjoyed the shots of me with my Hawkeye, Kevlar Unitard. We had a great time, and it’s a costume I’ve had fun upgrading a lot since this first run, so stay tuned for an updated tutorial!