Captain Marvel Carol Danvers Leather Jacket Costume NEWBIE QUESTIONS

[TheAmazingJared]

Hey everybody, long time lurker first time poster, I have a big project I want to start but I've never done something like this before, so I'm pretty excited. I need advice and suggestions from anyone that's willing. I hope someone is interested enough to read and contribute, but I'm sure this is right up y'alls alley.

Let's get to it. I was inspired by this image on Deviant Art by an artist called Rahzzah.


Not the tradition tight fitting spandex costume you normally see her sporting. But the main question I wanted to ask and the subject I find most perplexing is the jacket. I want to do a gender bent Carol Danvers Captain Marvel with a civilian vigilante vibe using this as a springboard. Where do you recommend I start with the jacket? All leather jackets if they are good are pricey but given time that is no issue. What's recommended, do I buy a jacket as a base, paint it, sew colored leather bits onto it, have someone else make the jacket, order one that exists already? I've never made clothes for a cosplay and I've barely cosplayed before. I am not afraid to learn how to make a leather jacket but I am worried it would be too costly over the amount of time it'd take. That being said let me break down my idea a bit more.

I want to do a version of the most modern costume in the above style. This is her now.


I figure dark blue (maybe tight) jeans, I have red converse, red leather driving gloves, custom belt/sash with utility pouches, an undershirt like above but with the classic lightning bolt on it, and then the helmet. Which is arguably the next hardest thing to figure out. In my mind at least.


I really like the idea of the top being a leather jacket just like in the 1st picture, but I am unfamiliar with jacket styles and think it is just a basic motorcycle jacket. That could be totally wrong as I can't get a solid answer about it, maybe I'm not looking in the right places. If anyone knows the style of jacket that is please let me know.
I have looked up anybody trying to make their own and besides a cosplayer I couldn't get info on to contact there is this website http://www.black-leatherjacket.com/carol-danvers-captain-marvel-jacket listing a Captain Marvel Jacket for sale based on the movie, which isn't out for a while and they use this picture of Katheryn Winnick as Carol which still has yet to be cast.

Has anyone ordered from this site or seen the jacket they sell? Has anyone purchased this particular jacket? Please let me know I can't find a real photo anywhere and I desperately want to see it, this would help me so much!

My other alternative is to use the Captain America stealth suit jacket from the Winter Soldier movie as a base to start creating my Carol's.

I see these all over the web, which do you guys who have seen or bought them prefer? I can't seem to get a standard quality but the one shown above is probably the best I've found. These jackets would work great in my eyes for the base of Carol's jacket. It has the star albeit with less arms but it also has the stripes across the arms. What do y'all think? Is dying leather easy or plausible with something like this? It be hell dying the blue and making it the right color but maybe if I dye the stripes & star yellow, add some arms to the star, and then either sew red or dye the blue red above the stripes it'd work out?

Like I said I have no experience with this sort of thing and I have no deadline this is an ongoing project of mine. I've come this far and need advice and help. What do y'all think of my ideas? Am I on to something? How hard is it to learn to make a leather jacket? Or to just sew leather onto leather? Is dying leather a decent looking alternative? I have doubts dying it would yield the best results. Anyone have ideas for the helmet? It's not my focus now but I welcome ideas as that will be a challenge too.

Let me know what you think, I am very eager to actually get something going on this. I think it has the potential to be a really rad cosplay.
Thanks guys, I love this place, stay cool!

 

[Yrien]

I doubt you''ll be able to successfully dye that jacket (you can't dye lighter colours over darker colours, and dye will just mix with what's already there to give a combination of the two colours), but you could look at leather paints. I haven't used any but a fellow costumer has raved about Angelus brand. That jacket is probably sealed so you will have to remove that before painting. There should be full instructions with whatever paint you buy.

Making a leather jacket would require a pretty heavy-duty sewing machine. Most cheap ones won't be able to manage the thickness of the layers you'll need. But if you have a machine that can handle it you could give it a try. I'm a beginner seamstress so I wouldn't be comfortable doing it, but it would depend on your skill level (and budget, because garment-weight leather isn't cheap in a lot of places!). You'd have the same problem with trying to add stripes of the right colour of leather (though that would be a lot cheaper than making a whole jacket). You could also try sewing by hand if you're just adding the stripes.

I have no suggestions for the helmet! I've never seen a template for it, so you might have to take an existing helmet template and heavily modify it, unless you can find someone who is selling casts of it.

Good luck! I love seeing gender-bent costumes, especially when guys do a female costume.