Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

[Matt Frisbee]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Low-Rent kit-bashed his costume and armor from a military surplus store and a sports outlet that was going out of business. If you want flashy, just go to a sports supply place and have them customize a hockey jersey for you.

 

Matt "Did-this-in-real-life-for-a-Halloween-costume-once" Frisbee

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Now I want to design a Muslim heroine who fights crime while wearing a burka.

 

I did that for a mentalist/precog for my Middle-Eastern NPC hero team, The Right Hand. She's called Sharia (Arabic for "the way" or "the path," and also the name for the code of Islamic law).

 

Mind you, in the climate of Cairo where the team was based, the burka is in fact pretty practical, not to mention culturally appropriate.

[Badger]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Yeah' date=' I know, the excuse for traditional heroic is that it allows "ease of motion", but it's also a bit impractical at times. Really, unless you [i']want[/i] the world to know all about your undies, does it make sense for a flying character to wear a miniskirt (I am looking at you, Supergirl)? Not to mention Powergirl's amazing "cleavage window"! I get why Namor runs around in nothing but a Speedo, but it's not like Seeker has an excuse to go shirtless. And then there's Edna Mode's "no capes" rant.

 

I suppose its a good thing that everyone with superpowers has 0% body fat...

 

Anyway, as an intellectual exercise, assume you're not that fond of spandex (or don't have the research budget to create those space-age materials the movie heroes have -- how did Spiderman afford that thing, anyway?).

 

What could you put together from your closet (or with a credit card and a trip to a mall) that would ne suitable for heroic work without having to custom-order from a space-age textile firm, or worry about "popping out" an an inopportune moment?

 

 

No problem, my characters dont do spandex.

 

Badger- Just a T-shirt and blue jeans. I thought it would be good to have a hero who didnt go for the standard look. And he doesnt interact in an alter-ego with the world (quite a recluse). So no need to protect a Secret ID and all. He just goes in wearing whatever he is wearing.

 

Frosty Bob- an ex-mercenary whose powers is a whole lot of guns and various other weaponry. Basically wears military fatigues.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Now I want to design a Muslim heroine who fights crime while wearing a burka.

Well, it'd certainly be a perfectly good costume for a mentalist. Especially one who operates in Saudi Arabia or other places where burkas are typical clothing:

 

Investigator: How was she dressed?

Witness: In a burka.

Investigator: What color was it?

Witness. Black, of course.

Investigator: Were there any other women present?

Witness: About 900. It was a conference on 'The Traditional Role of Women in Wahabbist Islam." That doesn't include the 12,000 burka-clad women outside protesting the conference as "untraditional".

Investigator: D'oh!

 

[Karmakaze]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Now I want to design a Muslim heroine who fights crime while wearing a burka.

 

 

You mean like this?

[OddHat]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

You mean like this?

 

Something like that, yes.

[Moonblade]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

In actual comics, a vigilante named Wild Dog from DC Comics was developed using only things you could get in the real world. His outfit ended up being a hockey mask kevlar vest under a football jersy with a Red Dog on it, fatigues and heavy boots. Worked pretty well.

 

I designed a kooky blaster (based on Starman's Cosmic Rod) who wore a top hat (with sewn in hair) and waist coat with stars on it. His face was covered by over-sized Elton John sunglasses (flash defense) Fencing pants, knee high socks and sneakers. God bless the hippies. Easily made and no one would mistake him for a civilian. Or a Republican. Useful in some places, not in others.

 

Though based on Karmakaze's post, burkahs may become the next unstable molecules. I'd put those women up against Mechanon!

[Karmakaze]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

The burqa also works for a gadgeteer - think how many pockets you could have under there!

[Zeropoint]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Costumes of some of the characters I've developed, although not all of them have seen actual play:

 

Special Agent Trent: standard government-issue black suit, with sunglasses. He's resistant to identifyint himself as a "superhero", and wouldn't consider wearing a traditional costume.

 

Amanda Powers: a light brick, who wears a gray bodysuit of light armor to augment her natural toughness, as well as a visored helmet which privides hearing and sight flash defense. She wears a jetpack and carries a blaster pistol as well as both flash-bang and tangler grenades.

 

Icefox: Super-martial-artist with minor cold powers, wears a traditional "ninja" outfit, in white with blue trim. The suit is lightly insulated, because while he has cryogenic abilities, he has no special resistance to cold. Under the suit he wears a light Kevlar vest, as well as kevlar gloves and fore-arm sleeves. He's also got steel rods on his forearms for blocking.

 

Lindsay "Gojira-chan" Connor: doesn't have a secret ID to protect (kind of hard when you're a green-skinned amphibious lizard-girl), so she doesn't have a costume per se. She does, however, usually wear a black polyaramid swimsuit as underwear, because she never knows when she might need to go swimming, and it's nice to have SOMEthing on that won't fall apart during something as minor as jumping through a brick wall.

 

Der Rustungsoldat: power armor. 'nuff said.

 

My very first superhero, the Wraith, wore a black cloak over a black turtleneck, black jeans, and black boots. He was the only one in the group that DIDN'T have Instant Change, and eventually just started staying invisible all the time as his "costume".

 

That tends not to be good for public recognition.

[Battlestaff]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

You mean like this?

Great video. Though I did find myself thinking that you could get a similar effect from a traditional nun outfit (whimple and all).

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

I did that for a mentalist/precog for my Middle-Eastern NPC hero team' date=' [i']The Right Hand[/i]. She's called Sharia (Arabic for "the way" or "the path," and also the name for the code of Islamic law).

 

Mind you, in the climate of Cairo where the team was based, the burka is in fact pretty practical, not to mention culturally appropriate.

 

Now this is something I have always wondered about: how is a burka a practical garment? I realize you do not want the sun beating directly down upon you, but being enveloped in all that black cloth has got to be stifling. What am I missing here?

[Trebuchet]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Now this is something I have always wondered about: how is a burka a practical garment? I realize you do not want the sun beating directly down upon you' date=' but being enveloped in all that black cloth has got to be stifling. What am I missing here?[/quote']You're not missing anything. The sole purpose of the burka is to protect the woman's "modesty" in extremist Muslim areas such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. I suspect they are incredibly uncomfortable; especially since those I've seen pictures of look like they are made of heavy cloth and not even the lighter breathable cotton clothing worn by men.

 

Note that the vast majority of Muslim women are not required to wear burkas; merely wearing traditional robes and head covering not much different from what Western women wore 100 years ago for much the same reason. Even in America women didn't typically show their ankles in public until the late 19th century.

[SatinKitty]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

With all my characters, it would depend on the character, the situation, the weather, etc.

 

Dragon Jane the wanna-be Model has quite a different wardrobe than Mind Flair, the quiet middle-aged Mentalist. Also Dragon Jane has large dragon wings. She requires special clothing.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

You're not missing anything. The sole purpose of the burka is to protect the woman's "modesty" in extremist Muslim areas such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. I suspect they are incredibly uncomfortable; especially since those I've seen pictures of look like they are made of heavy cloth and not even the lighter breathable cotton clothing worn by men.

 

Note that the vast majority of Muslim women are not required to wear burkas; merely wearing traditional robes and head covering not much different from what Western women wore 100 years ago for much the same reason. Even in America women didn't typically show their ankles in public until the late 19th century.

 

It seems unlikely they would have been made in the first place if they were that completely impractical. Googling finds some claims that it's hot and stifling, and others that it, well, isn't...

 

Apparently the idea is that loose fitting clothing is cooler than tight fitting, even if it's heavier and there's more of it.

 

It's a superior option if you don't have suntan lotion, I think.

[yamamura]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Really' date=' unless you [i']want[/i] the world to know all about your undies, does it make sense for a flying character to wear a miniskirt (I am looking at you, Supergirl)?

 

This reminds me of a question that I often ponder. If a super heroine wears something that is basically a leotard there is generally no problem. But if she puts a short skirt over that leotard then suddenly there is an erotic quality to it. I am guessing it has to do with the mystery of the unseen and catching glimpse of it.

 

Anyway as to the question, I generally play in super worlds that run the spectrum from Wild Cards to what I call a secret super campaign (people have powers but the common person doesn't know about it). Because of it, almost all my characters wear street clothes appropriate to their surrounding. Though I do admit following Shiho Inada's comment from Ghost Hunt for some of my Japanese characters; "She's a teenage girl! What a shame if she's not wearing a skirt!". By the way Martial Artist with kick orientated martial arts should not wear skirts.

 

Now if I am playing in a 4-colour campaign then I generally go for the impractical clothing that fits the genre.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

It seems unlikely they would have been made in the first place if they were that completely impractical. Googling finds some claims that it's hot and stifling, and others that it, well, isn't...

 

Apparently the idea is that loose fitting clothing is cooler than tight fitting, even if it's heavier and there's more of it.

 

It's a superior option if you don't have suntan lotion, I think.

Which part of "[the] sole purpose of the burka is to protect the woman's modesty" didn't you grasp? It's not about protection from the sun; traditional Arab men's clothing does that very well (and I say that as someone who has personally worn robes in a desert environment not unlike Saudi Arabia's; El Paso's temperatures always exceed 38° C/100° F for at least a few days every summer). You don't stay cool wearing a tent; you stay cool with loose-fitting clothing that permits airflow.

 

Burkas are about control over women; not sunscreen.

[Wanderer]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Really' date=' unless you [i']want[/i] the world to know all about your undies, does it make sense for a flying character to wear a miniskirt (I am looking at you, Supergirl)? Not to mention Powergirl's amazing "cleavage window"! I get why Namor runs around in nothing but a Speedo, but it's not like Seeker has an excuse to go shirtless.

 

"What is modest and proper for a steel-bending invulnerable girl to wear ?"

 

"Whatever £$%& strikes her fancy!"

 

On second thoughts, given that amplification of physical beauty to Hollywood star/model standards, spontaneous athletic build, and disappearance of body fat unrelated to secondary sexual characteristics (that's b@@bs) seem to be an universal side effect of metahuman genes activation, that most such activations occurs in late adolescence/young adulthood, and that a streak of exbitionism is likely in people with a crusading mentality, the showoff fashion standards of the superhuman community suddenly make a lot of sense.

 

It seems unlikely they would have been made in the first place if they were that completely impractical. Googling finds some claims that it's hot and stifling, and others that it, well, isn't...

 

You seem to be blissfully unaware of the atrocity extremes that oppressive societes will go in order to constrain the freedom and autonomy of women. Have you ever heard of traditional Chinese foot-binding ?

 

As it concerns female superhuman fighters wearing high heels, I assume that the only non-mind-boggling way to accpet it is that every and each of them have low-key Always On Flight Powers and they are actually hovering an inch off the ground all the time.

 

As it concerns the main topic of the thread, I find it highly interesting and would gladly wish to contribute, unfortunately clothing is an area where my English vocabulary seems not up to the task, past the everyday basic

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Flash attack' date=' OIF, No Conscious Control?[/quote']

Girls Gone Wild Lass

 

[prodigyduck]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Colorful costumes are a genre convention of superheroes. Wearing practical outfits really depends on your campaign. In my Metaworld campaign, part of the Metahuman "package" is getting the classic superheroic physique, so your hero(ine) is gonna look good in the costume.

 

We had some instances of players coming into the campaign who tried to be the "I don't wear a costume" type. They did not last long in the game, as that is a very Iron Age thing to do, and Metaworld is a Modern Age setting.

 

Metaworld also has several space-age materials that are used for costuming. Spannex is the standard, which fits like spandex, but breathes like cotton and is generally resilient. Ballistic latex is used by those wanting the "rubber bat-suit" effect; a form-fitting armor.

 

Now, having colorful superhero costumes is based on a campaign, like I have mentioned. I prefer costumes, as it is part of what makes a superhero. I don't like characters who just wear clothes. In my opinion, were I to gain actual powers and be a hero (which I would, if my powers were good enough), I would be looking into a professional tailor. I would not just grab some stylized t-shirts from my drawer and call it good. That sort of thing is not recognizable.

 

As a hero, one should stand out.

[Karmakaze]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

This reminds me of a question that I often ponder. If a super heroine wears something that is basically a leotard there is generally no problem. But if she puts a short skirt over that leotard then suddenly there is an erotic quality to it. I am guessing it has to do with the mystery of the unseen and catching glimpse of it.

 

Context.

 

A woman can wear a bikini and it's not a problem. Change the fabric to cotton and add some lace and suddenly it's underwear and no longer acceptable.

[casualplayer]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Since a scary amount of my characters are Spirit homages, most wear a suit cut loose, trenchcoat, gloves, hat and a domino mask.

 

Otherwise I'm fond of motorcycle racing gear for costuming. The leather straps, dominatrix stuff does it for some but I usually don't play that type of character. My NPCs on the other hand....

[DataPacRat]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Bunny sometimes wears what's apparantly a unique costume... her sidekick, the polymorphous Shifter (who is also her lover), who's been her living "catsuit" more than once. And yes, they do - but I'll leave the details and possibilities to your own imagination. (But feel free to post them, as long as they're within the forum's rules... if any are)

[Shike019]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

My current character hasn't actually had a Costume until, well the near future, He generally wears A dress shirt and pants (no tie) a fadora and trenchcoat (as weather permits), and keeps his powers a secret, fitting into the everyday. He will, eventually, be wearing something akin to a Black Zen Monk outfit with a black "blindfold" (sight group flash), and since he has 360 Spatial awareness (that is better than normal sight) he won't be using his eyes anyway.

[Spiral]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Taylor is a desolve character and would wear jeans and a sweat or t-shirt. She would use her motorcycle helmet to hide her identity.

Savage well he wears whatever is semi clean mostly. He don’t care if someone id’s him or if his socks match either.

Ms Mystic would wear her business like suit. She is a mentalist so she can use her powers at range.

[Karmakaze]

Re: Practical Costuming (not quite a WWYCD)

 

Mentalists are always good for the plainclothes bit. 'cause if you go *squish* easily, you don't neccessarily want to give off the "Hi! I am a target!" signal with your clothes.