First off, Happy Halloween! I hope you all had a lovely pre-Halloween weekend! And that today brings you lots of fun tricks and treats!

Over the weekend Patrick and I attended Stan Lee’s LA Comic Con. When I found out that in attendece were going to be Adam West and Burt Ward, the caped crusaders from the 1960s, and my personal favorite version of Batman, along with Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether, who both played Catwoman; Newmar in the series, and Meriwether in the film, I decided to go with a Batman costume for the event. But with so much else going on in the month of October, I opted for an easier cosplay that involved less sewing on my part. Inspired by a vintage showgirl style tux ensemble I scored years ago, I created a female interpretation of The Penguin, who was portrayed impeccably by the talented Burgess Meredith in the 60s series and film.

Going into this, I already had an abundance of respect for Burgess Meredith (his various roles on The Twilight Zone were especially outstanding), but after shooting this costume, I have even more respect for him! Not only was it a massive struggle to keep the monocle in, but my jaw hurt tremendously from clenching that darn cigarette holder! And Meredith’s Penguin is never without his monocle, and rarely removes his cigarette holder when delivering his lines.

One thing that I always loved about Penguin’s costume from the Batman series were the fuzzy details. Penguins waistcoat is actually fuzzy, as are the tops of his gloves (with the exception of his thumb), and his spats. And as I knew I wouldn’t be able to find such details, I embeleished both the gloves and spats, while making the waistcoat myself.

I had the pleasure of meeting and getting an autograph from Julie Newmar, my favorite Catwoman, and as I already had autographs from the other Batman cast in attendance, we enjoyed the rest of the con, and later in the day attending the Batman ’66 Reunion panel, which was moderated by Kevin Smith, and the cast discussed their time on the show (which you can view here), and Adam West said what I have believed about the Batman series all along – the who wasn’t just camp, as so many wrote it off as, but was indeed a “full out satirical comedy.” The series was actually incredibly smart, witty, as well as completely hilarious.

Batman, specifically West’s version, was my first ever love. For some reason before age two I was completely obsessed. My parents recall me running around the home singining “Na na na na na na na na Bat!” Not “Batman,” just “Bat” because I didn’t know how to say “man” yet. I also apparently would wake them up at five in the morning demanding to watch it, and when I had to stay with my aunt and uncle in Denver while my parents were away for an event, they realized they forgot our VHS copy of the movie, and frantically had to scour Denver to find a copy before leaving. And for my second ever Halloween I went as Batgirl, and my dad even dressed as Batman, silver tights and all, and that right there continues to mean the world to me.

In other news, it is finally Halloween! I can’t believe October has now come and gone! What a crazy month it has been! We were constantly busy, and I still didn’t do everything I originally set out to do! As for our Halloween plans, we’re off to Knott’s Scary Farm with some friends later this evening. Then looking ahead, Dapper Day is next weekend and I still have no idea what I am going to wear! That right there is a real scare!

Costume Details
Jacket: Vintage find ages ago…I don’t remember where now…
Shirt: Who knows…
Hat, Waistcoat, & Bowtie: Made by me
Skirt: Switchblade Stiletto
Wig, Cigarette Holder, Fake Cigarettes, & Monocle: Amazon
Fishnets: Nordstorm
Spats: Amazon, then covered in fuzzy fabric by me
Gloves: Spirit, then covered in fuzzy fabric by me
Shoes: Miz Mooz
Umbrella: Stolen from Pat