Things You'll Need:
- Batsuit (Cloth or rubber)
- Cowl
- Utility Belt
- Gloves
- Cape
- Boots
- Trunks (for Adam West Style and Animated)
- Black Theatrical Make-Up (for Animated and Film Style)
- Love of the Character
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Step 1
Adam West in the 1960s Batman Television SeriesFirst, the best thing to decide is which type of costume is right for you. "Type?" You ask. First, there's Adam West's costume. This is a one piece gray bodysuit with coordinating trunks and accessories. Obviously, if you're a little more robust, this isn't going to hide some of your "problem areas" like other suits would. These suits are usually custom made by fans and prop makers.
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Step 2
This muscle suit evokes both the animated series and the Batsuit as seen in panels of the comic.Then there is the Animated Series style Batsuit. Like Adam West's suit, this one is gray, but more recent suits have featured padding to cover some areas that might otherwise go "unshielded". The cape is also a bit larger allowing for more coverage. Unlike Adam West's 60's television series costume, this one has a black cowl, cape, boots and trunk whereas Adam's had blue.
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Step 3
Mimicking the Batsuit made popular by the films, these suits are all black and usually vinyl or rubber.The last suit is the more recent Batsuit which is rubber and features a bit more detail. These seem to be the most popular and come in a variety of sizes making it easy for men with larger frames to wear them "comfortably." I put comfortably in quotes because, well, you're going to be encased in rubber. That's not necessarily going to be like walking around in your house robe.
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Step 4
Plus size muscle BatsuitWhen choosing your costume, make sure that you purchase the right size keeping in mind that the suit should fit tight, but not too tight. You always want to consider length issues. For example, a shorter man might have trouble with some of the rubber suits as they are hard to custom tailor. However, the cloth suits could be taken to a tailor and adjusted for height.
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Step 5
The utility belt was Batman's best friend (other than Robin).Before the appointed day you wear your costume - be it Halloween or a con - you want to make sure you have all the proper accessories. The basics are: body suit (or Batsuit in this case), cowl, cape, boots, trunks (if going with Adam West style suit), gloves and, last, but certainly not least, the utility belt. Got to have the utility belt.
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Step 6
When your suit is altogether, you want to try it on at home and get used to the feel of it. There's nothing worse than going to a costume party in a costume that is uncomfortable. Especially when, with a little preparation, you could have made that costume a bit more easy to wear with a few alterations and adjustments. Walk around the house with it. If you feel silly at home alone in it, imagine how you will feel walking out of the house in it? Get used to it and make it your own. Perfect your walk and see if there will be any problems with chaffing (Oh yes, it does happen), pinching or any other sort of nasty uncomfortable side effects.
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Step 7
Expert Eyes Make-Up Remover by MaybellineYour final touches will be make-up. Yes, make up! With the exception of West, all Batman's outlined their eyes with black make-up in order to ensure that their eyes "melted" in with the rest of the cowl. Make sure to get a good theatrical style face paint from a costume store or theatrical prop shop. Try it on a few days before to make sure you don't have any allergic reactions to the paint. Most theatrical paints are (now) light and easy to wear (whereas they were once like putting on spackle). Still, better safe than sorry. Also consider putting on a bit of moisturizer before putting on your black make-up and taking off with an eye make-up remover found at any drug or discount store.
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Step 8
Last but now least, perfect your voice. Unless you are going with the Adam West version, you'll want to put a little mystery and depth into your voice. And above all else, have fun!
