30 DIY Halloween Costumes For Empowered Ladies
By Emily Scott
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Screencap via Netflix
Jessica Jones – Jessica Jones
Why She’s Awesome: Right now, Luke Cage is getting tons of buzz, but last year one of the only TV shows to feature a female superhero hit Netflix to major critical acclaim. Jessica Jones, a private detective and reluctant superhero, has the strength of Superman and the disposition of Wednesday Addams. Krysten Ritter portrays Jessica as a highly competent and highly flawed woman. Her dark past haunts her, but it also serves as motivation for her to continue to do good.
In addition to featuring a compelling and empowering female lead, Jessica Jones became an unlikely addition to the global discussion about sexual assault. The main villain of the story, Kilgrave, has the power to control people’s actions and thoughts. It becomes clear in the series that he has used this power to emotionally manipulate and sexually abuse Jessica. This storyline became a surprisingly effective allegory to the idea of coerced consent and spawned an interesting discussion about the power and responsibility of film and television to address such important issues.
Jessica Jones, Image via Marvel
What You’ll Need: Jessica’s standard outfit is pretty easy to come by. Jeans, a gray t-shirt and/or sweatshirt, and black boots are things we probably all have in our closets somewhere. Her signature black leather jacket is a must, so use it as an excuse to buy the one you already wanted anyway. You might want to recreate Krysten Ritter’s long black hair, and find a camera to carry around as you do your private eye work.
Next Level Move: Mix it up! Is it too meta to dress as both TV Jessica Jones and comic Jessica Jones? Whatever, it’s Halloween – go for it! Instead of jeans, replicate Jessica’s white and blue superhero out fit with white pants, a white tank top, and shiny blue fabric or blue felt. Keep the leather jacket and boots as a nod to TV Jessica. And as for hair, try parting your hair in the middle and setting one half TV-Jessica-black and one half comics-Jessica-purple. It’s definitely an obscure costume, but if someone at your Halloween party gets it, you’ll know you have a kindred geek spirit!