30 DIY Halloween Costumes For Empowered Ladies
By Emily Scott
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in The X-Files, Screencap via FOX
Dana Scully – The X-Files
Why She’s Awesome: Scully, played by the incredible Gillian Anderson, is both an FBI agent and a medical doctor who gets recruited to, pretty much, rein in a crazy dude who believes in aliens. Of course, over the course of the X-Files, when presented with evidence, she changes her mind about aliens. But she never stops challenging Mulder. Their partnership is one of true equals – if anything, Scully would be the superior scientist and investigator.
Throughout the course of the long-running series, Scully gets abducted, gets diagnosed with cancer, survives cancer, gets diagnosed as infertile, discovers she had a child while she was abducted who then died, has another child who she then must give up for safety reasons, becomes a surgeon, and saves humanity by making a vaccine from her own extraterrestrial DNA. In short, she is a force of nature. Not only that, but her fictional presence actually had an effect on real life women. It is widely believed that the character set off a phenomenon known as “The Scully Effect,” in which Scully inspired many girls and women to pursue careers in STEM fields, like medicine and forensics. Scully is so amazing, she made real girls want to do what she does, and that’s huge.
What You’ll Need: Scully’s everyday outfit requires a sharp pantsuit, or a blazer/dress pants combo. A plain white button-down underneath and sensible black heels will complete her basic look. Thrown in a long black coat for the full FBI effect. Don’t forget her FBI badge! You can print out a simulation of her ID card from the Internet and stick it in an old wallet, then include a plastic gold FBI or police badge from a dollar store. And even though Scully went blonde in the recent X-Files reboot, her short red hair of the original series is iconic. Pick up a cheap wig or temporary hair dye to get it done!
Next Level Move: Get a Mulder, of course! Scully’s costume can totally work on its own, but the partners are such a package that it would really make the day to have a Mulder with you. Once you get a friend to agree to it, the costume is super easy – just a normal suit and tie with a similar fake FBI badge, and you two are all set!