Betty Felon is an outfit blogger of superheroine proportions. When not photographing her own outfits and costumes, she documents her favourite Fashion Tips from Comic Strips. Plus, one time she made this really wicked Pokemon dress, forever securing a place in my heart.

If you were a superhero, what would your costume look like?
First and foremost, a domino mask is mandatory, as are bow-shaped Batarangs, since I wear bows with almost every one of my outfits. The rest of my dream costume would include a long-sleeved leotard, matching tights, patent combat boots, a streamlined utility belt, and an optional cape that falls mid-thigh. As for the color palette, I think that I’d stick with a more retro colourway — light aqua body, cherry red cape and mask, and lemon yellow accents.

Do you think there is a difference between costume and fashion?
I think it really depends on the role that fashion plays in your life. In a general sense, there really is no essential difference between costume and fashion when you recognize both as a means of visual identity. While costumes often seem a bit audacious and inappropriate in normal settings, you really have to consider the significance of a costume to a superhero or supervillain, serving as an iconic identifier; even after years of redesigns, most characters can be identified simply by their synonymous symbol, theme, or style. Similarly, civilian characters also have a symbol in the form of a signature look, which allows us to identify Lois Lane by her impeccable sense of business-casual or Jim Gordon by his browline glasses within even the most intricately dense splash page. In relation to the fashion world, I think that virtually everyone has a signature style or item that they wear that personalizes their daily ensembles.

However, I think that the similarities between costume and fashion are actually more apparent when heroes and villains assume their civilian identities. As civilians, they wear “normal” inconspicuous outfits to blend in with their surroundings, not unlike how less-than-super individuals will abide by a dress code at work or this season’s popular-yet-overdone fashion trends on a daily basis, usually for the primary purpose of fitting in. Their civilian wear in turn serves as their Average Man and Normal Woman costumes, giving them the power to hide their actual powers and identities.

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