Steampunk Batman and Vicki Vail Couples Costume

My husband, Jonathan Potter, and I are wearing these costumes. He made the mask first just for a masquerade, and so many people told him it looked like a Batman mask that he thought it would be fun to make a whole Batman costume around it, but it is clearly not the style of any of the traditional Batman costumes, and we love steampunk, so we decided to go that direction with it. My costume isn’t obviously Vicki Vail without the context of his costume, but steampunk is generally Victorian, and although Vicki is a journalist, she also dresses in formal wear for one of Bruce Wayne’s parties. So I decided to go with a formal Victorian gown for my costume.

Jon had black slacks and boots already. We bought a black button-up shirt, and it removed part of the collar to give it a Nehru-style collar, then I made the trapezoid panel with buttonholes and added buttons to the shirt to attach it. Jon made the leather bat symbol and riveted it to the trapezoid panel. He also made the leather vambraces he wore on his forearms. The leather tool belt is from a hardware store, and the grappling hook is from a military surplus store. He cut his mask out of leather, then wet it and pressed it to his face to shape it. He then dyed it black and added the studs along the eyebrow ridges.

For my dress, I used Truly Victorian patterns TV225 and TV420, and I made the corset and petticoat underneath it from my own patterns. The dress is made with pre-embroidered home decor fabric, with cord, Venice lace, and bead trim hand-sewn to the edges. I also made the choker out of lace, pearls, and jewelry hardware.

(View this next: Beetlejiice and Lydia Couples Costume)