Wonder Woman Duct Tape Boots

My daughter has wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman for Halloween for years. Somehow though, we have never gotten her the costume to do it. She has had Supergirl outfits, every princess dress ever, capes, crowns, and magic wands, but every time we approach October, her focus drifts off of Wonder Woman, and she latches onto another costume. As a result, we've just never made her Amazonian dreams come true.

Until this year.

We nearly got sidetracked this fall too, as it has been the year of the dragon for her. Witches, Red Riding Hood, princess', and butterflies I could do, but constructing a dragon costume on a shoestring budget was not going to happen. Ultimately, we found this great Wonder Woman nightgown to use as the base of her costume, she had a crown already from a cereal box DC promotion earlier this year. All we were missing was the boots.

Do a quick search for red leather knee-high boots in women's size 9. I can wait (just don't lose this page!) My results came back with anywhere from $35 - $100! That kind of goes against the idea of costuming on a budget. So naturally, I turned to Pinterest. What? We might not be as well represented, but dads can use Pinterest too. One post turned up again and again on making duct tape boots, and that served as the foundation for Nat's footwear. However, the tutorial was for Musketeer boots, which had a little different styling than Wonder Woman, so I had to make some adjustments.


At their base, you'll need a pair of shoes, a pair of old tall socks, colored duct tape, and optional card stock to help form the leg/peak on your Wonder Woman boots.

Oh Captain, My Captain

I think it's confession time.

We have a bit of a superhero problem in this house.

It's not uncommon for us to be invaded by Superman, the Flash, random Avengers, Wonder Woman, etc. As a result, our closet has no shortage of costumes for the kids to dress up in (and me from time to time, if we're being honest). The kids have all the action figures, we've seen all the shows (Netflix has proven invaluable with all the cartoons the kids have had access to.) Free Comic Book Day is an annual outing, both the older kids have their favorites. Santa would in fact get hate mail from our address if he didn't provide a little superhero fix on December 25th.

I don't think there is anything wrong with our obsession, mind you. I love the idea of superheroes. They show us a better version of ourselves. They provide an example to aspire to, even if we will never be able to fly or shoot webs from our wrists, or compel the truth from someone by throwing a lasso around them. They vanquish evil, stand up for the weak, and affect change in those around them.

So, we play dress up. We imagine. We let the worlds of Marvel and the DC universe overtake our living room. And soon, the two boys and their heroes will be moving into the same bedroom. A room overrun with mutants and aliens and defenders of truth and justice is exactly what Godzilla wants, and exactly what he wants to share with his baby brother.

A superhero themed room though needs superheroes to fill the walls, so who should go up first, but the first of them all. Action Comics #1 staring Godzilla as the Man of Steel. Maybe you remember it, maybe you don't (go ahead, take a look, he makes a good Superman). The second thing will be the other iconic American hero, Captain America. And what more iconic image of Cap is there than the cover Jack Kirby and Stan Lee put together after JFK's assassination. While this cover may not be as recognizable as AC1, It is one of Marvel's most important.  It was a story of a man out of time who represented the strength of democracy and perseverance. It showed that we can overcome our trials based on our will power and conviction, and that is a message I want my kids to learn. Who wouldn't want to embody such a message? Combine Captain America with Iron Man, Thor, Ant Man, and Wasp, and you have the perfect template to base another anchor to the boy's room.