Costober 2020 Day 10: Selina Kyle

My final vigilante is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman from numerous Batman and Batman adjacent comics, series, and films.

About the Look

There are many and sundry versions of Selina Kyle and I adore every one of them. In particular, the live action Cats have my whole heart: the originals Julie Newmar and Earth Kitt, the iconic Michelle Pfeiffer, the relatable Anne Hathaway, the adorable Camren Bicondova. And I definitely already love Zoë Kravitz in the upcoming film with Robert Pattinson (whom I also already love).

Selina is a thief, but compared to the rest of Gotham’s rogue gallery she’s barely a criminal. Her main crime is having little to no respect for the laws of government or polite society. Selina’s origin stories vary, but she’s always impoverished, especially in comparison to billionaire Bruce Wayne. She’s always mistreated by the corporate world and the political patriarchy that raise up and support people like billionaire Bruce Wayne. And she always flaunts her disdain for those systems by taking what she wants and flinging back biting commentary on society’s failures, often right at billionaire Bruce Wayne and/or his secret persona, Batman.

And so, Selina Kyle is my hero.

About My Look

The other important detail about every Selina/Catwoman is her relationship with Bruce/Batman. I’m sure it surprises no one that BatCat is one of my OTP Forever ships. It’s enemies to lovers with side helpings of childhood trauma and secret identities AKA my catnip (wink). I decided to create a ‘gala’ outfit for Selina because I find it delightful that every BatCat gets to dance at a party.

I found my dress at Savers. It most resembles the cocktail gowns worn by Hathaway’s Selina in The Dark Knight Rises and Bicondova’s teen Selina in Gotham. I owned the Black Cat Tights and the gloves. The pearls and mask were purchased at Party City. These also reference TDKR— the film gives Bruce and Selina a happy and healthy ever after and I appreciate that more than I can say so I definitely wanted to highlight it.

I gave myself a ‘cat eye’, and my eyeliner and mascara are also a little messy on purpose as a nod to superheroing generally and Pfeiffer specifically. The lipstick is Covergirl’s Katy Perry collection “Katy Kat”. None of my cats were super excited to be in a photoshoot, but Sushi (ragdoll) and Amelia (tabby) at least let me get a couple snaps in. We live next to the cemetery. The penguin plush was caught accidentally but I love the shoutout to Batman Returns. And I found the Batman plush on the side of the road only this morning. I was out getting cat litter and it seemed like a sign!

I also had some fun with filters for this shoot. I liked that my look has a 1920s Flapper feel to it, and of course all of Batman in very noir, and decided to play.