We’re midway through the second theme with vigilante Kissing Kate Barlow from Louis Sachar’s novel Holes and its film adaptation.
About the Look
Six years ago my daughter, Aeris, read the book Holes for school and subsequently watched the film at least five times in six weeks. She liked the whole story, and called Shia Labeouf (Stanley) her favorite actor for a while, but Kissin’ Kate was her favorite.
Revenge stories are a dime a dozen, especially in a western setting. But Kate doesn’t just go after the man who killed her lover and destroyed her livelihood. She goes on a decades long rampage across Texas, robbing banks and murdering men, and even in death curses a family for hundreds of years. Kate was a victim of sexism and lost her true love to racism and she decided to take her anger out on everyone. And she was angry to the day she died. Miss Katherine was powerless to stop her fate; Kissin’ Kate Barlow took power for herself. Her story inspired Stanley — and Aeris, too.
About My Look
This is another one I didn’t purchase anything new for. But the two blouses were purchased (secondhand, a year or three ago) with Olde Tyme/Western characters and/or aesthetics in mind. I’ve been doing everyday cosplay so long, nearly everything I buy reminds me of someone or something.
Both blouses reference the mid-1800s to turn of the century/pre-WWI time period. This encompasses all my favorite (non-space) westerns: The Quick and the Dead, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, True Grit, and Tombstone. The brown blouse, which I’m wearing as a vest, gives the appearance of a corset when closed. The bottom cream-colored blouse (per tag it’s bebe) also has the vertical ribbons to suggest boning and both have puffed sleeves. I love the variety of texture on the bebe blouse, with ruching on the sides and the pilled center panels and sleeves.
The jeans (Express boot leg) and boots are modern but have been in style since the wild wild west. The cardigan I previously wore as Anne Shirley. The hat was part of a steampunk outfit my daughter got a few years ago at a Halloween specialty store. More recently, she removed its gears and goggles to make her own accessories and gave me the hat to do with as I please. My lipstick, important when the character is known for kissing a corpse as a calling card!, is again the Revlon Wonder Woman lip polish, plus a Rimmel ‘stay glossy’ gloss in the “Rulebreaker” shade.
or Commission a Look
she looks like the fortnite battle bus