Harley Quinn: Lessons Learned

Harley was my first serious character. Starting in summer 2015 I was putting together costume pieces and learning that Brooklyn accent. My husband, Billy, is the voice actor and continuity guy of our outfit, and he really helped me find that place between smart and crazy and the NY local flava.

This review process is proving indispensable to my Cosplay Learning Curve! No matter how many times I've pulled out Harley from my closet, I learn something new. Usually it's something fun, which is the best part of playing her. 

New goals for this costume (since Ellen and I are basically the sane, powerless versions of these cuties) are to branch it out and start making some true-to-cartoon versions. First version I wanna do is the Attack on Arkham Harley. Why that one? Read my reviews of Attack and Suicide Squad, and you'll know...

1. Wigs are important & finicky
   
   
   Get one that fits and your head won’t be pulsating in pain by the end of the day! Try it on in the store, do not be ashamed. If it’s your first wig (like mine...) and you’re surrounded by apparent experts (like I was...in a busy mall and there were kids hollerin' and ladies waiting behind you to try on their own wigs), it’s likely they’ll try and help/advise not mock you!
   
   
   If you want pigtails you might have to sew a bunch of extra hair into the back of your wig....that was the most difficult thing done yet for a costume. whew.
   
   

   

   Sewing wefts in for pigtails...oof.

   I’m gonna keep researching the hell out of this, but it appears that different types of wig hair curl, hold dye, frizz and absorb oil in VERY different ways… My Harley wig  is a Taylor model by Its a Wig! I bought her in a store in a mall. The wefts I sewed into the back for the pigtail coverage were Arda Classic hair in Titanium Blonde. The wefts held almost no curl from hot rollers but did maintain the blue dye really well, while the original Taylor hair all greens out by the end of the day. All the hair tangles equally. Every time I wear her, I must I brush it out 4 or 5 times – Harley is so damn active that I return after 6 or 7 hours of maniacally bouncing around threatening Batmans, hitting on Deadshots, and huggin all the kiddos, o-my pig-tails are matted as a stray Shih Tzu.
   
   
   So she's been through the ringer in the last year... At this point I’m looking for a replacement Harley wig, for two reasons: 1) Bangs, 2) giant Danish skull of mine does not like fitting in there.
   
   
2. Definitely memorize your make up patterns when you find something good
   
   
   That way, when you wake up late, you can dress – body paint to eyelashes – in 12 minutes flat. Giving you 3 minutes to dye your wig. Not kidding.
   
   
3. ACCESSORIZE!!!

This is something both Ellen and I have learned rapidly about Cosplaying seriously: keep adding stuff to our costumes and they just keep getting better!

Additions to Harley this time around:

• Noosed up Batman Mopeez doll dangling from my hip,
• super swick home-made plastic hammer,
• electro shock gum gag, &
• tiki drink umbrellas to spruce up even water glasses (I was DD, so you know, keep those soda waters coming...)

Not the best, but it does capture 3 of the new accessories, the wig matts, & how mobile she is. Also, Daft Punk.