Poison Ivy is one of the most popular villains in the entire Batman franchise, and her look has inspired costume makers everywhere. Whether you prefer to make your own Poison Ivy costume or purchase one, portraying this character will definitely garner a lot of attention.
Do-It-Yourself Poison Ivy
The best thing about a do-it-yourself costume is that you can use your own creativity to make it unique, so use this design as the basis for your Poison Ivy costume and feel free to make any changes you like. The costume featured here is designed for an adult, but it can easily be adapted for teens and tweens by choosing age-appropriate garments in the sizes you need.
Costume Supplies
- Green camisole or tank top for an adult; one piece swimsuit or bodysuit for a younger girl
- Green swimsuit bottom if using a camisole or tank (to be worn over the tights and under the skirt)
- Green fabric paint in a shade that contrasts with the bodice
- Green stretch-knit fabric for the skirt (how much depends on waist measurement)
- 1/2 inch green ribbon to use as skirt drawstring (enough to wrap around hips or waist and tie in place)
- Approximately 2 yards green tulle
- Silk roses or other flowers of your choice for bodice, skirt and hair (see images for examples)
- Silk ivy garland to use as a boa
- Nude or green tights
- Dr. Scholl's Insoles
- About 18 silk ivy leaves
- Green fabric marker
- Long, wavy red wig
- Bobby pins (for wig styling and hair flowers)
Equipment
- Scissors
- Low heat glue gun and glue sticks
- Sewing needle and green thread; sewing machine for skirt is optional
- Safety pin
- Straight pins
Creating the Bodice
Your choice for this piece of the costume determines whether it's suitable for an adult or a tween/teen, so choose wisely.
- Lay your chosen bodice piece on a flat surface. Using the fabric paint, draw some ivy vines in a pleasing pattern. Let the paint dry approximately 12 hours.
- Once the fabric paint is completely dry, use the glue gun to glue some silk flowers along the vines and press them down well as you glue each one. Glue your largest silk flower to the center of the chest area. Let the glue dry until it's completely hard.
Creating the Skirt
The skirt requires the most work, but it's still fairly easy to make.
- Depending on where you want the skirt to sit, measure around the hips or waist of the person who will wear the skirt. Add one extra inch to that measurement to ensure there will be enough fabric.
- You'll need a square of green stretch-knit fabric that is large enough to fit around the hips or waist after it has been folded over to create one large triangle.
- The folded edge of the fabric will become the waist at the top of the skirt. Measure 1 inch away from the folded edge, insert straight pins to use as a seam guide, and sew a seam along the entire length of that edge. This creates a "tube" where you'll insert the ribbon drawstring.
- To insert the drawstring, hook the safety pin into one end of the ribbon and close it. Insert the pin in the opening of the tube seam you sewed along the folded edge of the skirt, and work the safety pin all the way through to the other open end of that tube, drawing the ribbon along with it.
- Leave approximately 8 inches of ribbon hanging at each end of the skirt's top edge to use as ties and trim to remove any excess ribbon. Place a couple of stitches in the middle of that folded edge to anchor the ribbon in place in the tube so it can't be pulled out.
- Pin the two remaining edges of the skirt together to join the inside and outside pieces of the triangle and sew a 1/4 inch hem along both edges.
- Lay the untied triangle skirt on a flat surface with the drawstring edge at the top. Using the glue gun, glue flowers along the length of the two 1/4 inch seams to create a decorative edging. Do not add flowers along the waistline.
- Gather the green tulle together along the longest edge and then tie it into a bow with the long ends draping downward. Sew the bow onto the back side of the skirt close to where you'll tie the drawstrings together, but be careful not to sew through the ribbon. Glue a flower to the center of the bow.
- You now have a simple, triangle-shaped skirt that you can tie on at one hip.
Creating Ivy's Tights
The tights make a great accent to the costume's design.
- Using one or two stitches in the center of each ivy leaf, sew the leaves at random intervals along the length of the tights.
- If you wish, you can put on the tights and use a fabric marker to draw vines that connect the leaves. However, you can opt to leave this step out and the tights will still look great.
- When you put the tights on, insert the insoles into the feet. This will protect the bottoms of your feet as you walk around yet still give you a barefoot look.
Styling Ivy's Wig
Now that you have the costume, it's time to get the wig ready.
- If you want your wig to look like the one pictured on this page, roll the front into one large victory roll and secure it with bobby pins.
- Use more bobby pins to secure silk roses on either side of the victory roll.
Adding Poison Ivy's Makeup
A little body art adds extra dimension to this costume, so use your imagination as you create your face makeup for this character.
Supplies
- Your favorite foundation and rouge
- Black eye liner
- Black or brown mascara
- Green eye shadow
- Green eye crayon or face paint
- Ruby red lipstick
Creating the Look
- Apply foundation and rouge.
- Apply green eye shadow to your lids.
- Line your eyes with the black liner and apply some mascara to your lashes.
- Using the green eye crayon, draw ivy leaves and vines around your eyes and the rest of your face in a pleasing design.
- Apply red lipstick to your lips.
- Once you're finished with your facial makeup, consider using the green eye crayon to add some ivy vines to your arms. Extra touches like this can really add more visual interest to your costume.
Purchase Ready-Made Poison Ivy Costumes
Creating a costume from scratch is fun, but it's also a lot of work. If you don't have the time or energy for a do-it-yourself costume, there are some great options you can purchase. From full costumes to individual pieces that can help you cut corners on a homemade costume, there are plenty of options available.
Amazon
The Lethal Beauty costume sold at Amazon is inspired by the Poison Ivy character and comes with a dress, detachable train, a mask, printed leggings, boot covers and fingerless opera-style gloves. All you'll need to add are the wig and your own boots. The entire set is available in sizes extra small through extra large, and it retails for approximately $40.
Costume Super Center
Costume Super Center offers yet another take on Poison Ivy. The ensemble includes a green corset and mini skirt embellished with leaves, a matching headpiece, and forearm sleeves. It comes in sizes small through extra large and sells for about $90. You'll need to decide if you want to use your own hair or add a wig to your costume. As far as footwear is concerned, a pair of green pumps would be perfect for completing your look, but you might also consider hot gluing some silk ivy to a pair of flip flops for a more playful look.
Wholesale Halloween Costumes
Wholesale Halloween Costumes offer a rather sexy Poison Ivy costume for adults. It comes with a dress, fingerless forearm gloves, an ivy vine headpiece and an ivy boa. You'll need to add a wig if you want one as well as pantyhose and shoes. The set comes in sizes extra small through medium and sells for under $60.
Etsy
Whether you need an entire costume or just a few accent pieces, Etsy has a fascinating collection of Poison Ivy theme costume wear. You'll find items like eye masks that range from $11 to $20, printed tights priced around $25, and kid's costumes priced at $50 and under. Some items are one of a kind while multiples of other items are available. You're bound to find something here that inspires you and/or completes your version of Poison Ivy's look.
Attitude Required
Ultimately, you need more than a costume to become Poison Ivy; you need a little attitude to go with it. Rest assured, you're going to have a blast once you get into character because being bad can be oh-so fun!
