Who’s ready for a super cool Marvel costume from the new What If… show on Disney+? I dressed up as Peggy Carter, as Captain Carter last night for the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland. It was fairly easy to pull together, check out my Captain Carter costume below!
Who is Captain Carter?
Don’t know who Captain Carter is? Then you haven’t been watching the new Marvel series What If… on Disney+. Basically the show explores alternate timelines in the multiverse. In episode 1 it shows what could happen if Agent Peggy Carter ends up taking the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, would she become the first avenger?
Basically Peggy ends up becoming a super solider named Captain Carter. She’s not American so obviously being called Captain America wouldn’t make sense. Hayley Atwell plays Margaret Elizabeth Carter in the movies, tv shows and voices the character in this new series as well.
Why she ends up having to take the serum and the resulting changes to the timeline can be seen in episode 1 of What If… I recommend watching the show if you haven’t yet, it’s a pretty fun take on what could happen in the multiverse.
Peggy Carter Costume
As Captain Carter, Peggy now wears a hero style jump suit with a Union Jack (or British Flag) design on it. She also carries a shield with the same design and a short sword. Other Captain Carter details include tall brown boots, a brown belt and brown should harness for her shield.
Captain Carter Disneybound
I’d consider my Captain Carter costume to be somewhere between a costume and a disneybound. I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a costume, I like to piece costumes together with things I own, or can borrow first. Then I make things and lastly buy pieces as necessary.
Captain Carter Costume Union Jack Shirt
Peggy actually wears a sort of uniform styled outfit with a long sleeve shirt and matching pants. The shirt is decorated with Union Jack flag colors, it looks a lot like a British flag with a few additional details.
I knew a long sleeve shirt would be too hot for Halloween at Disneyland or at home in Arizona, so when I found a short sleeve blue Union Jack shirt on Amazon, I knew it was the best solution for me.
Blue Pants
I had a pair of dark blue jeans that matched the shirt pretty well. I think they worked out great. I added 2 thin stripes of red duct tape to the legs, to mimic the detail on her uniform pants.
Female Cosplay Boots
I am a flip flops with a small side of tennis shoes girl. So I didn’t own tall brown boots but I think they are really essential to the Captain Peggy Carter costume look. If you already own a pair of boots or can borrow a pair then you are golden. I scored a pair on clearance and suffered a bit wearing them at the Oogie Boogie Bash. It was worth it, although I did change once it was dark into my flip flops.
Captain Carter Brown Belt & Shoulder Harness
I already had a brown belt to wear and made myself a brown shoulder harness using duct tape. I own a lot of duct tape but I had to buy a roll of brown duct tape for this project.
If you plan on Disneybounding in the park, you could substitute a brown leather backpack for the shoulder harness. It would give you the look of brown shoulder straps and also a way to carry essentials in the park.
How to Make a Shoulder Harness out of Duct Tape
Basically my harness is just a big loop of brown duct tape. First I used a a piece of string to determine how long I needed to make my harness. In my case, I ended up with a harness about 64 inches in length total.
To make a loop of duct tape that long, I first matched up two pieces of brown duct tape about 32 inches in length together. Then I cut the double sided duct tape in half length wise. I used a small piece of brown duct tape to connect the ends together to create a loop with a circumference of 64 inches.
I twisted the loop once and then wrapped small pieces of duct tape around it to keep it in place. This creates the ‘X’ on your back. Then add two silver strips of duct tape to each of the front straps to mimic Captain Carter’s look.
Captain Carter Costume Shield
My lightweight harness is for looks only, it doesn’t actually hold the shield. In order to wear the shield while walking around I used a binder clip on the handle and attached it to the neck of my shirt. The shield is light enough for this to work well.
My shield is just poster board and duct tape which makes it very light. I made it 18″ in diameter so it could fit in my large suitcase.
If I didn’t need to pack it for a trip to Disney, I might have made it a wee bigger but honestly I thought the size worked pretty well for me.
Check out the step by step guide here —> Captain Carter Costume Shield
Brown Gloves
Carter also wears brown gloves but because of the heat I forgo those. If you wear this costume in colder weather, I’d wear a long sleeve shirt and brown gloves.
Peggy Carter Hairstyle
I already had longer dark hair, so I just styled it in a classic 40’s style as best I could. I focused (my very limited hairstyle skill set) on rolling some curls around my face back and pinning it away from my face. The rest of my hair was in big curls and I think it worked for me.
I love this Peggy hair tutorial though, it even showed how to fake a shorter length if your hair is a bit too long like mine. Since I was wearing this costume to the Oogie Boogie Bash and it would be overly warm, I knew my hair wouldn’t last too well and I didn’t want to waste to much energy trying to create it or worry about it afterwards.
Captain Carter Cosplay Costume
Just want to buy all the costume pieces? Check out these easy options you can just buy online and have them shipped to you:
If you are looking for a super authentic Captain Carter cosplay costume, Etsy is a great place to look for custom cosplay items. Keep in mind that Etsy tends to be custom, handmade items so they can have a long turn around time and/or be quite pricey. I’ve seen several different shield and cosplay options.
What costumes could you pair up with a Peggy Carter Costume?
Obviously a Captain America costume is the best idea but a Howard Stark costume is a fun idea too. Both ideas would also work great with a traditional Peggy Carter cosplay either in a female military uniform or her signature blue knee length pencil skirt and jacket with plain white blouse, red hat and high heels.
Cheri says
You did a terrific job!!!!! My 35 year old daughter asked me to make captain carter for her. Thank you for all your work and detailed instructions. I will make your design!
Karen says
Thanks Cheri!! I loved how easy mine was to make and I am so glad I can help you make your daughter a Captain Carter costume too!