Coolest Rosie the Riveter Costume

I’ve always loved the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” image and decided I’d like to try to go as her for Halloween. Most of the Homemade Rosie the Riveter Costume was very easy to put together.

Due to the rise in fashion of the USO-style/flavor jeans, I already had a pair on hand. I paired them with some Maroon Mary Jane-style Doc Martens that I already owned, figuring they looked durable yet feminine for more of a “Rosie” feel. I already owned a dark blue button down collared shirt. It was long sleeved so I just rolled it up to imitate the shorter sleeved style.

I wanted to make sure the bandana she wears was as close in look as possible. Instead of just wearing a normal red one, I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought a yard of some red fabric with white polka dots and then cut a section to match the size of a normal bandanna. I put my hair in a bun and then styled the bandana using the picture for reference.

In order to get the desired effect, I felt like I needed to have a “We Can Do It” sign to bring with me. I bought a large sheet of yellow foam core at Michaels and taped a dowel rod (also from Michaels) to the back of it. In order to get the shape of the letters perfect, I pulled a pic of the poster up on my ipad, zoomed in to the desired size, and then traced all of the letters on white construction paper. I used a dark blue acrylic paint and painted the top portion of the sign to match hers. After letting the sign dry overnight, I used a spray adhesive and glued the white letters to the sign board.

I spent the entire night posing with people in front of my board and making Rosie’s signature flexed muscle pose. When I got tired of holding the sign, I put the dowel rod in my pocket and held on to the board instead. There was a costume contest at the pub crawl we were on, and the guy in charge approached me to say he loved my costume and encouraged me to enter. I won third place!

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