Listen, I know the US of A isn’t super popular, globally speaking, but for all my country’s issues, I still love it, and the Fourth of July — a.k.a. Independence Day — is still one of my favorite holidays.
For me, it’s always been about summertime and family and cookouts and fireworks displays. I love macaroni salad and hotdogs and I get teary when we sing “The Star Spangled Banner.” We’re not perfect, and sometimes (maybe a lot, lately) we’re outright terrible, but I still consider myself a patriot. Like Cap, I’m proud to be American.
Speaking of the Star Spangled Man, did you know the Fourth is Cap’s birthday, because of course it is??!? So if you’re going to closet cosplay during this holiday weekend (and I assume you are, of course), who better to emulate?
As closet cosplays go, Cap is a pretty easy one. I already had a Captain America: Winter Soldier t-shirt and a pair of red skinny cargo pants, but I could honestly have done this with any combination of blue shorts, red pants, and three different t-shirts, because Cap is my jam.
Make-up, too, is pretty simple: the 1940s were all about mascara and red lips for the ladies, but for Cap’s look, I’m keeping it low-key. The first step is just to even out my skin tone, so after washing my face and moisturizing, I applied a thin layer of BB Cream (I use Physician’s Formula with a Beauty Blender), a coat of lengthening mascara to try and emulate Chris Evans’ God-given fringes (Maybelline, in black), and swiped on a quick coat of a nearly nude lip stain to finish (my preference: Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in Honey). The currently having a moment no-make-up make-up look works great here.
Note: if you want to go all out for crossplaying, you’ll want to pick up a bronzer and highlighter for some contouring, but I’m aiming for a more casual look today.
Next: running over my curls with a straightening iron. Steve Rogers’ hair is as straight as the stripes on Old Glory, so I spent a few minutes ironing out the beach waves from my afternoon, and slicking in a coat of pomade (American Crew, which has the benefit of smelling a little like Steve must…or I assume). My hair is a fair bit longer than Steve’s but it behaves okay with a little product.
Finally, I needed to find some way to add in the shield; Steve, of course, is never without it, but I did find a shield larger than my torso a tiny bit difficult to add to a streetwear look.
Enter these:
ONLY THE GREATEST EARRINGS EVER.
Here’s what it looks like all together:
Wait, I think we can do better:
What do you think, Cap?
Happy 4th, fellow Americans! And for everyone else, happy Saturday!
And happy birthday, Cap. We love you.
