Evolution of the Wonder Woman Costume

As Wonder Woman celebrates her 75th anniversary, fans all over the world are looking back over the superheroine’s saga and legacy. Wonder Woman is such a big icon that she’s had dozens of revisions and re-imaginings to her character – on the comic book page, in TV shows, and soon enough, the movies, as well.

One big part of Wonder Woman’s iconography is, of course, her costume. It’s had just as many changes as the character herself, and in honor of Wonder Woman’s anniversary, we’re taking look back over seventy-five years of her personal fashion.

With help from our friends at HalloweenCostumes.com we start from the beginning and work our way to today with a slideshow of the iconic outfit that will again be donned by Gal Gadot in the upcoming Justice League Film.

The 1940s

The original Wonder Woman designs by H.G. Peter were actually deemed “scandalous” if you can believe it! Especially when her shorts started to shorten even more. 

What originally started as some uncomfortable-looking high-heeled boots late evolved into a Grecian sandal look.  

 

1950s – 1972

Like the US of A itself, some pretty drastic changes happened to Wonder Woman in the span of time between the 1950s and 1970s. 

Diana was shoved back into heels; her high boots returned as well, she even lost her powers and went civilian for a while. However, when the ’70s hit with its renewed push of feminism in popular culture, we got the look (gold belt, short shorts, big hair) that would define a lot of kids’ childhoods for years to come. 

1974 – 1977

Wonder Woman was a TV star in the ’70s – a big enough one, in fact that she had several outfit revisions.

The Lynda Carter Wonder Woman costumes are by now a big part of the pop-culture zeitgeist; however, that questionable outfit for the 1974 TV movie might be less familiar. 

Fun fact: it was during this time that Wonder Woman started rocking silver bracelets. 

1982 – 1994

In the ’80s and ’90s, Wonder Woman was in the creative hands of comic book icons like George Perez and Mike Deodato Jr. 

Progress was made in the form of changing her generic eagle chest logo into a more clever “WW” double stack design, and forever eliminating the high heels from the boots. She also got a very ’80s big hairdo.

…Of course, progress was also lost when, by the ’90s, creators were cutting her top lower and briefs higher just to boost sales. 

1995-1998

DC Comics of the mid-to-late ’90s is defined by trying to make radical changes to their core characters at the end of the 20th century; changes that almost across the board were retconned by the early-to-mid-2000s. 

For Wonder Woman, that time period meant being stripped of her Amazonian royalty and going “street” with her look. After a huge blowback from that ill-fated look, acclaimed creators like John Byrne and Adam Hughes tried to put their own spins on the “classic look.” By the mid-2000s, most of those re-designs would be thrown out. 

2006 – 2011

Honestly, the 2000s were a confusing time for everyone, and Wonder Woman was no different.

There was regression to some of the classic designs (eagle insignia and briefs); some drastic jumps to “modern” design that caused big controversy (leggings and a jacket), but as we moved into the 2010s, things settled down into a more sensible and yet still modern blend of those two ideas. 

2015 – 2016

With the modern push for greater diversity in the superhero market space, there have been several attempts to reinvent Wonder Woman’s look in a manner more “respectful” to her character. 

…Not surprisingly, longtime fans have not been so open to these changes, which are often accused of being PC pandering with a profit motif. 

Ironically enough, the divisive modern version of Wonder Woman (actress Gal Gadot) has gotten the greatest approval when it comes to a modern costume.

Click HERE for the full Wonder Woman Costume Infographic!