They say clothes make the man. Tony Stark wore expensive suits before wearing....well, an even more expensive suit. It defines his character, a kind of visual short hand to tell the reader essential information about
who he is through his choice in clothing. Take Peter Parker; his early look was clearly a stereotypical nerd, the sleeveless sweaters, the glasses, the pocket protector, the pants worn way too high. What does his clothing tell you about who he is? Well, for starters he looks like he was dressed by an old lady. His clothes make it clear his family can't afford the latest fashion. Also, sweaters are warm and practical.
Now, let's take a closer look at May 'Mayday' Parker:
When we first meet Mayday, she's wearing her basketball uniform.She's athletic.
Later, she rocks a flannel shirt with jeans. Notice she also has glasses and wears earrings. Confident, smart, comfortable in her own skin. I'll admit I don't know fashion very well, but this feels like it has traces of the grunge look to me.
Before we get any further, I've got to come clean: I pawed through over 140 Spider-Girl comics in preparation for this particular blog. I scanned nearly 200 images, all different outfits May has worn through the years. Of course, posting every single one here would be ridiculous (I did consider it) so I've decided to focus on major shifts, as well as a few recurring themes.
May's personal style of dress evolves as much as she does. Starting with her early appearances in her own title, May often wears the classic shirt-and-jeans combo, with the occasional mid-riff-exposing shirt or hoodie with cargo pants and long coats because, hey, it get's cold!
Over time, we see more and more little changes; three-quarter pants, haltertops, sleeveless shirts, sandals, backpacks, even a fishnet undershirt! Admittedly, I'm not a teenage girl, but much of May's style fits both her age and personality.
It's around this time, I feel, May starts to transition even further, trying a wide variety of styles and looks. After all, aren't our teen years all about finding ourselves.With a new hairstyle came some eclectic fashion choices:
...I may have gone over board with references on this one. It's worth mentioning the reader input. Several outfits were submitted to the Spider-Girl letters pages and were used in various issues, some of which I have included in the image above-see the bottom left as well as the image above it on the far left.
Anyway, the end of the original Spider-Girl title meant a months-long jump ahead for May and a jump in her taste in clothes.
A lot of red, blue and black, as well as the school colors, orange and white thrown in for good measure. Not only did Mayday let her hair grow out, she also grew up. Here she appears even more confident, with more skirts and different clothing combinations, all following an internal consistency and logic. I have to be honest, looking back at the original series, there were clear signs that both Pat and Ron were finding out who May was as a person, in the same way we, the readers, were discovering it.You could see them trying new looks, and seeing what worked, what didn't and what they could tweak. But in Amazing Spider-Girl Ron Frenz is confident and clear in his vision of who Mayday is and what she'd wear. I think his creative efforts on both series helped give May a definitive look.
Of course, Ron may have co-created Spider-Girl, but for 5 years May's wardrobe was in the very capable hands of Pat Olliffe. Pat's take changes over his time on the book but (as you can see above) it's notable he quickly established a 'base' style, and deviated and grew from there. Also, on many occasions a shirt or other piece of clothing used by Pat will later inform an outfit used by Ron. These two artists continually improved and complimented each others work, creating between them a visual language. I can't sing their praises enough.
It's significant that a series starring a young female lead character never resorted to objectifying May. Mayday is an individual with her own unique style, she doesn't need to wear revealing outfits or pose provocatively because the writer and artist chose to let her personality and natural beauty shine by treating her as human being. I'm very proud to have grown up with her as a positive role model for young people.
This project took me a very long time, so I hope I've done this topic justice. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about May's wardrobe, so leave your thoughts below!
Until I invest in a leisure suit, I remain
frogoat
