As soon as I walked out of Ghostbusters I knew who I was going to cosplay for my first Comic Con: Jillian Holtzmann. I already had curly blonde hair I could pin and spray into the right style, and the rest was a matter of finding the right clothig.
Holtzmann has several outfits in the film, which fortunately means you have a lot of options when cosplaying as her. You’re first option is to go the cinematic route and dress up in her Ghostbusting uniform. This can get expensive, however if you buy it from a cosplay website and want to then add some of the equipment. There are ways to make things yourself, but if you’re strapped for time, not crafty, or like me don’t even know where to begin looking for your own orange tape to put on a gray jumpsuit you found online, you might want to go with Holtzmann’s everyday outfits instead.
The great thing about Holtzmann is that you don’t have to be perfect. She’s a bit of a fashionable mess in the best possible way. You’re look can be imperfect from the movie, and still give a strong Holtzmann vibe. When you pick apart her clothes it looks like items that you can find in perhaps your own closet, but definitely in a thrift store, which is where I went. I cannot recommend thrift stores enough. One trip to Good Will, $40, a couple hours with a helpful friend, and five purchases later I got Holtzmanned.
First we stopped in the shoe section, hoping to find brown and white Oxfords, a component of the outfit I thought I had the most chance with. Bam! I find a $10 pair that fit. They do have heels though, which might be a little uncomfortable after a few hours at Comic Con, but I can bring an extra pair of plain flats. The only problem was that I planned on wearing gray high-waited dress up pants I already owned, but now they wouldn’t match. Thus my helpful friend and I searched the women’s dress pants for a brown or beige pair and walked away with three to try on.
The next key component for me was a tie. A quick Google trip led me to search for a brown diamond pattern. Good Will had an entire bin full of ties! All were only $3 too.
My friend Chloe immediately found the perfect tie hanging above the bin, but honestly every thrift store bin in the country probably has a tie that will be Holtzmann enough if you are willing to stray from the exact pattern.
The next item as well didn’t have to match perfectly from the film version. I was looking for strips and a collar, and something that had the gist of the rest of the outfit’s color scheme. I couldn’t really find anything in the women’s section. What might Holtzmann do? We checked out the men’s. While not white with strips, the shirt we found matched the tie and pants amazingly well.
Lastly the choice was between finding a dressy vest and adding the leather jacket I already owned, or finding a green trench coat. I couldn’t find a vest, but I lucked out and found a sort-of-green trench coat that work well enough. In a perfect world I would have found one a little darker, but honestly it was everything I needed. This was the most expensive piece at $18, but was worth it.
I picked which pair of pants fit the best and my Holtzmann outfit was complete in one thrift store trip. I couldn’t believe my luck. Trying on the items all together I felt like I was playing dress up with my dad’s clothes, and this my friend, meant I was doing it right. I also felt strongly connected to Kate McKinnon and her character. That is the point of cosplay. Having fun and geeking-out is way more important than getting every detail right.
Another route I could have taken was to simply finding a green crop top, and overalls to splatter paint on, since I already owned striped socks and black boots. Then I'd buy finger-less gloves.
There’s also this outfit, though it’s difficult to find the exact shades of green to match the shirt and the pants. If you are able to find it, I’m impressed.
Then of course, an outfit that involves a signature T-shirt. The exact shirt may be online, or a variation of similar colors may be in your closet or local thrift store.
The bottom line here is that an easy inexpensive way to Cosplay as your favorite Ghostbuster is to take a look in your closet, see what you have, and then search around in a thrift store or two. You just have to be flexible and base your costume on what you find. Lastly be open to small imperfections on your outfit. The gist of the character is often enough. I could have been Holtzmann in the high-waisted gray pants I didn’t end up using, and I can definitely be Holtzmann in high-heel Oxfords instead of flat ones, and a black striped shirt instead of a white one.
Lastly, no Holtzmann outfit would be complete without one of the pairs of her signature yellow goggles. Shopping online you do have the option to spend a little more money and get something official looking. There’s also yellow tinted snow goggles if you want to use something to keep up your hair-do or wig up. What I did is buy round John Lennon style glasses online. When they arrive I may leave them as they are, or play around with something to give it a dust guard. It’s a tiny detail though, and I know it’s not going to make or break the costume.
If you are going to cosplay as Holtzmann and want a variation of one of her every day outfits I highly recommend this route and hope you have as much luck as I did.
