What You’ll Need
- Marycrafts Women’s Formal Office Business Shirt Jacket Skirt Suit
- Luxe Faux Fur Tippet (Buy on eBay)
- Locomo Faux Rabbit Fur Cuffs
- Extra Narrow Rectangular Plastic Eyeglass Frames in Brown
- 26″ Gold Eyeglass Holders
- Silver Crystal Square Stone Large Teardrop Emerald Green Stone Earrings
- Touch of Nature Ostrich Plume
- Marilyn Monroe Wig
Rita Skeeter’s look centers on sharp, mid-century tailoring exaggerated to the point of theatricality. She dresses like a 1940s wartime correspondent crossed with a society gossip columnist, favoring rigid jewel tones, structured shoulders, and unapologetically lavish trims.
Because her silhouette relies so heavily on clean tailoring rather than fantasy robes, putting this outfit together is largely an exercise in finding the right vintage-cut separates and accessorizing them with deliberate precision.
The Tailored Skirt Suit
The foundation of the costume is a sharply tailored two-piece skirt suit. A fitted jacket with structured shoulders, defined waist shaping, and a matching knee-length pencil skirt gives you the correct period profile. While deep emerald green is her most recognizable screen color, rich magentas and jewel-toned purples fit the same aesthetic if you find a suit with the right cut. Heavier suiting fabrics hold their shape well, whereas flimsy polyester blends tend to buckle under heavier collar trims.
Faux Fur Collar and Cuffs
Rita’s jackets frequently feature plush fur accents around the neckline and wrists. Instead of sewing fur permanently onto a jacket, you can drape a separate faux fur tippet or small shrug around the collar. Securing it with a concealed safety pin underneath each lapel keeps it centered without damaging the suit fabric.
For the sleeves, detachable faux fur wrist cuffs slip directly over your forearms or jacket sleeves. Matching the fur texture and color between your collar piece and your cuffs ties the top half of the outfit together immediately.
Eyewear and Gold Chain
Few props define Rita as quickly as her spectacles. Her frames are unusually narrow, rectangular, and sit perched low on the bridge of her nose so she can peer critically over the rims. Brown tortoiseshell or thin horn-rimmed plastic frames fit the part well.
Attach a lightweight gold eyeglass chain to the temples of the frames. Beyond matching her habit of letting her glasses dangle dramatically against her chest, the chain is practical during a long convention day when you want to take the frames off your face without misplacing them.
Jewelry and Nails
Rita favors heavy, slightly gaudy accessories that telegraph status. Teardrop earrings with emerald green center stones complement the green suit palette while providing enough sparkle to stand out against styled blonde hair. If your ears are unpierced, clip-on converters or vintage screw-back earrings work just as easily.
Long, lacquered fingernails in crimson or deep claret are another hallmark of the character. Press-on stiletto or almond-shaped nails give you that predatory, quill-gripping look instantly without requiring weeks of salon maintenance.
Sculpting the Vintage Curls
Rita’s hair is set in rigid, sculpted rolls and tight curls that look like they have been shellacked into place. A platinum blonde pin-up or Marilyn-style synthetic wig gives you a strong starting base of volume and curl.
Synthetic fibers straight out of the package are often too bouncy and soft for her severe hairstyle. Section the bangs and side curls, roll them inward toward the scalp, and pin them securely while applying a liberal coat of firm-hold hairspray. If the wig has an unnatural synthetic shine, dusting it lightly with dry shampoo or translucent powder softens the plastic glare under convention lighting.
The Quick-Quotes Quill
The costume is incomplete without her trademark writing tool. A long, acid-green ostrich plume or dyed feather creates the exaggerated silhouette of the self-writing quill. You can wrap the quill base with floral wire and green ribbon to shape a pointed nib, or hollow out the tip of an inexpensive ballpoint pen and insert the quill shaft so it functions as a working pen during photo ops.
Pair the plume with a small, weathered parchment notebook or leather-bound reporter pad. Tucking the notebook under your arm leaves one hand free for photos, food, and navigating crowded hallways.
