For me, one of the hardest parts of any cosplay is the shoes... and that is saying something because making shoes is my job. There are so many problems with trying to make custom shoes; they are weird shapes that can be difficult to sew / pattern, finding the right materials in the right colors is a jhuge pain, plus a bunch of the superhero shoe designs out there are too crazy to be functional (I've never worn heels but I imagine fighting crime is in them is a problem).
For this project I found a pair of boots on Amazon (top left) that which had a pretty perfect sole to start with. It a wedge which is at least a bit more practical, they have a nice combat tread, and actually look pretty close to the Black Widow's boots in the Avengers movie (bottom left).
From there I started modifying them to look more like the Avengers design. The key to this project was leaving the lower part of the boot alone! All that stuff down there gives a heeled shoe the necessary shape and support. I replaced the shank with a different material, changed the shape, moved the zipper and added the eyelets and goring (fancy word for elastic).
These boots now work perfectly for both Black Widow and Black Canary! The one aspect I am still torn on is the eyelet color. I like the way the silver works with the Black Canary but its a bit to shiny for Black Widow so I may paint them black.
More detailed shots after the jump.
