If you’re looking to cosplay as the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Dr. Steven Strange, then you’re in for a treat! Not only is he an amazing and powerful avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but he’s also one of the most popular characters to dress up as for cosplayers.
One of the great things about dressing as Dr. Strange is that it’s an instantly recognizable character that doesn’t require bulky armor, a mask, or tight fitting body suit. Dr. Strange is also a great character for men of all ages whether it be a kid at the first convention to an adult who naturally has gray hair. (Source)
So, what do you need to create a perfect Dr. Strange cosplay costume? Let’s take a look!
The Clothing:
The key to any good Doctor Strange cosplay is clothing. In the comics, Steven Strange often wears blue clothes with a red cape and a large amulet around his neck. While there’s no set “rule” for how to exactly recreate this look, it’s a good place to start. You can find all sorts of blue clothing items at your local store or online. If you plan to dress as Dr. Strange for several events, we highly recommend this complete outfit from Amazon. It has all the clothes and accessories for the complete look in one place.
If you’re more on a budget, I will detail the way I would find each piece.
How to make Dr. Stange’s blue tunic on a budget
The best way to get the look of Dr. Strange’s blue outfit is to find a blue button-down shirt and wear it outside of your pants. This will give you the layered look that Dr. Strange often sports in the comics. Once you have your blue shirt, add a black leather belt around your waist. This will give you the illusion of a tunic for a fraction of the cost. New oxford style shirts can be purchased for $10-$15, and if you’re open to thrift stores you can pick up one of these for under $3.
How to make Dr. Stange’s pants on a budget
To get Dr. Strange’s pants, look for a pair of black skinny jeans or jeggings. If you don’t have these in your closet, they can be found at any store that sells denim for around $30. Once you have the pants, cut two strips of blue fabric and sew them down the sides of the pant legs. This will give you the same look as Dr. Strange’s blue pants without having to buy a whole new pair of jeans.
How to make Dr. Stange’s cloak on a budget
One of the most iconic things about Dr. Strange is his red cape. To get this look on a budget, find a red scarf or piece of fabric and drape it over your shoulders. If you want to get a little bit fancier, you can sew a button or brooch onto the scarf so that it stays in place.
If the scarf is a bit small, I would recommend looking for a red comforter or bright red sheet. A single twin-size sheet would be enough material for the cloak. If you know how to sew, you can hem the sheet as a cloak to the right height. If you don’t know how to sew, I highly recommend stitch witch. It’s an adhesive fabric glue that will allow you to easily make seams in clothes without ever touching a needle and thread.
Another option is an entry-level red cape. These can be purchased for under $10 and all of the work is done for you.
How to make Dr. Stange’s accessories on a budget
In addition to the clothing, there are a few key accessories that you’ll need to complete your Dr. Strange cosplay. The first is the large amulet that Strange wears around his neck. This can be created using a large piece of cardboard or foam board. Simply cut out a circle and then decorate it with paint, glitter, or whatever you have on hand. Once it’s decorated to your liking, punch a hole in the top and thread a piece of string or ribbon through it so that you can wear it around your neck.
The second accessory you’ll need is the Eye of Agamotto. This is a key part of Dr. Strange’s magic and can be recreated using a simple pendant or earring. Simply paint it gold and add a green gemstone in the center, and you’re all set. You can also find cheap pendants and earrings at your local craft store.
The third and final accessory you’ll need is Dr. Strange’s iconic goatee. If you don’t have a beard, don’t worry! There are plenty of fake beards on the market that will do the trick. You can also find these at your local costume shop or online. If a fake beard is outside your price range, consider getting an eye-brow pencil at a local dollar store. This will allow you to draw on the appropriate facial hair, and it can easily be washed off at the end of each day.
With these simple tips, you’ll be able to create a Dr. Strange cosplay on a budget. So get out there and start cosplaying!
Upgrading the Budget Dr. Strange Costume
One of the great aspects of cosplay is that you can start on a budget and one piece at a time. We’ll cover the order we’d replace each budget with something that will be more durable and look more polished.
How to upgrade the budget blue Dr. strange tunic to a more professional costume
This is probably the easiest piece to upgrade. I would look for a blue karate outfit or gi. Here’s our top pick that was under $40 when I was writing this blog post.
As someone who spent a lot of time with karate outfits when I was younger, I can tell you a major drawback is that they don’t have pockets. If this is a concern, I’d recommend sticking with the pants from your existing outfit.
If you can sew, you can either add pockets to the pants or the inside of the top of the tunic.
How to upgrade the budget red Dr. strange cape to a more professional costume
This is an absolutely easy place to upgrade, and many people even just start with buying a cape. There are budget capes for under $10 with some very good quality ones at the $20 price point. We’ve included a link to our favorite adult red cape
How to upgrade the budget Dr. strange amulet to a more professional costume
The amulet is one of the more difficult pieces to upgrade on a budget. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, and a simple pendant will work just fine. If you want something that looks very much like the official amulet, you can get those on eBay or Etsy; however, for most people, a large gold-colored amulet will be close enough.
Our top pick for finding one of these types of amulets is your local Goodwill or thrift store. They almost have a counter near the registers that have jewelry. They will also have a large amount of costume jewelry that only costs a few dollars.
You can look for an amulet or brooch of any color. If you get a broach, you will just need to add a ribbon to be worn around your neck. Also, the color doesn’t matter because a can of gold spray paint on the amulet will get you the exact thing you are looking for.
How to create the Dr. Strange boots
The first thing you will want to do is find some black high-top shoes. The important part of this is that the shoes have a hard sole. You don’t want anything too flexible as it will make it difficult to walk in the final product.
The next step is to add the cuffs around the ankles. This can be done with some pleather or leather that you cut to size and then glue or sew onto the shoes.
Once you have the cuffs in place, you will want to add the zippers. If you can’t find zippers that are the right length, you can always buy a longer one and then trim it down to size. You will want to sew or glue the zipper onto the cuff so that it stays in place.
The last step is to add the silver detailing. This can be done with some metallic paint or by gluing on silver sequins. You can also find silver ribbons and use that to accent the zippers.
Wrapping up
In this article, we have shown you how to create a professional-looking Dr. Strange cosplay on a budget. We started with finding clothes that would be the base of the costume and then showed how to upgrade them. The most important part of upgrading is making sure that everything looks as close to the real thing as possible. For some pieces, like the amulet, this may not be possible on a budget; however, for most people, it will only take a little bit of extra effort to make their costume look great.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions about creating your own Dr. Strange cosplay!
Also, if you’re interested in Cosplay on a Budget, we’ve got a whole section of our site dedicated to it. If we don’t have your favorite character, feel free to send us a note on Twitter and we’ll see about writing up a guide.
