‘WandaVision’s Scarlet Witch Costume Makes Me Want to Finally Ditch the Quarantine Sweats

The moment that WandaVision finally reveals Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in her full Scarlet Witch costume, I clapped. I couldn’t help myself. After decades of seeing technicolor comic book costumes reinterpreted as simple black catsuits or gritty streetwear, it was a literal marvel to see the Scarlet Witch’s iconic getup reimagined as a weird and sexy fashion moment. It’s an unapologetic superhero costume without the kitsch, but unmistakably ripped from the art of Jack Kirby and his creative descendants. I loved it.

I love the Scarlet Witch costume so much that it has sparked something within me that I thought had long died. I’m hungry for fashion again. WandaVision‘s Scarlet Witch costume reveal makes me want to finally ditch the quarantine sweats. It’s not that I want to dress like a superhero as much as I want to dress like myself again. After all, the moment Wanda transitions into this iconic look isn’t her putting on a costume so much as it is affirming she is the Scarlet Witch. I want to reaffirm who I am, too. That’s how powerful this costume is.

WandaVision has been following the fraught emotional journey of Avenger Wanda Maximoff as she deals with the emotional fallout of the Infinity War. Ever since we met Wanda and her twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor Johnson) in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we’ve understood that they grew up with tragedy in their lives. WandaVision gives us more context for all of Wanda’s losses. As a sitcom-obsessed child in Sokovia, she saw her parents killed by a Stark Industries missile. While we were led to believe that she and Pietro were spared because another missile was a dud, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) posits that baby witch Wanda used a simple spell to freeze the explosive. Later, when Wanda encountered the Mind Stone in a HYDRA facility, it sensed the magic within her and forged her into the Scarlet Witch.

While Wanda got a glimpse of herself as this mythic being at the moment that the Mind Stone amplifies her powers, she’s never identified herself as a witch. In fact, there’s a whole back-and-forth between Wanda and Agatha where our girl keeps denying her witchy ways. She would prefer to be a modern mom in sweats and leggings. She would prefer to hide from the truth of who she really is.

Finally, though, Wanda embraces her destiny as the Scarlet Witch. After she tricks Agatha into pursuing her into the skies above Westview, Wanda reveals that she has surrounded the space with runes. This renders Agatha’s magic useless and lets Wanda draw a wave of power into herself. She transforms into the Scarlet Witch, horned headband, billowing skirt, and all. It’s not an illusion nor a Halloween costume. What we get is Wanda in her full power. This is Wanda asserting herself as the Scarlet Witch.

This is the moment I clapped. First because I was so happy Marvel had the balls to finally give Wanda a costume that hewed so close to what we see in the comics. (Just last week, it was a point of debate among the Decider crew: Would Scarlet Witch get her iconic headgear? And would it just be magical light, a la Agatha’s mother in the 1690s?) I also clapped because I thought this outfit was simply bitching. It’s weird, it’s outlandish, and it fits the character to a tee.

Scarlet Witch’s big costume reveal was the first time I found myself excited by clothes in a long while. I’ve spent the last year dressed much like Wanda in the Modern Family-esque episode: all sweatpants, cotton tees, and baggy hoodies. I’ve been comfortable, but I haven’t felt fully like myself. Scarlet Witch’s big reveal wasn’t just a fun and kooky nod to her comic book history; it was a reflection of how much our clothes reveal about how we identify ourselves. For all of WandaVision, Wanda has been hiding in costumes worn by the women she’s admired. When she manifests that red and black armor, she becomes herself. She becomes the Scarlet Witch.

Now there were a lot of things I didn’t like about the WandaVision finale. I’m irked we never learned who Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) was there to check up on in the Witness Protection Program. I hated that Wanda was able to torture the residents of Westview without repurcussions. I’m dying to know what happened to Señor Scratchy! But I have no complaints with the Scarlet Witch’s new costume.

The Scarlet Witch’s costume is a major character moment for the MCU’s Wanda Maximoff and it makes me want to find some real clothes that make me feel like the real me again.

Where to stream WandaVision