I'm going to be looking for a really wonderful looking Superman costume. The ones I've seen online look just a bit cheesy to be truthful (don't want any fake muscles built into the chest). Or I'd go for a pattern if there is one available.

The tricky part with this is that Superman will be copyright, so I doubt you'll find a pattern at all. I even had a quick look for a more generic superhero one you might adapt, but no luck. I think the only thing you might find is one meant for speed skating, but a lycra catsuit for a man wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world to get right (though fittings might be fun!)

I think the hire or buy route would be my choice.

Superman

This link is to Warner Brothers, but I hope you're sitting down when you see the price. I'd imagine people hire these though.
I don't know what you're doing, but you'll also have to watch advertising materials because of copyright. These big corporations don't muck about!

I suppose one final route would be to try to buy the catsuit from a dance shop and then make the rest of it.

Yeah, that price is a bit steep, but it sure looks good!
Thanks for the idea of starting with a body suit. I'll check into that. The show that this would be for is called Its a Bird Its a Plane It's Superman - a musical that I've been crazy about since I first heard the music as a teenager in the 60's, but I've never seen it done. The music is by Charles Strouse who wrote the music for ANNIE. So, there shouldn't be a problem with the trademark or the copywright to the costume design.

Just a thought, but you might like to try googling for costume suppliers in your area. e.g. skywalkers. Not a recommendation as such, but I've used these guys in the past for other stuff.

Can you believe it? I actually found a very detailed set of instructions with photos for a perfectly lovely Superman costume! It's the best I've found. Just wanted to share!

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/other/othe...perman-costume1

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