Right now, pretty much any store carries an array of graphic tees toting your favorite superhero emblem or visage. For the past few years “geek culture” has become more and more popular, leaving all of us who craved cool Star Wars t-shirts years ago totally immersed with vintage, fan art, official, and many more styles of clothing from which to choose. For everyday casual clothing, one no longer has to raid their parent’s closets hoping to score an original shirt from decades ago.

But what about of us in the geek community who want take it to the next level? Yes, I am talking about cosplaying! Attend any sort of convention and chances are that you encountered people in cosplay. If the forums and booths are the meat and bones of a convention, cosplayers are the blood, bringing the convention to life. Walking around the convention, a person can become completely enraptured in scouting out their favorite characters to have pictures taken with them.

So what happens when the convention is over and we have to put our full-body Fallout power armor suits away and switch into something more work appropriate? This is where “Undercover Cosplay” comes into effect. Each article will discuss and give ideas for how to bring your favorite move/game character from robot-crushing superhero to street styled.

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Today on this edition of “Geekly Chic Undercover Cosplay”, I will be covering another Overwatch character but with a slightly different approach. This article will focus on the fierce and rocket wielding hero of Fareeha Amari aka Pharah. Pharah can be found zipping around the skies, knocking back enemies, and always there is a chance of justice raining from above with her. Today, instead of the traditional women’s fashion looks, I opted for a more androgynous/men’s look to this character since she is a fan favorite for everyone. So, let’s take a look at Pharah’s in game outfit and then breakdown her undercover cosplay style and how you can take this from stopping Talon operatives to grabbing some brews with the gang.

For anyone who hasn’t played Overwatch yet, Pharah has one look in the game-her amazingly bright and brilliant armor that keeps her hovering the skies and sending rockets of justice into her enemies. Of course though, wearing armor all day isn’t practical for the majority of us, so here is another option to take her battle gear and make it more casual. 

Shirt:

For this look I went with something that had an almost “Nathan Drake” feel with a button down henley. You could use any type of tshirt for this look, but I felt the henley gave it a little bit of a relaxed look but still had an overall structured appearance that fit with the rest of the outfit. 

Jacket:

Since Pharah is known for raining down justice with her rockets to those that oppose her, it was only fitting to have a trench coat pulled into the look. This ensure that even if you experience some real rain, you will still keep the composure that Pharah always exhibits; as well as working in place of her armor.

Pants:

I went with a military overall style to highlight Pharah’s time and training in the Egyptian Army and so these blue army style pants fit the bill perfectly. They also are extremely comfortable while still maintaining a more “put together” look.

Shoes:

In keeping with the nod to military fashion, combat boots are a must for any Pharah look. These boots have just enough styling to keep them fashionable and work well for men or women. Bonus, you can wear these all day and not even miss Pharah’s ability to fly to take a load off your feet. 

Accessories: 

Most of the outfit I kept in blue and warm neutral colors to compliment Pharah’s armor and look. However accessories is the perfect place to pull in the gold tones without the overall outfit being gaudy, which definitely is not Pharah-like. A chunky gold watch with a blue face fits the style and look. Another military-style piece is the aviator sunglasses, bringing just a touch more gold to the outfit. Lastly, a belt with gold accents helps to tie in the brown boots and break up the blue from the pants and jacket. 

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This brings us to the conclusion of another “Geekly Chic Undercover Cosplay” edition. In the future I plan on bringing more of Overwatch’s characters to the streets, as well as other icons in nerd and gaming culture. If you have someone that you want to see featured let us know by commenting below or reach out to us on Twitter @nika_howard and @ethnicninja. Until next time, Happy Cosplaying!