Carbon Costume

Donald Duck is a classic Disney character. He is Mickey Mouse’s best friend. In contrast to Mickey’s level-headedness, Donald has an explosive temper. His mischievous and overconfident personality can land him into trouble. As soon as something goes wrong, he’s quacking up a storm, face and beak bright red. A common catchphrase of his is “Aw, phooey!” His girlfriend, Daisy Duck, often scolds him for his temper tantrums. He is also an uncle, and his nephews include Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Fun fact: His middle name is Fauntelroy! Like the other classic characters, Donald appears in The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey Mouse Cartoons, as well as the parks and merchandising.

Eames (played by Tom Hardy) is a member of Cobb‘s team in the film Inception.  As the forger, Eames can project the likeness of any other person and mimic their mannerisms well enough to fool loved ones in the dream realm.  In the real world, Eames is suave and teases Arthur often, though he otherwise keeps mostly to himself.  Eames wears boldly patterned shirts with relaxed fit suit separates, and he uses a red poker chip as his totem.

Elisa Esposito (played by Sally Hawkins) is unqiue among monster movie heroines for many reasons. She works as a cleaner in a secret military installation. And, of course, she can’t speak. Nobody is quite sure why – until the end of the movie that is. But her inability to speak doesn’t stop her from changing the world around her through her compassion.

Elisa has two costumes throughout the film. One is the uniform she wears at work. The other is the standard clothing worn by a working class woman in the 1960s.

For both costumes you will need a brown wig cut in a bob and a headband: a green one for her work uniform or one that matches the dress of her day to day uniform. You can also use makeup modeling wax and this tutorial to replicate Elisa’s mysterious scars.

When Elisa is at work she wears a dark green dress with a collar covered by a green apron. She usually wears an olive cardigan and shoes to match. When at work Elisa usually has hard boiled eggs as her lunch, so you can carry a few fake ones like those listed above. Or, if you can keep them fresh, take a few as a snack at the convention!

Elisa’s personal clothing is a little more colorful. A red dress with matching headband and a cardigan in a slightly darker color with matching shoes is a look she wears toward the middle of the film. These are also great cross-cosplay pieces that small details – like the scars and the eggs – can lock into one character or another!

What horrors love can turn a man to do, Davy Jones knows only too well. The dreaded Lord of the Deep, once charged with guiding the souls of those who died at sea, turned cruel when the goddess Calypso did not return his love. Played by Bill Nighy, he stops at nothing to show us why we (and Will Turner) should fear the deep in the Disney series Pirates of the Caribbean.

There’s a lot that goes into a costume like Davy Jones. Most of the look in the movie relied on CGI so getting something accurate isn’t particularly easy. Makeup tutorials like this one help, though. And you will need to distress the pieces of the costume to fit Jones’ ages-old and sea-weary look. You’ll also want a large quantity of sea shells and sand to give your clothes the look of a man who has slept at the bottom of the sea for centuries.

Of course you need the actual costume pieces too. A Cthulhu mask gives you some of Jones’ beard tentacles while tentacle “horns” add some on top of your head. You can either use these with a bald cap or attach the tentacles to your pirate hate .

For the rest of Jones’ clothes you’ll need a shirt, vest, overcoat, pants, thick belt, and boots.

And Davy Jones would not be Davy Jones without the music box to remind him of the past that led to his fate.

In the 2010 movie True Grit, Mattie Ross (played by Hailee Steinfeld) is a headstrong young 14-year-old girl who enlists the help of U.S. Marshal and bounty hunger Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn to bring the man who killed her father to justice.  Cogburn initially tells Mattie to return home but she insists on accompanying him on his quest to track down Tom Chaney, and she eventually proves herself a capable ally.  Mattie wears her father’s coat and hat, which are clearly too large for her, over her Victorian period clothing.  You can find a replica bodice jacket online, but if the cost is too high, you can also use a modern blazer with a similar silhouette.

Klaus Daimler (played by Willem Dafoe) is the German first mate of the Belafonte research vessel in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  Klaus views Steve Zissou as a father figure, and becomes jealous of Ned Plimpton as the latter’s relationship with Steve grows.  Klaus always wears shorts, no matter the occasion, so this is a great costume option for someone who really wants to show off their legs.

Bobby Hicks (played by Willem Dafoe, who received an Academy Award nomination for the role) is the manager of the Magic Castle, a gaudy motel in Kissimmee, FL in Sean Baker’s film The Florida Project.  Bobby is not supposed to allow long-term rentals, but offers a place for a handful of people to stay who would otherwise be completely homeless by bending the rules.  He has a soft spot for many of the children who live in the motel, including Moonee.  Bobby’s costume is an easy one to recreate because he dresses simply, opting for durable denim jeans, sensible footwear, and a variety of plain t-shirts throughout most of the movie.

Nearly every child knows you should be afraid of the dark. Adults just forget. But in Rise of the Guardians, Pitch Black makes sure we remember. Voiced by Jude Law, DreamWorks’ Pitch Black is equal parts nightmare, bogeyman, and the shadow under your bed that keeps your feet tucked up tight under your blanket. He is every bit as terrifying as he in the original books by William Joyce. And it has made him one of DreamWorks’ most enduring villains.

There are two ways to go about a Pitch cosplay. The first is to forgo any body paint and let the clothing speak for itself. The other is to use grey body paint to mimic his otherworldly look. Either option works!

Regardless of which option you choose, there are a few things you will need. A black wig and black boots to start. If you want to go with the canon interpretation of Pitch you will also need a long black robe. If you want a more fandom-based version you’ll need black pants, a black shirt, and a long flowing black sweater.

(This costume also converts easily into a Sandman costume if you’re going to a multi-day con!)