Carbon Costume

Jake Pentecost (played by John Boyega) is the son of Stacker Pentecost, arguably one of the most famous Jaeger pilots in the history of the program. And that’s a big legacy to live up to. It makes Jake reckless. And though that’s what got him kicked out of the Pan Pacific Defense League to start with, it’s also what might help him save the day in the end.

Like his father, Jake prefers to wear a neatly trimmed mustache. You can either try the fake one listed above or follow this tutorial to draw one in if growing one is not an option.

Jake also follows the uniform expected of a PPDL ranger, though he is a little more casual with it: A tan uniform shirt with the PPDL patch, a name tag, and a pilot’s pin. A white undershirt, black pants, and black combat boots. It’s a straightforward look expected of rangers in the resurrected PPDL and one Pentecost wears well as he forges a legacy all his own!

(Check out our other Pacific Rim costumes)

Hero Boy (also known as Chris and voiced by Daryl Sabara as a child and Tom Hanks as an adult) is the narrator of both the book and the movie The Polar Express. Though Chris is losing his faith in Christmas he is still holding out hope for the magic he once felt for the holiday. All it takes is a trip on the Polar Express to reignite the spark.

There are a couple of options when it comes to cosplaying Hero Boy. His yellow pajamas are a little hard to come by so you can either grab a pair of gold pajamas for men or a pair of yellow women’s pajamas. Both are fairly unisex in cut so it comes down to whichever would be more comfortable.

Throw on a blue robe and slip into a pair of brown leather loafers. Grab your ticket and you’re ready to ride The Polar Express!

M. Jean (played by Jason Schwartzman) does not have a large role in The Grand Budapest Hotel. But the size of his role does not change how important he is in the film. M. Jean is a direct contrast to Bill Murray’s M. Ivan and Ralph Fiennes’ M. Gustave. Whereas the older men did their job with polish and pride, M. Jean seems to do his job simply because it is his job. The pins on his lapels mark him as a member of The Society of the Crossed Keys but he does not have the same polish as either Ivan or Gustave. And that is the point.

Because M. Jean represents the less splendorous present life of The Gran Budapest, his uniform is much simpler than the men that came before him. He wears a simple purple suit with a red tie and white undershirt. Black dress shoes round out the clothing while a thin mustache and a cigarette complete his appearance. And, of course, the pins signifying his membership in The Society of the Crossed Keys.

Sabina Spielrein (played by Keira Knightley in the 2011 film) was a very real person caught between two men who both sought to develop psychoanalysis in the field’s early days. Though much Freud’s work has been debunked, his name has still carried through time while Spielrein’s was less common until her story was more clearly told in A Dangerous Method.

When cosplaying this character, it is important to remember that she was a real person and a driving force in the early development of modern psychological treatment and practices. Even after parting ways with Jung and Freud she continued to train psychoanalysts until her death in 1942 at the hands of the Nazis. Spielrein was a brave and brilliant woman who should still be given the respect she deserves.

As the film is a period piece, Spielrein’s costume is as well. It consists of a blouse and skirt, hat, and period-accurate boots from the early 1900s. White gloves add another element to the costume while a long brown wig styled into a bun completes the character’s appearance.

Cornet (voiced by Koaru Fujino in the original games and Sarah Thomas in the English dubs) is a sweet village girl with a gift for talking to puppets and making her wishes come true. She is the main character in the first Marl Kingdom game, “Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure”. By the time of the second game Cornet is Queen of Marl, leaving the adventures to her daughter.

Long before becoming queen of Marl, Cornet’s look matched her village girl life. A plaid bow in her hair matched her plaid skirt. A white turtleneck, blue vest, brown leggings, and tan boots finished off her look. She also accessorized with a simple necklace and earrings though you can leave those off or just add any you have at home. The finishing touch is a wavy honey blonde wig with bangs. Put it all together and you’re ready to have adventures of your own.

2021 marks the tenth birthday of the one of the internet’s most beloved memes: Nyan Cat. Also called “the Pop-Tart Cat” or the “flying rainbow cat”, Christopher Torres created Nyan Cat as part of a donation drive for the Red Cross on his website LOL-Comics. It’s since faced some controversy as people tried to use Nyan Cat without permission. But its viral status is as enduring as the comic is cute!

Pop-Tart costumes are unfortunately hard to come by unless you can find an adult one on Etsy. Your best bet is a quick bit of DIY following this simple tutorial.

1. Measure the length of your Pop Tart, starting at the top of your shoulder and going down whatever length you want the costume to be. Add on an inch and a half for gluing and cutting mistakes, then purchase enough tan felt to cover the length twice (so you can make a front and back). Use this same measurement to buy the light pink felt, but only buy enough for one side. Add in a glue gun and hot pink felt dots to finish up the DIY shopping.

2. Cut the tan fabric in half width wise so you have the front and back of your costume.

3. Mark out how large a space you need for your head to fit through the top of the costume. Put a pin on either side of this head hole, then glue the top edges together, except the space where your head will go. Repeat this process on the sides while leaving holes for your arms.

4. Put a piece of cardboard between the front and back of your costume, then lay the pink fabric on the front. Trim it down so that a “crust” is visible around all edges of the pink felt. Glue the pink fabric down to the tan, making sure cardboard separates the front and back of the costume in any place you add glue.

5. Glue on the hot pink circles as sprinkles and glue your tail to your costume (on the side or at the back depending on how you want to interpret the meme). That’s it!

With your Pop Tart done, use a face painting kit to add in your cat features. Put on your ears and the grey underclothes, then slide into your pop tart. Grab a rainbow scarf to trail behind you and you are set! May you bring as much joy to your convention as Nyan Cat does to the internet!

Signs was something of a cultural phenomena when it came out in 2002. A genuinely scary movie with a twist that most did not see coming, it set the tone for the next decade of horror movies. Part of its appeal was a cast that delivered consistently strong performances. This included Joaquin Phoenix as the washed up local hero Merrill Hess.

Once destined for baseball greatness he now lives and works on the family farm without much ambition toward anything. His clothes – work jeans, work boots, and a dark henley – are all ideal clothes for working on a farm. And when the aliens touch down, he’s one of the first to accept the idea that it’s aliens and reach for a tin foil hat. Of course it’s his trusty bad that really makes the costume and with a little help from Etsy you can have your own Merrill Hess slugger ready and waiting! Just don’t forget to keep a glass of water nearby.

The agents of the Matrix, like Agent Smith, are not known for being unique. And that made Agent Pace all the more remarkable. She was programmed to emote. The beguile and disarm people in an age of Truce. And when that Truce ended, it made her all the more deadly.

Like the other agents, Agent Pace wears clothing similar to what most American federal agents are believed to wear. Some variations are black, others dark green. Here I have listed the black version of one of her outfits, including the black gloves and pistol she carries when she knows she will be in a fight.

Her usual outfit consists of a black blazer, white button down shirt, and black skirt. She wears either black or sheer hose and black shoes. In one incarnation her glasses are clear though her glasses later have dark lenses. And in true businesswoman fashion she wears her long hair swept back in a bun with the bangs styled off to the left. It’s not a look easily found premade on wigs but it can be reproduced with the wig listed above. Add in a simple gold necklace and you are ready to act as The Matrix’s newest liaison.