Carbon Costume Books
Yule Ball Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire
Hermione Granger (played by Emma Watson) is the brains of Hogwarts’ most notorious trio. At least the most notorious while she was in school there. Usually Hermione wasn’t one to stand out from the crowd except with her intellect. But when the Yule Ball rolled around the stole the show in her lilac dress, slick curls, and the school’s visiting heart throb as her date.
You might be hard-pressed to find your own Viktor Krum but you can certainly copy Hermione’s look. You’ll want to start with a long curly wig since one of the first things noticed about Hermione at the ball was her hair. You can achieve the same updo with hair pins and this YouTube Video. There are also video tutorials on how to copy her exact makeup look as well.
Once you have your wig set, add in a violet ballgown and some plum ribbon as a sash. Finding her exact dress is a little difficult (though there are patterns online if you are handy with a sewing machine) but there is one listed above. A few similar dresses are also included that may be a little more affordable. Once you have chosen your gown just add in some enamel flower earrings, silver heels, and Hermione’s wand. We might not have seen it at the ball but it’s not likely that she didn’t have it close at hand!
Miss Trunchbull from Matilda
If you were a ’90s kid, Miss Trunchbull from Matilda was the stuff of nightmares. Played by Pam Ferris, she was the epitome of a horrible principal. Whether it was locking kids in the Chokey or tossing them out a window to land (safely, thankfully) in a rare patch of flowers near her school, she terrorized students and staff alike.
I wouldn’t recommend emulating her attitude but you can certainly get her severe style with a few key pieces. The most important pieces are a long green overcoat and a wig with a slicked-back bun. The overcoat pictured above is longer than Miss Trunchbull’s but this will allow you hem it (or tape it up) to the right length for you. If you want to cosplay her her school uniform you can wear a skirt and shirt under the overcoat, though they won’t e seen. Of course you’ll need the wig with its slicked back bun as well. Add in some tall Army green socks and leather shoes as well as a leather belt to complete the look.
For the clothes she wears at home you’ll need a grey pullover sweater, green sweat pants, white athletic socks, and sneakers. Using letter Transfer sheets add the words “1972 Olympics” to the front of the sweater. Tuck a white towel in around the back of your neck with the bulk of it showing above the collar. Take the leather belt from her school outfit (or a weight lifting leather belt if you have one) and tighten it around your waste. Then add in green sweats, bunched athletic socks, and simple sneakers.
And, of course, Miss Trunchbull isn’t Miss Trunchbull without her coveted box of chocolates. You can make your own by taking the chocolates (still in their paper cups) out of a standard box of chocolates and putting them into an enamel hinge-top box. It’s a bit bulky for an accessory but every Matilda fan will know immediately why Miss Trunchbull would keep the box close!
Lisa Rowe from Girl, Interrupted
In Girl, Interrupted (based on Susanna Kaysen’s memoir), Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie) is a sociopathic patient at the psychiatric hospital where Susanna (Winona Ryder) has checked in. Lisa proves to be charismatic, manipulative, and ultimately, dangerous, although she is well-liked by the other patients and bonds with Susanna.
Benny Watts from The Queen’s Gambit
In the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is a rival chess player to Beth Harmon who goes on to become one of her closest friends and ally. He’s confident, brash, and has a unique style — especially for a chess player in the 1960s — complete with cowboy hat, silver jewelry, and a knife on his belt.
Beth Harmon from The Queen’s Gambit
In the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) is chess prodigy troubled by an orphaned upbringing who rises to the highest ranks of the chess world while struggling with drug and dependency issues. As Beth grows and changes, her fashion style follows suit. But throughout, her gorgeous 1960s clothes keep a chess motif, including black and white palette and a chessboard pattern. By the end of the series, her outfit mirrors the white queen.
Mark Watney from The Martian
Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is the unfortunate protagonist of both the book and the film The Martian. A sand storm leaves him stranded on Mars when the rest of his crew has reason to believe he’s dead. It becomes his mission to survive until they come back and rescue him.
While a full astronaut’s suit might seem like the most obvious costume for Mark Watney, it’s not his most iconic outfit from the film. That honor belongs to the clothes he wears while terraforming the inside of his habitat so he can grow crops.
The outfit is very simple and consists of light grey slip on shoes, grey cargo pants, a blue henley, and an official NASA sweatshirt in navy. Safety goggles and blue gloves can be added to recreate specific scenes when he was working with the soil. To really round out the costume, though, you’ll want to bring a few potatoes with you. And maybe some ketchup. Because Mark Watney will be the first to say that potatoes are always better with ketchup.
Kugaha from Noragami
Kugaha was one of Bishamon’s many shinki (soul-weapons), and used his presence in the immense crowd that is her collection to take her down from the inside! Not even Bishamon’s Blessed Shinki, Kazuma, caught on until it was almost too late. Kugaha’s function in Bisha’s “family” of lost souls was that of doctor/healer; he had an arsenal of medicines and poisons to keep his mistress under his control.
Kugaha’s costume is surprisingly easy to assemble using very simple garments. The most complicated part, perhaps, is his headband; it can be recreated using the last three items on this list.
Iruma from Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun
Iruma Suzuki (Laura Stahl / Ayumu Murase) walks a fine line between being an adorable sweetheart and the consummate doormat. He’ll do anything to help a person in want or need, if they do so much as say “please.” So when the demon Lord Sullivan asks him to become his adopted grandson (and Iruma’s extremely irresponsible parents don’t object), naturally, young Iruma couldn’t refuse! Plot twist: Sullivan is also the principal of the underworld’s local demon school, where human-eating demons with no concept of friendship will have their first “taste” of human companionship … if they can figure Iruma out!
Wyborn from Coraline
Wyborn “Wybie” Lovat is a geeky, charmingly peculiar, awkward kid. He lives with his grandmother, who owns the Pink Palace Apartments. Wybie knows something unusual is going on at the apartment. His family holds the secret to the strange events at the building. Wybie helps solve his family mystery in Coraline.
Éomer
Éomer is a minor character in Lord of the Rings. As the son of King Theoden, he leads the Riders of Rohan, who serve as calvary to the army of Gondor led by Aragorn. He is an ally for the forces of good, as he fights alongside the Fellowship and other men against Mordor. When his father dies in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, he becomes King of Rohan. His sister is the shieldmaiden Éowyn. In the movie adaptations, Karl Urban plays this role. For this costume, sling the brown belt around your shoulder to cross over your body.
