Carbon Costume

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood…”Percy Jackson is the protagonist of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books written by Rick Riordan. He has trouble in school, because like other demigods, he has dyslexia and ADHD because his brain is hardwired for ancient Greek. After defeating his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, who was actually a Fury, he gets sent to Camp Half Blood. He meets Annabeth Chase, who calls him “Seaweed Brain,” but she eventually becomes his girlfriend. While there, he learns he is the son of Poseidon. Percy goes on several quests as a part of his coming of age, which culminate in the defeat of the Kronos in the body of Luke. He deeply cares for his friends, as well as his mother, Sally Jackson. His fatal flaw in the Prophecy is personal loyalty, and his sword, Riptide, can turn into a pen. Fun fact: Percy only eats blue food.

Goofy, lighthearted Two-Bit (brought to life onscreen by Emilio Estavez) is the ray of sunshine in the lives of Ponyboy Curtis and his friends, the titular Outsiders in S.E. Hinton’s breakthrough novel. When you’re constantly marginalized by the upper-crust Socs (pronounced so-sihez) on the other side of the tracks, sometimes a little humor is just what’s needed to get through a bad situation. Two-Bit is every bit as Greaser as the rest of his friends (although one might argue that Dallas outdoes the lot of them), but he lends a whimisical touch to his “tuff” getup with a Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

Dora Winifred, better known by the abbreviation “D.W.” is Arthur‘s younger sister on the PBS show Arthur, based on the books by Marc Brown. D.W. is in preschool, and enjoys watching Mary Moo Cow and listening to Crazy Bus, which irritates her older brother. D.W.’s typical outfit consists of a pink sleeveless dress over a long sleeved white shirt.

Brought to life on the screen by the likes of Antonio Banderas and Tyrone Powers, Johnston McCulley’s fictional masked hero has enchanted readers and moviegoers alike for over one hundred years. Zorro (born Don Alejandro de la Vega) is a skilled acrobat and swordsman. You’ll know only after the fact that he saved the day when you find the villains’ bodies sliced with three cuts, forming the letter Z — the mark of Zorro.

In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander (played by Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, and Noomi Rapace in different adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s book) is a sort of antihero. She is more than willing to take down the big bad guys of the world and she’s not shy about getting her hands dirty to do it. But she’s also aggressive, untrusting, and often seen as rude. And after everything she’s been through who can blame her?

No matter the movie version of Lisbeth you prefer, the character dresses all in black. They all have black leather jackets and ride motorcycles which means their black boots are very sensible. Black jeans, black t-shirts, and black makeup are also regular parts of her costume. A black scarf and black spiked choker are also part of the costume that would be most widely recognized in America, as well as black hair cut asymmetrically or spiked into a mohawk.

Lestat de Lioncourt (played by Tom Cruise in the movie Interview with a Vampire) is a French-born vampire. Turned sometime around the French Revolution He did not want to be turned and was not warned prior to either his turning or the death of the vampire that made him what he was. As such he didn’t have much knowledge of wider vampire customs and culture until after he had already turned Louise and, later, Claudia.

He has a volatile temper that flares when his lust for earthly delights is denied. His character is tempered later by knowledge and maturity. But in the first film he is very much a pleasure seeker tired of seeking out thrills alone. And when he is challenged, the results are always destructive.

In life and undeath Lestat is a fashionable man. He wears his long wavy hair either down or back in a bun. Per the fashion of his time he wears a billowing white shirt, a brocade wist coat, a frock coat, knee high white socks, knee breeches, and buckle shoes. And, of course, his costume would not be complete without a pair of fangs.

In the summertime, Emily (voiced by Jennifer Martini) visits her grandmother’s home near the forest where Little Bear and his anthropomorphic animal friends live. There, they have a slew of adventures together, whether they’re going to the moon or contemplating the existence of mermaids. (“That’s the thing about mermaids … you never can tell!”) In the show, Emily is apparently seven years old, and dresses like a young girl from the early twentieth century. Recreating her outfit in contemporary adult women’s clothes can be, as Little Bear would say, “Iiiinteresting.”

Sandy catches little stars every night to make creatures to play with. She does this to help herself fall asleep. Sandy keeps the memory of her fun creatures as sketches she draws herself. One day, a new girl in school, Morfie, takes an interest in Sandy’s drawings. It’s nice to have a new friend, but something is off about Morfie. Sandy and her art start to see an unusual side of Morfie in Lorena Alvarez’s graphic novel Nightlights.