Carbon Costume

In Midsommar, Dani (played by Florence Pugh) is sent reeling from a devastating loss. As she attempts to deal with her depression following the death of her family, she embarks on a trip to attend a midsummer celebration in Sweden with her boyfriend and his friends. As the commune becomes increasingly less welcoming and more terrifying, Dani finds herself pulled into a brutal ritual with no way to escape. Dani’s clothing changes significantly throughout the film, beginning with comfortable hiking clothes before she dons the embroidered dresses typical of women in the commune. Once she is chosen as May Queen, she is completely adorned with flowers from head to toe. The variety of costuming provides ample room for interpretation.

Yubaba is the main antagonist in Spirited Away, an animated film created by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. She is the owner and employer of the Bathhouse. She tricks the bathhouse workers by stealing their names and only freeing them if they can remember it. Some of her other powers include fire breathing and flying. Compared to her identical twin, Zeniba, she’s considered the evil one. Our protagonist, Chihiro, finds her much more intimidating. Yubaba is extremely overbearing, but she can be seen as a doting mother to her giant baby, Boh. She embodies greed because she obsesses over gold, valuing money more than her own family.

Beth March (played by Eliza Scanlen) is the most fragile of the March sisters in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.  Beth takes after her mother and spends much of her time helping to care for the destitute Hummel family.  However, when their baby falls ill with scarlet fever, Beth catches the disease as well and eventually passes away due to complications from her illness.  Beth is an accomplished pianist and can often be found wearing sweet pink hues.

In Brokeback Mountain, Lureen Newsome Twist (played by Anne Hathaway) is a rodeo performer and the unsuspecting wife of Jack Twist.  Lureen’s father is a successful businessman and she eventually leaves the rodeo to work for him in pursuit of greater wealth.  Lureen’s most memorable costume in the film is her red and white rodeo outfit.

The Big Bad Wolf is a minor character in the Shrek movies. Also known as Wolfie, he lives in Duloc in Far Far Away. He first appears as one of the fairy tale characters that was exiled to Shrek‘s swamp. Wolfie wears the grandmother’s dress to disguise himself from Little Red Riding Hood. You can cut slits into the bonnet for the ears, or you can simply hot glue them on. An optional step is makeup. Use brown and white in visible strokes along the face to mimic a furry texture, and then use black face paint for the nose.

In Little Women, Theodore Laurence (better known as Laurie, and played by Timothee Chalamet) is Jo March’s best friend and would-be suitor.  Quite rich and rather spoiled, he grows into an immature man after being turned down by Jo, though he eventually marries her youngest sister Amy after the two spend time together in France.  Laurie’s clothing is expensive and fine, though he and Jo often share clothes in their childhood, which can sometimes leave him looking a bit haphazard.

Aragorn is a major character in The Lord of the Rings. Known by the four hobbits as Strider, he is a ranger from the north and hails from Gondor, the kingdom of men. He joins the Fellowship of the Ring to help defeat Sauron. His close relationship with the elves gives him advantages in battle and knowledge. With the exception of Gandalf, he’s probably the strongest and most skilled member of the fellowship.  Like his ancestor Beren, he falls in love with an elf lady: Arwen. It’s revealed he’s the heir to Isildur, so he becomes king of Gondor and makes Arwen his queen. In the film adaptation, Viggo Mortensen plays this role. The knit sweater is optional, but it closely resembles his chainmail. Simply cut the sleeves off the tunic if you want to wear it on a colder day.

In Twilight, Aro (Michael Sheen) is one of the leaders of the Volturi, the dominant coven of the vampire world. He possesses the gift of tactile telepathy, and moves with such grace that he appears to be floating. Aro also has long jet black hair, a chalk-like complexion, and milky red eyes that tend to unsettle people.