Carbon Costume

Charlie Price is the protagonist of the movie turned Broadway musical, Kinky Boots. After his father dies, he inherits the family shoe factory, but he isn’t ready to assume the responsibility, especially as profits look bleak. While seeking a new market, he encounters a group of muggers harassing a woman. Charlie intervenes but gets knocked unconscious, and the woman ends up saving him. Turns out that woman is Lola, the drag queen who headlines her own show, yet can’t fit into women’s boots. The two create a whole new line of shoes made for drag queens, fittingly called “kinky boots”, with Lola as the designer. Their partnership helps Charlie overcome dealing with his father’s legacy, which leads to their shared success. Stark Sands originated the role on Broadway. Celebrities such as American Idol winner David Cook and Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie have also stepped into the role — or should we say, stepped into the kinky boots!

Taylor Swift is an American singer/songwriter. From “Love Story” to “You Belong with Me,” her songs narrate her personal and romantic life. She started out as a country singer, but her current music fits more of the pop genre. Taylor is one of the world’s best selling music artists and the highest earning female musician of the 2010s. Some of her hit albums include Red, Speak Now, 1989, and her most recent album, Lover. As most musicians, Taylor’s style has evolved throughout the years, so we have three looks from each era of her career. You can go classic country pop with her long hair and cowboy boots, Red style with a black fedora and red flats, or a modern T-Swift with a glittery dress.

Judge Turpin is the main antagonist in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He is a corrupt judge who falsely convicts Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd to be with his wife. Unable to withstand his abuse, she poisons herself, and the judge takes custody of her daughter. When she turns sixteen, he offers his hand in marriage, and she refuses. The mistreatment of his family is Todd’s main motive for murder and revenge. In the Tim Burton adaptation, Alan Rickman (aka Professor Severus Snape) plays the crooked character.

Guitarist and music producer Jonathan Bree is known for his frequent collaborations with fellow New Zealand artist Princess Chelsea (such as “The Cigarette Duet”). His solo work as a musician is just as entertaining and bizarre, as he hides his entire behind a white mask and wears very Beatle-esque clothing for his onstage ensemble.

Mrs. Nellie Lovett is a main character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She runs a pie shop, but she claims she serves the “worst pies in London.” When Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd visits, she comes up with the idea to turn his victims into pies. Mrs. Lovett becomes infatuated with Mr. Todd and plans to live a happy, married life with him, but he kills her when it’s revealed she hid information about his ex-wife. She’s rather eccentric and psychopathic, but she serves as comic relief. Helena Bonham Carter plays the role in the Tim Burton movie, which inspired this costume guide. Sew the red trim on the blouse for that pop of color, and style your hair with a teasing comb and hair spray.

Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd is the main character of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful serial, but his fame comes from the Stephen Sondheim musical, which was then adapted into a movie by Tim Burton. Throughout each iteration, his role remains the same: a psychopathic barber who murders his customers. Subsequently, Mrs. Lovett bakes the bodies of his victims into meat pies for her shop. He takes on the alias of Sweeney Todd to abandon the identity of Benjamin Barker, who had been falsely convicted and banished, to now take revenge on those who wronged him. He especially wants vengeance against Judge Turpin for kidnapping his daughter. This costume takes inspiration from the Tim Burton movie, where Johnny Depp stars as the title role.

“The Cigarette Duet” is a music video by New Zealand-based artist Princess Chelsea (Nikkel), which addresses the addictive nature cigarette smoking in the form of an argument between a couple. “It harms your pretty lungs,” co-vocalist Jonathan Bree pleads with a stubborn, pink-haired Chelsea, who insists that she’s only going to smoke once or twice a week, and she can quit anytime. “It’s just a cigarette!”

In La La Land, Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) is a struggling Los Angeles-based actress, whose path seems to keep crossing with that of Sebastian Wilder, a struggling jazz pianist. After enough coincidental encounters, a song, and a dance, they allow their lives to intertwine a bit more voluntarily. Below, I’ll show you how to recreate Mia’s iconic outfit from the movie posters, which she wears while dancing with Sebastian after a long walk on foot to find her missing car keys.