Carbon Costume

Gilderoy Lockhart is a character in the Harry Potter book and movie series. During his time as a Ravenclaw student, he received many prestigious awards, and he isn’t shy about letting everyone know it. After graduating Hogwarts, he became a celebrity in the wizarding world. In particular he wrote books about his encounters with magical creatures, such as Gadding with Ghouls and Travels with Trolls. When Dumbledore appoints Lockhart as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Hermione becomes smitten by his knowledge. Yet Harry and Ron (and most everyone else) find him obnoxious. Although there’s more to him than meets the eye: he tricked actual accomplished wizards into revealing their stories, and then erased their memories with Memory Charms so he could take all the credit. In the film adaptation, Kenneth Branagh plays this role.

Noice! Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is the main protagonist of the show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He can be cocky and immature, but he is talented at what he does. He works as a NYPD detective stationed in Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct. He is friends with mostly everyone at the station and pursues a romantic relationship with fellow detective Amy Santiago. Follow this costume guide and you’ll be looking “cool cool cool cool cool cool.”

In the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro) is Will Smith’s rational yet cocky cousin. In spite of his wealth, he has little success with women. Sometimes his selfish attitude can clash with Will’s more laidback approach, but he’s still his best friend. His style is preppy and conservative, and you can’t go wrong with a cardigan and sweater vest. And of course patterned pants, as per the 90s. Once you’ve assembled your costume, do the Carlton dance!

Nagisa Shiota is the main protagonist and narrator in the anime Assassination Classroom. Other students make fun of him for his androgynous appearance. He is calm, empathetic, and exceptionally observant of his surroundings. He pays close attention to Korosensei in Class 3E.  He is more reserved and shy, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. Shiota is very insecure, often referring to as himself “invisible,” yet he has a real talent for assassination.

Craig Williams (voiced by Phillip Solomon) is as close to a leader as the kids in Craig of the Creek get. He is the brains behind the operation and for good reason. His imagination and intellect lead him on amazing adventures that his friends are happy to go along on. He can be a bit hardheaded about things. But his kind heart always smooth things over when he gets too set in his ways.

Cosplaying as Craig is fairly straight-forward. His creek outfit is his main outfit. It is a long-sleeved yellow shirt under a white zip-up vest with a hood. Jeans and white sneakers finish off the look. Sometimes he carries a teal duffel bag called “The Bag of Holding”, which is a nod to his highly fanciful and imaginative nature.

Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya is the main protagonist in the highly acclaimed anime, Sword Art Online. He gets stuck in a virtual reality video game and must defeat its creator to escape. He forms alliances with other players, namely Asuna, who eventually becomes his love interest.

In Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Mike Shiner (played by Edward Norton) is an unstable method actor who performs opposite Riggan Thomson in a play being produced and directed by Riggan.  Mike also becomes entangled with Riggan’s daughter, Sam, adding even more tension to the two men’s relationship as they are forced to continue working together despite their obvious distaste for one another.

Captain Crunch, often shorted to Cap’n Crunch, is a cereal mascot. He is a naval officer with a blue uniform, white mustache, and bicorn hat. The original slogan in the animated commercials was: “It’s got corn for crunch, oats for punch, and it stays crunchy, even in milk.” Use a white eye pencil to color your eyebrows to match your wig. Carry a cereal bowl or box of Cap’n Crunch as optional props.