Carbon Costume

Augie Steenbeck (played by Jason Schwartzman) is a widower and father of four in the Wes Anderson film Asteroid City.  When he and his children are stranded near the titular desert town, Augie calls his father-in-law to pick them up.  During their stay in Asteroid City, Augie meets Midge Campbell.  Augie’s costume includes a belted safari jacket and khaki pants, which he pairs with brown boots.  More important than the outfit itself might be Augie’s accessories, which include a pipe and a vintage camera.  If you don’t have a camera that looks the part, a smartphone case designed to look like one can do the trick instead.

Midge Campbell (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a Hollywood star stranded in the titular Asteroid City in Wes Anderson’s film about a 1955 convention interrupted by out-of-this-world visitors.  The actress meets Augie Steenbeck and his family during her stay.  Midge has short dark hair and favors a pair of oval sunglasses.  Since the movie takes place in the ’50s, she dons plenty of vintage-inspired costumes including a sleeveless floral dress with a set of pearls.  Pair your chosen outfit with red nails and lips for the perfect mid-century look.

Amber von Tussle is the secondary antagonist of the musical Hairspray.  Played by Brittany Snow in the 2007 movie and Cameron Dove in the 2016 live television special, Amber is a blonde beauty who often makes fun of Tracy Turnblad.  Hairspray is set in 1962, providing you with plenty of opportunities to recreate some classic vintage looks.  Finding exact matches for these kinds of costume pieces is almost impossible, so if you’re having trouble, be sure to focus on the classic silhouettes of the ’50s and ’60s to make your own one-of-a-kind look.  Though the most iconic looks for this character may be her chosen costume for the Miss Teenage Hairspray competition, there are plenty of vintage looks to choose from throughout the film or special, so don’t limit yourself and get creative!

In Amazon Prime’s comedy-drama The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein portrays Susie Myerson, the grouchy yet lovable talent manager for Midge Maisel. Midge and Susie are opposites in every way. Midge is naïve and bold, while Susie is cynical and practical; Midge owns over a hundred frocks of different shapes and colors, while Susie puts on the same black leather jacket every day. This stark contrast makes the pair perfect for cosplay. Susie keeps it simple, tough, and masculine, always topping her look off with a signature newsboy cap. When cosplaying Susie, throw in the plunger prop for a clever reference to her charade in the Catskills in Season 2.

In Amazon Prime’s comedy-drama The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Miriam (Midge) is a Jewish-American housewife living in 1950’s New York City. With her impeccable wardrobe, elegant home, rigorous beauty regimen, and a family of her own, she appears to have everything figured out. But when life takes an unexpected turn for the worst, she discovers a hidden talent for stand-up comedy and hits the road to stardom with her amateur talent manager Susie Myerson. Midge flaunts countless iconic looks throughout the series, but nothing says Mrs. Maisel more than the all-pink ensemble from the show’s first episode. This costume will have you screaming “We got the Rabbi!” outside your local deli.

Lucy Ricardo is the main character in the classic 50s sitcom, I Love Lucy. Portrayed by the legendary Lucille Ball, she resides in the upper east side of Manhattan with her husband, Ricky. Despite the societal expectation to remain dutiful and domestic, she longs for a career in show business. As a result, she concocts hilarious schemes to swindle the spotlight. Many of these plots include physical comedy and exaggerated dramatics, such as the iconic candy factory scene. It’s no wonder Wanda put herself in Lucy’s shoes in Westview.

Finn Wittrock is a master character actor. He’s been in five seasons of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story”, each time as a uniquely memorable character. And it all started with the role of Dandy Mott in “American Horror Story: Freak Show”. Dandy is the heir of a wealthy family, one housing a dark secret that explains part of Dandy’s obsession with the odd and that he feels explains his own violent nature.

As the heir to a wealthy family in the ’50s, Dandy has a specific sense of style. Casual clothing consists of white slacks and a blue polo sweater over a white button down shirt, his belt and shoes a matching tan leather. When he wants to be a bit more dashing he opts for a white suit with an orange vest and orange ascot. The same white button down shirt can be used, though he opts for white dress shoes for his suit. In both cases you will either need pomade or a black wig to emulate his slicked-back hairstyle.

If you haven’t seen Grease by now, you’re missing out. Not only are the songs catchy and the lines almost infinitely quotable but the costumes are iconic. And perhaps none are more so than those of the Pink Ladies. Rizzo, Frenchie, Jan, and and Marty are sort of the girl gang of Rydell High. They more or less pair up with the T-Birds, the school’s unofficial greaser representatives. Of course there’s Sandy Olson too, though she doesn’t join until much later. And, alas, she never gets that iconic Pink Ladies jacket.

You can get one, though! In fact a Pink Ladies Jacket is more or less the one piece you absolutely need in order to pull of this costume. All of the girls change their clothes throughout the movie but that is one thing they are almost never seen without.

To finish off the look you could choose a classic ’50s A-Line dress, pearls, heels, and hair bows like Frenchie wears. Just make sure you get one of these ’50s hairstyles going too.

Or you might prefer the more daring look of capris, flats, and a button down like Rizzo wears.

No matter how you style it, as long as you’ve got the jacket and the attitude, you’re a Pink Lady through and through!