Carbon Costume

While exploring the attic in his home, a German boy named Jojo Betzler discovers that his mother Rosie has rescued a young Jewish woman from the horrors of the Holocaust. (Granted, Jojo is rather oblivious to the whole thing, having been quite propagandized by the Nazi party’s youth movement.) When he first meets Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie), she’s emaciated and barefoot, but she hasn’t lost her wit, spunk, or spirit. She goes so far as to steal his pocket knife and set him straight on some unfortunate stereotypes!

Rosie Betzler (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a single mother raising her son in Nazi Germany while her husband is away at war. Secretly anti-Nazi, Rosie hides her late daughter’s Jewish classmate in her attic while her son Johannes (“Jojo”) attends a Hitler Youth training camp. Rosie wears an array of fashionable vintage clothing, so there are many ways to recreate her look. Some of the staples of 1940’s fashion include high-waist trousers, cropped sweaters, and red lipstick. When it is not possible to find an exact replica of a specific outfit, layering different pieces can often evoke a similar effect.