Carbon Costume

Keira Knightley is radiant in just about any role. But her time as Elizabeth Swann marked one of her best-known characters. Her performance brought an entire generation of woman into the world of pirates. And that’s before she ever became Pirate King!

Elizabeth’s style is somewhat hard to replicate because the fashions of the time were so ornate and specific. You can get close with a rococo gown, hoops to fill it out, thigh high white socks, and white slippers dyed yellow (just be sure to get the dye that works with the material). The wig listed above works as-is but you can also style it using this tutorial. Finally you’ll want your doubloon. That’s not the sort of thing you want to leave behind on your pirate adventure.

Sabina Spielrein (played by Keira Knightley in the 2011 film) was a very real person caught between two men who both sought to develop psychoanalysis in the field’s early days. Though much Freud’s work has been debunked, his name has still carried through time while Spielrein’s was less common until her story was more clearly told in A Dangerous Method.

When cosplaying this character, it is important to remember that she was a real person and a driving force in the early development of modern psychological treatment and practices. Even after parting ways with Jung and Freud she continued to train psychoanalysts until her death in 1942 at the hands of the Nazis. Spielrein was a brave and brilliant woman who should still be given the respect she deserves.

As the film is a period piece, Spielrein’s costume is as well. It consists of a blouse and skirt, hat, and period-accurate boots from the early 1900s. White gloves add another element to the costume while a long brown wig styled into a bun completes the character’s appearance.