Carbon Costume

On the sitcom Parks and Recreation, April Ludgate (played by Aubrey Plaza) is the sardonic parks department intern who eventually learns to follow her passions thanks in part to her mentor and boss Leslie Knope.  April also marries resident goofball Andy Dwyer in a unique wedding ceremony.  April often dresses in layers, wearing blouses under her sweaters or a hoodie or jacket over top a simple t-shirt.  April and Andy also roleplay occasionally as Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin.  April makes the transformation primarily by wearing a black pillbox hat and using a long cigarette holder, and she will sometimes complete the look with a vintage black dress and pearls.

In Future Man, Tiger (played by Eliza Coupe) is the leader of the human resistance fighting against the genetically perfected Biotics in the near future.  When Josh Futterman beats the Biotic Wars video game, Tiger travels back in time to find him in the hopes of saving humanity from their impending doom.  Tiger’s most distinctive feature is her purple hair, and she is often dressed for battle in leather armor.

Komari Koshigaya wants to be recognized as a mature person. She is a smart girl, but doesn’t like that some of the younger girls look older than her. However, Komari still takes care of the younger girls around her in their countryside. Komari spends time with her little sister Natsumi, and her friends, Hotaru and Renge, in Non Non Biyori Repeat.

In Breaking Bad, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser) is the kind of person you want on your team. So long as you can keep a close eye on her, of course. She was crafty and cunning and always out to make sure she protected herself and her daughter above everything else. What’s not to love?

Lydia’s fashion sense also makes her a popular cosplay choice. Chic pencil dresses, a voluminous and detailed wool coat, and sleek black heels make up a signature look along with understated makeup and long brown hair. The real detail however are the red bottoms on her heels. That’s a trademark style which means proper Rodarte-Quayle heels will set you back a pretty penny. But good black stilettos and a YouTube DIY video will have you feeling in high fashion in no time!

Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Jonathan Banks) is a rarity among modern crime dramas. He’s a bad guy with a code that he sticks to. Ehrmantraut might have been a crooked cop but he has his own idea of right and wrong. And he’s not afraid to kill or die for those ideas.

Cosplaying him is a pretty simple affair. Ehrmantraut was not one for flash since that would draw too much attention and his costume speaks to that. Sensible shoes, grey slacks, a button up, and a black windbreaker make up most of the outfit. Purple nitrile gloves will help keep the crime scene clean of prints while a bald cap completes the look!

Most Regalia / Shinki (weapon-sidekick-people) belong to one master alone, but Nora’s developed a reputation as “The Stray.” Yato is one of many to have utilized Nora’s weapon form, but has since, to her ire, acquired a Regalia of his own. (Keeping a Regalia to himself is an entirely different challenge, given Yato’s careless, narcissistic personality, but that’s really not Nora’s problem.) Suffice to say, she gets jealous easily, yet is undeterred by others’ conflicts of interest.

Nora / The Stray wears her kimono folded the way of a corpse, and wears a hitaikakushi on her head like the ghosts of old Japanese mythology. We can recreate this ghostly headdress using a white headband and a small, folded cloth napkin, since it’s not something readily available, given its taboo nature. Additionally, we’ve used a large, striped shawl-scarf in place of the traditional obi sash worn around the waist of a kimono.

On Stumptown, a TV show based on the comics of the same name, Jake Johnson plays Grey McConnell. Grey is an ex-convict who has turned over a new leaf and now runs a legitimate business. As the owner of the bar Bad Alibi and best friend/one-night stand of Dex Parios, Grey often finds himself helping Dex with her P.I. work and struggling to stay away from the life of crime he once knew. Grey wears comfortable clothing suited to a longtime bachelor and bartender.

Andy Bernard (played by Ed Helms) is a Dunder Mifflin employee from The Office who transfers from Stamford to Scranton with Jim when the branches are merged together.  Andy often refers to his time at Cornell University, and especially his involvement with a college a cappella group.  Andy has anger management issues which he takes classes for, and he is also romantically involved with both Angela and Erin at different times.  Andy often wears pastel colors, sweater vests, and bow ties.