Bookish Costume DIY: Katniss Everdeen

One of my favorite costumes at the end of high school and the beginning of college was Katniss Everdeen. It’s easy, recognizable, and most of the items needed were already in my closet! Even though the movies may be over, the odds are still in your favor of having a great Halloween if you dress up as this dystopian heroine. Here’s how I created my Katniss area look:

Makeup and Hair:

Since Katniss is more concerned about survival than the glitz and glam of the Capitol in the arena, I opted for wearing minimal and neutral makeup. In this look, I used foundation, concealer, and powder on my face. On my eyes, I used a neutral eye shadow quad from Too Faced and finished off the look with some mascara. For my hair, I had one of my sorority sister do the class Katniss braid. Another option for makeup is using brown paint to make smudges on the neck and face.

Costume: 

My sister as Minnie and me as Katniss

For the costume, I started with a black tee shirt and black pants (in the movie, however, Katniss wears cargo pants). Then, I layered two jackets on the tee shirt. The inside jacket is a plain black jacket with red trim and the outside jacket is a plain black rain coat from Target.

In the past, I’ve used two different methods to create the trim on the inside jacket. One way to create the red trim is to buy a duct tape sheet and cut the sheet into equally wide strips and to stick them on the jacket. I’ve also used red construction paper to make equally wide strips and used masking tape to tape them on the jacket. Even though the second method is more time consuming, I found that the collar of the jacket stayed down better using the construction paper.

On the red jacket, I also attached my Mockingjay pin, which can be purchased online, on the collar. As an alternative, you can print off a picture of the Mockingjay online and back it with cardboard. Then, you can hot glue or tape a safety pin on the cardboard and then fasten in on the collar (I did this when I dressed up as Katniss in high school before movie merchandise came out and it worked perfectly!).

I completed the costume with black combat boots.

Props: 

In the past, I’ve also included a fake, plastic bow and arrow set. Since this is usually in the outdoor summer section, check out your local drugstores to find a set for super cheap (I got mine for only 20 cents!).

 

What costume will you be for Halloween?

 

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