Becoming Katniss

A Halloween party at a friend's sailing club this week-end meant a costume was required. This was my second year dressing up after many years of a costume free Halloween period.

Last year I was a retro flight attendant. As I stood on the street in costume heading out for the night, a man walking by said "hey, that's what I do for my actual job!"

 No one said that this year, as I dressed up as Katniss from The Hunger Games. I was hoping that dressing up like her before the movie is released meant I wouldn't be surrounded by hundreds of other Katniss'. 

The fact that The Hunger Games is a teen novel and I am an (almost) 31 year old woman who attended an adult party may also have decreased my chance of look alikes.

I decided to dress as the Katniss of the first book, when she competes in the games for the first time. Below is Jennifer Lawrence, who is playing Katniss in the upcoming movie.

 {source: screenrant.com }

And here's how my recreation turned out.

Below are the ingredients that went into my Katniss costume:

Long brown hair tied in a braid

• I used fake hair from the dollar store, braided it and then attached it with hair elastics.

Green t-shirt, black jacket, khaki/ brown pants and brown boots

• I used clothes I already owned and used black pants instead of the khaki.

Mockingjay pin

• While these can be purchased, I didn't want to spend the money so instead printed out an image I found online on thick card, then used a hot glue gun to attach cardboard and pins to the back.

Orange backpack

• I couldn't track one down for an inexpensive price, so instead I created an orange arrow holster instead from an orange tea towel and then looped my belt through it.

Bow & Arrow

• I purchased a plastic set from a Halloween store, but the arrows were plain yellow plastic with red suction cups on the end. So I jazzed them up by hot glueing feathers and arrow ends on, and used gold glitter glue to add some sparkle.

Cuts and bruises

• I used fake blood to create the cut Katniss receives over her right eye, blood trickling down from her left ear (from an explosion) and burn marks on her hand. I also put a fair amount of tinted moisturizer and bronzing powder on to get a sunsinged look. And finally I used brown eyeshadow to create dirt on my face and collarbone to give the look of someone who has been living outside.
  

In the end I felt like my costume was a success, although as I suspected beforehand, not many people knew who I was and in fact I was asked twice if I was dressed as Cupid. I'm thinking of using the same costume next year. I'm sure once the movie has come out, it will be a lot more recognizable.