what does a so called ‘ rebel ’ look like ? A RECONSTRUCTION OF EFFIE'S COSTUME DESIGN IN DISTRICT THIRTEEN, INSPIRED BY DESIGNS FROM JEAN PAUL GAULTIER & VIVIENNE WESTWOOD.
PLUTARCH HEAVENSBEE
you're not a prisoner.
you're free to join the rest of thirteen.
EFFIE TRINKET
not looking like this, thank you very much.
during the capitol extraction, effie wore ⁽ ⁰¹ ⁾ a magenta draped dress, corset, & matching platform high heels. a long flamingo pink wig. skin - tone thighs. set of long acrylic nails, painted gold, & false eyelashes with golden speckles. gold necklace, bracelets & rings that resemble the shape of ribbons. in her purse, she brought essentials: a different pair of heels & sunglasses. ⮩ however, upon arrival, all clothes & personal belongings were confiscated by district thirteen guards.
instead, effie is given the standard thirteen wardrobe, ⁽ ⁰² ⁾ two jumpsuits, one wool jacket, one pair of combat boots, one button - up shirt. the cardigan & pants she sometimes wears are, of course, borrowed from haymitch.
she negotiates with plutarch access to her clothes again — surely an old friend would understand just how vital one's clothes are in a scenario of such vulnerability. her colleagues from twelve's prep team were just now being kept prisoners, & wasn't it for her tight relationship to the mockingjay, effie is certain she too would have a spot with her initials on those dungeons. her identity is all she has. it's... her brand of rebellion. she gets her belongings back, wrapped in gray fabric, then casually lays all of it ⁺ her district thirteen attire on the ground of her cubicle underground. surely she'd be able to come up with something to resemble even a shadow of her past self... ⁽ ⁺ ⁾
effie is left with an assortment of customized pieces that, with a little bit of luck & an unfathomable level of creativity should make up for a decent wardrobe. her days in the valley come in handy the moment she realizes the pieces would need some needle work, & she's able to remodel those shapeless pieces into memorable ones. ⁽ ⁰³ ⁾ the buttons in her jacket & shirt are rearranged to double breasted designs, on - par with the military theme everyone is supposed to be getting on board with; if this is what they are, rebels, then she might as well be a very well dressed one. waists are either adjusted to better fit her body or sintched with a leather belt, also borrowed, looped twice around her waist & resembling a corset. her corset, too, at times worn on top of her shirt to accentuate her sillhouette.
heels & gloves are the sole ode to color in her wardrobe now; her dress, once beautiful layers of magenta, now torn apart by those so called guards of thirteen. plutarch said it surely had been an accident. effie doubts it'd bring them anything but joy to destroy something beautiful for the sake of it.
still, even unable to sport her beautiful gown every day, confined to an immensity of gray days in that gray reality, effie tends to it tirelessly every day after work hours. she'll need something to wear once the war's over, after all. if it ever is. if they're ever free. surely they don't expect her to walk into the future looking anything other than fabulous. but then, an occasion: a wedding, something beautiful for the sake of it, like her gown, like herself. & so all those nights of raw fingertips stitching her beautiful dress back together seem to have found meaning, when she's able to wear it. nobody else seems to mind that a wedding should require a certain dress code, but effie's never dressed up for anyone but herself. her repurposed pink dress, pink heels, pink blush & lipstick from the stash that should be used on their mockingjay only — & she's ready for this excuse of a party. her hair up in pin curls; great aunt messalina said during wartime capitolites wore their hair up that way, so she does that in the absense of her wig.
her everyday beauty routine is a bore. there's little effie considers herself less excited about than showing a bare face to those people, but still, in the absense of creams & powders to properly paint her features, all she's left with is the possibility of pinching her cheeks to a pink & slipping a little something from the studio katniss does most of her on - camera work in. her priority is to add a little color to her lips & cheekbones, always, & if she's lucky a little contrast to her eyelashes.
