Catching Fire Costumes

Are you excited as I am about the second Hunger Games movie? Time to start planning your costume then! I'm going to guide you through several ideas, whether you're going battle arena mode in a wetsuit, or you're going for a glitzy, showy (and sometimes awkward) outfit.

I am having a super fun time crafting up these guides as Catching Fire happens to be my favorite book in the trilogy. If you thought the Hunger Games battle was intense, then magnify that tenfold and you've got the All Star Version, Catching Fire! Just consider this: all the tributes have won their respective year's battles. Some have even mentored other winners. You're definitely not going to see any players who are wet behind the ears and clueless about the game of war. You are going to see the players literally wet though as the stadium has changed...

Come and explore with me the tributes, their get-ups, and this awesome new world.

The Catching Fire arena is a very interesting battle ground of islands and sea. There's something even more interesting about the terrain, but I won't spoil those who haven't read the book yet ;) Just be assured that if you found the Hunger Games Book 1 battle awesome, then the Catching Fire battle will BLOW YOUR MIND! There's a lot of swimming involved which is why the tributes are dressed up in wetsuits. In the movie, everyone wears the same black/gray wetsuit, a pair of knee caps, and a pair of black waterproof boots.

Because it's an all-star battle, the pressure to win is even greater. This isn't a battle of young kids. No. This time, everyone has had a taste of death, war, and pain. So Katniss must make alliances. The right kind. But what is the right kind? Is it the seemingly invincible and perfect District 1 duo? The flirtatious Finnick Odair, who has a swarm of fans swooning over him? She doesn't know. All she knows is that, this time, she will be by Peeta's side. And if push comes to shove, perhaps it is her turn to sacrifice herself for him.

All hail District 1, where everything and everyone shines and shimmers!

Cashmere is described in the book as classically beautiful, with blonde curls and green eyes. Since she's from District 1, her outfit is, of course, gold. Her brother, Gloss, is like the male equivalent - blonde hair, and strong. This makes it a great costume idea for siblings!

If you want to don the battle suit, then remember that they are wearing wet suits now as the arena has changed into an island and there is much swimming involved. Also, another detail: Gloss armed himself with a dagger. You can take a look at some partial pics of Gloss and Cashmere in their gray/black wet suit, courtesy of Just Jared. The full outfit is a long-sleeve wet suit as shown by Peeta's picture. I have created a Catching Fire Arena suite costume guide just above this.

The fanart above is made by the super talented Nikola.

* This guide is dedicated to Isabelle, who requested for it in the comments box of my earlier Hunger Games guide.

Having come from the District of Weaponry, the very district where the evil Peacekeepers are trained, it comes to no surprise that the tributes here are extremely violent and deadly. Brutus, named appropriately, even volunteered to be a part of the battle. Now who would be as crazy as to willingly risk being plunged into death again? That will be someone like Brutus.

Lest you think Enobaria is less intimidating, think again! She is even scarier than Brutus. In fact, in my opinion, she is the scariest of them all. During the previous game, she ripped out somebody's throat with her bare teeth! And just to remind everyone, she decided to alter her teeth in order to get fangs dipped in gold. Now how creepy is that? Above is a photo of the stars to play the two and fanart from Tumblr. I'll replace that with a photo of them in action in the movie once it becomes available!

Brutus' weapon: spear

Enobaria's weapon: knife and teeth (shudder)

The District of Technology brings you two very techy tributes who seem slightly out of place in the games? We've got Wiress, an eccentric girl who never finishes her sentence. Katniss calls her Nuts. Her comrade, Beetee, is also adept with engineering, but he is less kooky and more comprehensible, to Katniss' relief. Does Katniss decide to have them join her pack instead of the more obviously strong District 2 contestants? Does Wiress drive Katniss insane?

During the Tribute Parade, the pair were donning outfits studded with electric bulbs. When the battle starts, and everyone goes for the super strong weapons, these two pick up a wire and coil! Now, how eccentric can you get? Or maybe there's a purpose to them later on...

Ah Finnick. Where do I begin? If Catching Fire was Hollywood, he'd be the Brad Pitt of the pack. The whole Capitol went gaga over him. And it wasn't hard to see why. His god-like physical qualities - tan skin, bronze-colored hair, sea green eyes - lured everyone like a fish to bait. In the parade, he wore a very daring outfit. A scanty net-like costume which just covered the ahem, sensitive parts.

Speaking of fishes and bait, Finnick comes from the District of fishing. During his first game, he would use his background to his advantage - his snares would catch his enemies then he would kill them with his trident. But it was his popularity that gave him an even bigger edge. A LOT of people at the Capitol donated gifts to him, making it an easy win for him. His second time around, the arena was surrounded by waters, which made his background even more essential.

His flirtatious behavior did not sit well with Katniss. Would he eventually be allies with the braided girl?

In the picture above, we see his sea-inspired Capitol poster, and a Deviant Art fan art featuring an intricate aqua blue makeup on the eye, and the net ensemble.

Extra prop idea: sugar cubes which he was chomping on while talking to Katniss

Johanna Mason is quite the character. The first time she entered the arena, she pretended to be a weakling to be underestimated by her opponents. Then, she surprised everyone with her deadly ax, an appropriate weapon for someone from the District of Lumber.

If Enobaria is creepy, Johanna is mysteriously frightening. Enobaria would be the vampire trying to eat you, Johanna is that dark corridor in a mansion. You don't know when or if she'll strike. So the fact that this girl wanted to be allies with Katniss did not sit well with our heroine.

During the parade, Johanna wore a tree costume which she abhorred. She felt it was way too literal and envied Cinna's creations. The fanart above shows an accurate depiction of the costume, at least in my head, though I think it would have been frumpier than that

Of course, I saved the best for last. The hero and heroine - Peeta and Katniss! Where to begin with their costume guide. There's just so much to cover! There's their bridal ensemble, which remains elusive for now. I can't wait to find out how it will look like, though the photo above, being all white, gives us a bit of a teaser, don't you think?

During the Tribute parade, they are both donning very dark costumes. They wear a black crown and their outfits are like glowing embers - dark but with a fire inside - an appropriate representation of who they were and what they stood for in this battle between the Capitol and the Districts.

We were all excited about Kate Middleton's bridal gown, then Bella's wedding dress on Twilight. Now, I'm sure all of us are waiting for a shot of Katniss' gown with bated breath. At least I am! In the book, there are two distinct features: sleeves that touched the floor and pearls.

Above, I've compiled some looks I've seen online that, together, seem to weave the wedding dress I had in mind when I read the book. Got these images from Pinterest.

Other pins:

http://pinterest.com/pin/167196204888371775/

http://pinterest.com/pin/34058540904311735/

How do you think Katniss' bridal gown will look like? How did you envision the costumes of the other tributes? How excited are you about the movie? Sound off below!