Main Task - Costume Research

Due to the fact that our main character was a 17 year old boy, we wanted to dress him in clothes that a stereotypical teenager would wear. We chose to dress him in a black t-shirt to reinforce the stereotype of teenagers being depressed, and very withdrawn from society. We chose to have Peter wearing trainers, as over the past couple of years, there appears to have been a culture of teens trying to have the newest, coolest trainers, with brands like 'Converse' and 'Nike' being particularly popular. However, we chose to have Peter wearing trainers that are quite old and dirty to demonstrate that he isn't up to the date with the trends, so clearly isn't part of the 'in' crowd.

He is wearing blue skinny jeans, which we chose to show that he is trying to fit in, as these are quite in fashion, however because skinny jeans are the only fashionable thing he is wearing, he still has parts of him that the bullies can pick at.

The clothing we chose is quite similar to the Brechtian style of clothing, which in theatrical pieces is when someone wears a completely, black plain costume. The type of costume is typically used when someone is going to be several different characters and personalities. I feel this perfectly represents the character of Peter, as I feel that throughout the novel he changes personalities, as he goes from the vulnerable little boy, to the rather disturbed teen.

We also chose to have him wearing glasses that were quite large and 'geeky'. We chose to have him wearing these, as in the book it is stated that Peter is bullied all throughout his school life, and stereotypically, a lot of people are bullied for having glasses. We felt like we could imagine him being called 'four eyes', a very typical taunt of a bully. Although in the book, it never states that Peter wears glasses, we thought it would be a good addition to his outfit, as it is something he could easily get bullied for.