I’m starting a new series on my blog called “Character corner”; This is where I’ll be discussing my costumes for specific characters. Part of why I love cosplaying is because I get to be characters that I love or really admire, and cosplay gives me a feeling of being closer to those characters/franchises that mean a lot to me – and I get to make things too which is pretty cool.
Today I’m focusing on my favourite musical theatre character – Éponine Thenardier. Éponine is a character from the book “Lés Miserables” by Victor Hugo. Published in 1862. Lés Miserables was adapted into a musical by Cameron Macintosh in 1985 and debuted on the West End, it currently resides at The Queen’s theatre in Shaftesbury avenue – AKA my second home. I’ve always had a love for this show, probably passed on from my mother, but I first proper;y saw it in 2010 (The 25th anniversary show) and became completely obsessed with it. My favourite Éponine has always been Samantha Barks even since I watched her in the 25th anniversary show; I was delighted that she then got to star in the movie.
Lés Miserables is the root of my deep love for theatre and also sparked my interest in theatre costuming and stage dressing which I’ll be pursuing a degree in. I have a lot to owe to this show.
About Eponine: Éponine Thenardier is the daugher of 2 inn keepers who, to say the least, are terrible people and even worse parents. She falls in love with Marius, a student who pretends to be poor to fight along side his friends for freedom. Sadly, Marius falls for another girl, Cosette, thus breaking Éponine’s heart. When Marius joins the revolution, Éponine follows in hopes that she could protect him from getting hurt. During the attack, Marius misses a shot from a French guard’s gun, later realising that Éponine had blocked the shot. Tragically, she then dies in his arms. Marius is saved by Jean Val Jean, and during the epilogue, Éponine returns to thank Val Jean for saving his life.
Now you see why it’s called Les Miserables……it’s all very…..miserable.
Why I cosplay Eponine: Éponine is arguably one of the most tragic theatre characters and still stands as my favourite because of her chivalrous sacrifice for the man she loves, and how she accepts his love for Cosette despite her breaking heart. She’s also very headstrong, street wise and independent, and despite her upbringing, is a caring and loyal person.
In my opinion, Éponine’s outfit is the most iconic from the show; Her famous slouchy hat ad trench coat. I used to dream of wearing those as a kid! I dream of one day playing ‘Ponine on stage but for now I’ll just pretend and cosplay her instead x)
This outfit does vary depending on production, the West End is the only show that doesn’t make Eponine’s hat red but brown (I’m really not sure why). I’ve always loved how her costume was the contrast of Cosette’s and that really intrigued me. The muddy browns and ripped skirts compared to those big Victorian gowns made of expensive fabrics. Her character really shows through her clothing too; rags that are barely held together.
Above: Samantha Barks (left) Eva Noblezada (right)
How I made my cosplay: Éponine wears two variations throughout the show; The first being a blouse, belt, skirt and hat. The second being the same but with an added coat and trousers instead of a skirt….and later some…blood. *cries* I won’t go into too much detail of how I constructed my costume as I already have a blog that I’ve written about it.
I chose the outfit with the trousers as I believe it to be more recognisable – and I just wanted that big coat. I used faux suede to make the trousers. I bought a cheap T shirt from Primark for £2 and dirtied it up with some acrylic paints. I also modified the shape of it to look like the top worn on stage. My coat is distressed with the same acrylic paints. I used a brown belt from my closet but will from now on use a thicker one with a vintage buckle to be more accurate. My shoes are a pair of suede lace up boots from New Look.
DETAILED BLOG ON MY PROCESS HERE
I always wear a brown wig for my Éponine because I prefer to make her look like my favourite actresses who have portrayed her: Samantha Barks, Lea Salonga, Frances Ruffelle. But th good thing about there characters is that you can make them look however you want them to look.
Conventions: I wore this costume to CFCC in September 2017 and it was one of my favourite con experiences. I made some new friends, met up with a musical cosplayers group and was stopped for many pictures. Even people on the train how recognised me as Éponine which I was very surprised at. This is also one of my most comfortable costumes and easiest to put on (no complicated wigs, fake tattoos or things I have make sure are still sewn together) I got some really great professional pictures to top it all off – although I’m still waiting for some.
I have recently put together her skirt outfit, to hopefully wear this year to summer cons – and to see les mis live again. I’m also going to get a red hat for her, just because.
If you have not yet seen Les Miserables, I highly recommend you watch it. Even if you’re not into theatre, it’s a beautifully tragic story that’s based on true event with some killer catchy songs.
Who would you like to see in my next character corner?
Until next time
Bri x
tinkerbri's costuming 
Wicked sparked my love for musicals and Les Mis turned that love into a passion. Prior to college, I thought ALL musicals were HAPPY, but capable of sad. That was all I had known. Than Les Mis enters and challenges everything I thought I knew about musicals: it taught me that yes, tragic musicals exist and that I was 100% blind to heartbreak growing up and that tragedies go beyond sad.
Well, my favorite musical character is Elphaba.
But Eponine is one of my favorite musical characters. In 2017, I dressed up as Eponine for a Les Mis party and for Halloween. The pictures are one my blog and you can see them in May 2017 and October or November 2017. I first saw Les Mis through the movie December 2017, but I was unsure if I loved the movie or not so I had no idea which characters I loved or if I loved the plot. But the next time I saw the movie, I had fallen in love with Eponine all because of Samantha Barks (at the time had no idea who played Eponine, but she was the reason why I feel in love with Eponine in the first place and why I eventually saw the 25th anniversary. If you go a few blog posts back on my blog, you will see why I love Eponine and another one was my development of becoming obsessed with Les Mis.
I honestly have no idea which Les Mis character is my favorite, but Eponine is my favorite female Les Mis character.
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