The Hunger Games is a very popular book series among young adults, and it’s not surprising that its hero, Katniss Everdeen, is a trendsetter. The heroine of the story faces down more than just an evil regime; she’s also in a constant battle with her own fashion sense. She’s forced to wear some awful things while pretending to be someone else, and she wears them well.

Katniss is not the only one with serious style. Uma Thurman plays The Bride in Kill Bill, who wears a similar outfit for the majority of the film. It’s clear that this costume was inspired by Katniss’ look in The Hunger Games. In fact, we can see it as a sort of homage to the character that inspired so many people across America (and Japan!). But does The Bride wear her outfit as well as Katniss?

The answer is no. Even though both characters have similar looks, there are some key differences between them which make The Bride less stylish than our favorite heroine. For example: Katniss uses her outfit to seduce men while The Bride uses hers as armor against them; Katniss’ dress matches her personality (simple yet tough) whereas The Bride’s outfit seems too over-the-

The Bride may have a penchant for hibiscus prints, but Katniss Everdeen has a bow and arrow.

As one of the most fashion-conscious characters in film history, Beatrix Kiddo would definitely win on style points alone. And although she doesn’t have the upper body strength to draw a bow like our heroine from the Hunger Games, who’s to say that her martial arts skills could not compensate?

Still, it’s hard not to give it up for the girl on fire. She’s practically naked, and she still has more than enough time to outsmart and outshoot her opponent, who is fully clothed and distracted by her own elegant wardrobe.

In a world where zombies are an everyday threat, style is just as important as survival skills. If you run into a zombie horde while wearing jeans and flip-flops, you might as well lie down in your grave right then and there. You’re not going anywhere without first changing into something more suitable for escorting you out of the city limits.

After the release of Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino’s homage to martial arts movies, (and its sequel), the fashion world began to notice a drastic change in the costume choices of young female models and actresses. No longer did the female lead need to be a soft-spoken, barely dressed princess; she could be a sword-wielding, unsympathetic force to be reckoned with. The Bride kicked ass in yellow leather, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was nominated for Best Costume Design at The Oscars, and even Charlie’s Angels let their hair down and got pretty rough when it came time to fight.

But what about the other side of the spectrum? What about those women who don’t need swords or guns or even any special training to win their battles? What about those girls who are just plain awesome?

The Hunger Games trilogy is set in a dystopian future where the government forces two children from each district to kill each other until there is only one left alive. It’s not exactly a fashion show but there are definitely some good costume moments.

I’m talking about Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in this year’s release of The Hunger Games film adaptation. Katniss is known as “The Girl on Fire” because she wears a

The Bride, aka Beatrix Kiddo, aka Black Mamba (Uma Thurman), is a woman on a mission. She doesn’t care about the finer things in life. When it comes to her wardrobe she only cares about what works: A plain yellow jumpsuit to practice her martial arts moves in, a katana, and an ensemble that allows her to kick ass while pregnant.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) may have been thrown into the arena without her consent but she is a natural survivalist. A girl on the run needs practical footwear, camouflage clothing and a bow and arrow at all times.

I’ve always been fascinated by the fashion choices of heroines in action films. So I decided to create a blog that would explore these characters’ costumes in depth.

The first character I chose was Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill, because she wears yellow and black, which is my favorite color combo, and also because she has a killer style that can be summed up in one word: revenge.

Her outfit is simple but effective: she wears jeans, a yellow tank top, flip-flops, and carries a katana. The tank top is key to her look; it serves as a symbol of her vulnerability before the plot kicks off (she’s pregnant) and then becomes the canvas for her transformation into a warrior.

My next character was Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy, whose costume is also simple but effective: leather pants and jacket with a shirt underneath. In Catching Fire we learn that Katniss wears this outfit every day to remind herself who she is and what she fights for: “I don’t care about being queen of Panem,” she says. “But I do care about you.”

In Mockingjay it becomes clear that Katniss’s primary costume isn’t her clothes at all; it’s her

Because the zombie apocalypse is coming and you need to be prepared. No, seriously. It’s coming. And I’m not talking about the slow-moving zombies of yore, who were so graciously kind to give you time to finish your milkshake before they ate your brains. I’m talking about fast-moving zombies that make it look like someone took the “The Walking Dead” extras and gave them a double espresso and an insulin shot.

But this is not a blog about zombie preparedness (for more on that, check out Zombie Squad). This is a blog about what to wear when you fight the undead hordes, because I have done extensive research into this topic and have found that fashion is a key factor in surviving the zombie apocalypse.

Many factors go into surviving any apocalypses (zombie or otherwise), including but not limited to: creativity, strength, physical fitness, emotional fortitude and access to weapons. However if you are lacking in these qualities you can always rely on one thing: looking good while fighting evil. By combining classic movie characters with up-to-the-minute fashion trends we can create looks that are both functional for killing zombies and stylish for when you want to take a break from killing zombies. Because even after