While the iconic look of Tomb Raider’s protagonist is oft-imitated, it takes more than short shorts and a pair of pistols to pull off a successful Lara Croft.

Cosplayer Lena Lara is by far one of the most accurate and notable Lara Croft cosplayers worldwide. Not only has she crafted a wide range of costumes – including Lara’s default Legend garb, Underworld wetsuit, and classic ensemble – her physical strength and beauty make her a fantastic fit. Check out her very impressive gallery of photos below.

Who: The Character
The character is Lara Croft, the fictional protagonist of the Tomb Raider video game series.

Generally presented and known as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic archeologist and adventurer, she frequently ventures into ancient, and often very hazardous tombs and ruins. In Tomb Raider: Underworld Lara‘s main outfit is a combo of brown-greenish shorts and tank-top, also known as the jungle-shorts costume.

Why: The Decision
Lara Croft is for me the idealized version of a woman on many levels. She is sexy, intelligent, tough, athletic, cultured, well-traveled, and has this kind of mysterious charm that shines though. I can‘t see any real woman matching up – but that‘s the reason why she became my idol and my hero. Who wouldn‘t want to be like her or have the life she has?

I love to dress up as her because wearing her clothes gives me the feeling to be as strong and independent as she is – at least a little bit. Besides the fun, this really helps me to improve my lack of self-confidence.

What: The Process
How long it takes is different from outfit to outfit. Mostly, I make several versions of one costume, so it becomes better step by step. You can image that this process requires much time. The first version of my Underworld outfit came up in the end of 2008, but in 2010 I still worked on a better version of the same outfit.

I try to keep it simple and use common materials. In general, my first step is to search in basic local clothing stores for clothes, which look similar to what I need. After that, I change or add the important details.

Of course the final cost could be very expensive, especially if you would buy everything like the props (e.g. belt, buckle, backpack, etc.) Because I don t want to invest so much money for it, I try to make mostly everything by myself, quite simply. The jungle-shorts-costume wasn‘t that difficult, Lara‘s black-yellow wetsuit was a much harder job, because there was nothing to rely on.

Where and When: The Debut
The first serious debut of my jungle-shorts costume was in the end of December 2008.

My photographer was Christoph Gerlach and the shoot took place in an indoor water park in Berlin. The ambiance and atmosphere of the tropical vegetation and the waterfalls made this location very well-fitting.

Links: The Cosplayer
I have my own website. Also, you can find me on DeviantArt and I‘m a member of Cosplay.com, and tombraiderforums.com, too.

The Gallery

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