Last updated: October 20, 2026·🔄 Guide reviewed and refreshed ahead of Halloween 2026.· By Seckin Peker

Cosplay Idea For Curly Hair Women

Sarah Miller From The Last of Us Cosplay Guide

She gets one episode, and it’s the one everyone still brings up.
brown hair womenCasualcurly hair womenCuteDystopiaHBOKIDSPost Apocalyptic
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Quick Answer: Sarah Miller’s cosplay has two builds. HBO: Halican Drops tee and decorated jeans. Game: pink flannel pajama pants over a grey layered top.
  • Halican Drops T-Shirt (essential)
  • Long Curly Wig (essential, HBO build)
  • Pink Flannel Plaid Pajama Pants (essential, game build)
  • Ice Blue Jeans, Red Backpack, White Sneakers

Sarah Miller spends the night trying to make her dad’s birthday feel normal, hours before the Cordyceps outbreak ends that for good. The Halican Drops tee is the one item that ties the whole HBO look to the actual screen moment, everything else is supporting detail. She is on screen for a single episode and still gets brought up in nearly every conversation about the show, mostly because of how that episode ends.

Items Total14 Items (2 Builds)
DifficultyEasy
VibePre-Outbreak Teenager
Cost$190-$280

Sarah Miller Cosplay Items

Sarah Miller HBO cosplay infographic showing Halican Drops tee, ice blue jeans, fabric markers, shark teeth necklace, string bracelets, red backpack, white sneakers, and curly wig

Sarah Miller: HBO Look

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Sarah Miller The Last of Us HBO Pre-Outbreak
  • 1 Halican Drops T-Shirt (essential)This graphic tee is the single screen-specific item in the whole build, a replica of the shirt Sarah wears in the episode’s opening scenes. Get the graphic wrong or skip it and the outfit just reads as a girl in jeans, nothing that ties back to the show. Buy it a size up, she wears it loose, not fitted.
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  • 2 Ice Blue JeansLight wash, straight or slim leg. Any pair close to this shade works, the exact cut does not matter much once the doodles are on.
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  • 3 Fabric Marker SetUsed to doodle small flowers, shapes, and words along the jeans. Test on a hidden spot first, some fabric marker sets bleed on thinner denim.
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  • 4 Shark Teeth NecklaceA small beach-style pendant on a cord. Check a jewelry box before buying one new.
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  • 5 String BraceletsA small stack on one wrist reads better than a single bracelet. Most costume jewelry drawers already have something close.
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  • 6 Red BackpackA plain red daypack, worn over one shoulder rather than both. An old school backpack in the right color works just as well.
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  • 7 White SneakersPlain white low-tops, check your closet first.
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  • 8 Long Curly Wig (essential, HBO build)Sarah’s long brown curls are the second thing people notice after the tee, and a straight wig or your own straight hair will not read as her at all. This one runs small and the curls loosen within a few wears, so budget a little time to re-twist sections before the day if you can.
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Sarah Miller game version cosplay infographic showing grey cooling long sleeve, Halican Drops tee, pink plaid pajama pants, 80s bracelet set, wooden surfboard necklace, and shell bead necklace

Sarah Miller: Game Look

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Sarah Miller The Last of Us Naughty Dog 2013
  • 1 Cooling Long Sleeve T-ShirtA plain grey long sleeve, worn as a base layer under the tee. Pick a breathable fabric, two layers over pajama pants gets warm fast at a convention.
    See on Amazon
  • 2 Halican Drops T-ShirtThe old listing for this item was pulled, this is the current replacement and it is the same tee used in the HBO build above. Layer it over the grey long sleeve instead of wearing it alone.
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  • 3 Pink Flannel Plaid Pajama Pants (essential, game build)This is the piece that actually identifies the game version, the HBO Sarah never wears anything like it. Get a true pink plaid, not a neutral flannel, or the silhouette just looks like loungewear with no reference behind it.
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  • 4 80s Bracelet SetA multicolor stack, worn on one wrist. Cheap costume-store sets work fine here.
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  • 5 Wooden Surfboard NecklaceA small wood pendant on a cord. Layer it with the shell necklace below rather than wearing either alone.
    See on Amazon
  • 6 Shell Beads NecklaceA puka-style shell necklace, the kind that was everywhere in the early 2010s. Thrift stores carry these often.
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Sarah Miller from The Last of Us game version in her layered grey top and pink plaid pajama pants during the outbreak night

How to Style the Sarah Miller Cosplay

The Halican Drops tee is what people clock first on the HBO build, and a plain graphic tee swapped in for it just reads as a random teenager, not Sarah specifically. The decorated jeans are a close second signal, bare denim with no doodles quietly drops the whole look down to “girl in jeans and a band shirt.” On the game side, skip the pink plaid pants and the outfit reads as generic 2000s loungewear with no tie back to the character at all.

Right before the outbreak starts, Sarah hands Joel a watch she fixed herself and brushes off his surprise with, “It’s the thought that counts and you were never gonna do it yourself.” That dry, slightly smug delivery is the character in one line, play her as a kid who’s a little too clever for her dad, not as a generic worried teenager.

Let the fabric marker ink cure overnight

Markers that feel dry to the touch after an hour can still transfer ink onto a car seat or another costume piece if you fold the jeans too soon. Lay them flat and give them a full night before packing or wearing them.

The curly wig flattens fast under a backpack strap

Wearing the red backpack on one shoulder all day presses the curls on that side flat within a couple hours. Carry a small travel pick in the bag and fluff the crown every so often instead of waiting until it looks noticeably off.

Sarah Miller Group Cosplay Ideas

Family Idea

Sarah Miller & Joel Miller (The Last of Us)

Excellent pairing, and the one most people will recognize on sight. Sarah’s bright graphic tee against Joel’s muted flannel and jeans is a real visual contrast, and anyone who has seen the first episode knows exactly what the two of them together are referencing. It also works as one of the only Sarah group ideas that does not need a third person to make sense.

Sarah Miller Joel Miller

Duo Idea

Sarah Miller & Ellie Williams (The Last of Us)

Might work, but the two characters never actually share a scene, Sarah dies the same night Joel’s story with Ellie begins years later. The connection is thematic, both are the girl Joel is defined by losing or protecting, and that only lands with someone who already knows the full story, not someone judging the pairing on looks alone.

Sarah Miller Ellie Williams

Group Idea: The Last of Us Cast

Sarah Miller, Joel Miller, Ellie Williams, Tess, Riley Abel

Strong group, but it needs people who know the show past the first episode, Tess and Riley do not show up until later and are easy to miss if your crowd only watched the premiere. Sarah’s bright, pre-outbreak outfit next to everyone else’s worn-in survival gear is a good visual way to show the timeline jump in one lineup.

Sarah Miller Joel Miller Ellie Williams Tess Riley Abel

Group Idea: Iconic Survival Women

Sarah Miller, Katniss Everdeen, Furiosa, Naru, Ellen Ripley

Might work, but the connection is genre, not story, these five are from five completely unrelated franchises. It only reads if your group already thinks in terms of “post-apocalyptic and survival media,” otherwise it looks like five people who showed up to different parties.

Sarah Miller Katniss Everdeen Furiosa Naru Ellen Ripley
Sarah Miller from The Last of Us game version with Joel during the outbreak night

Sarah Miller Cosplay DIY Tips

Building the Look

Most of the small accessories here are things you can find secondhand. The tee and the pajama pants are the two pieces worth buying specifically for either build.

  • Halican Drops tee: this is a licensed replica, thrifting will not get you there, buy it.
  • Jeans: any light wash pair from your own closet works before the markers go on.
  • Fabric markers: a basic set is enough, no need for a large multi-pack.
  • Necklaces and bracelets: check a jewelry box first on all of these.
  • Backpack: skip buying new if you already own a red or dark red bag.
  • Wig: buy new, a used synthetic wig rarely holds curl shape after shipping.
  • Pajama pants: the pink plaid print is specific enough that you likely need to buy this one.

Playing Sarah at the Party

She is sharp and a little sarcastic with her dad, not a sweet, soft-spoken kid.

  • If someone thanks you for something small, deflect it the way Sarah deflects Joel’s surprise over the watch.
  • She fixes things herself rather than waiting for help, bring that energy into how you talk about the costume too.
  • Don’t play her scared or fragile. The character’s whole scene is her trying to keep things normal, not panicking.

Sarah Miller Cosplay: FAQ

Pick a build first, HBO or game. For the HBO look, wear the Halican Drops tee over fabric-marker-decorated ice blue jeans, a long curly wig, a shark teeth necklace, string bracelets, a red backpack, and white sneakers. For the game look, layer the same Halican Drops tee or a grey cooling top under pink flannel pajama pants, add an 80s bracelet set, a wooden surfboard necklace, and a shell bead necklace. The HBO build is the one most people recognize in 2026.

Yes. She only appears in one episode, but it is the episode most people point to when they talk about the show, and Nico Parker’s performance picked up a BAFTA nomination for it. The character still gets brought up constantly whenever The Last of Us comes up, even by people who have not touched the game.

Handing Joel a watch she fixed herself for his birthday, she brushes off the gift with: “It’s the thought that counts and you were never gonna do it yourself.” Explaining why she only took some of the money from his wallet: “I could have stolen sixty but I put the change back because I’m an honest thief.” Both lines are from the premiere episode, which aired January 15, 2023.

Nico Parker plays her. The role earned her a BAFTA Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, for a single episode of screen time.

Age and wardrobe. The HBO version is 14, with long curly hair and a graphic tee over jeans. The game version is 12, with short layered hair and a grey top over pink plaid pajama pants. Both versions die the same night, in the same way, for the same reason.

No, pick one. The HBO build gets recognized faster since more people have seen the show than played the original game. Build the game version only if your group or convention crowd is specifically into the 2013 game.

No, but it helps sell the HBO build. Plain ice blue jeans with no markings still work fine on their own, the doodles are a detail for people who want to match the screen look closely.

Test Your Sarah Miller Knowledge

What does Sarah give Joel for his birthday in the HBO premiere?

How old is Sarah in the HBO version, compared to the original game?

What award was Nico Parker nominated for over her role as Sarah?

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