What's in a name?

[sauvin]

Plus, it can't be an accident that on the only two occasions Eli takes any interest in clothes whatsoever (one of them not involving Oskar at all) it is to go for feminine clothes, whereas otherwise Eli shows zero awareness that how he dresses might affect how Oskar sees him (like not even wearing clean clothes).

Eli chose a dress after showering in Oskar's apartment, that's one. What's the other occasion where she chooses feminine attire?

[metoo]

Plus, it can't be an accident that on the only two occasions Eli takes any interest in clothes whatsoever (one of them not involving Oskar at all) it is to go for feminine clothes, whereas otherwise Eli shows zero awareness that how he dresses might affect how Oskar sees him (like not even wearing clean clothes).

Eli chose a dress after showering in Oskar's apartment, that's one. What's the other occasion where she chooses feminine attire?

I was about to ask the same question.

But I have another comment. Eli stated that he chose the garment that looked the most worn. Does that really qualify as taking an interest in clothes?

[EEA]

The only other time I can think of is when Eli is wearing the pink sweater when she tells Oskar they can't be friends.

From the novel:

"She had no hat, and no jacket. Only a thin pink sweater even though it was cold."

[sauvin]

The only other time I can think of is when Eli is wearing the pink sweater when she tells Oskar they can't be friends.

From the novel:

"She had no hat, and no jacket. Only a thin pink sweater even though it was cold."

Yea, but that was when they first met, and I'd presumed that pink sweater came from the same place a lot of the rest of her clothes seem to come from. I got the impression her fashion sense didn't tell her not to wear combat boots together with pink poodle sweaters.

[EEA]

But Eli did state she had seen Oskar before when he was practicing his stabbing by his window. So maybe she was curious about this strange boy and put on her pink sweater.

From the novel:

"How do you know where I live?"

"I've seen you in the window before."

And also when Eli wears Oskar's Star Wars s-shirt. The book dosen't say if its his shirt or not, but Oskar sort of things it is since he has one too. So sometimes in a relationship the girl will wear the boyfriend's sweater or t-shirt and maybe Eli pick this out from somewhere. Maybe, then Eli is still a mystery to me.

[metoo]

Also from that same conversation in the novel:

"I can't be your friend. Just so you know it."
My translation

But I agree about the Star Wars sweater, Eli used it to connect with Oskar. This is one instance when he is displaying some interest in what he wears.

[lombano]

Plus, it can't be an accident that on the only two occasions Eli takes any interest in clothes whatsoever (one of them not involving Oskar at all) it is to go for feminine clothes, whereas otherwise Eli shows zero awareness that how he dresses might affect how Oskar sees him (like not even wearing clean clothes).

Eli chose a dress after showering in Oskar's apartment, that's one. What's the other occasion where she chooses feminine attire?

He doesn't dress in it, but he reaches out in his mind for his sister's clothes after the castration.
It seems unlikely the pink sweater, or the Star Wars t-shirt, were chosen deliberately by Eli, given he doesn't even think of washing clothes he's taken from the dump before seeing Oskar - a bigger faux pas, I believe, than wearing a fluffy pink sweater and combat boots (I think pink goes with boxing gloves and box-cutters). This is in contrast to film Eli, who does have the sense to wear a big coat when going to visit Oskar at the pool, and to dress nicely when she goes to his place.

[sauvin]

Plus, it can't be an accident that on the only two occasions Eli takes any interest in clothes whatsoever (one of them not involving Oskar at all) it is to go for feminine clothes, whereas otherwise Eli shows zero awareness that how he dresses might affect how Oskar sees him (like not even wearing clean clothes).

Eli chose a dress after showering in Oskar's apartment, that's one. What's the other occasion where she chooses feminine attire?

He doesn't dress in it, but he reaches out in his mind for his sister's clothes after the castration.
It seems unlikely the pink sweater, or the Star Wars t-shirt, were chosen deliberately by Eli, given he doesn't even think of washing clothes he's taken from the dump before seeing Oskar - a bigger faux pas, I believe, than wearing a fluffy pink sweater and combat boots (I think pink goes with boxing gloves and box-cutters). This is in contrast to film Eli, who does have the sense to wear a big coat when going to visit Oskar at the pool, and to dress nicely when she goes to his place.

And to dress nicely when she's expecting him to visit her at the jungle gym to discuss the Rubik's Cube she'd solved, and to ask him if she smells better now. Movie Eli didn't choose overly feminine attire for this scene, a boy might have gotten away with wearing such clothes, but they definitely made her look a lot more civilised and lent her something of an air of refinement.

Pink might go with boxing gloves and box cutters, but not both at the same time. You can't manipulate box cutters when you're wearing boxing gloves! If you're going to wear pink with boxing gloves, combat boots and ammunition belts harmonise beautifully with pink chiffon, oversized earrings and crystal teardrop pendant necklaces. Box cutters tend to blend in better with gauzy pink nightwear and industrial hard hats.

[lombano]

He doesn't dress in it, but he reaches out in his mind for his sister's clothes after the castration.
It seems unlikely the pink sweater, or the Star Wars t-shirt, were chosen deliberately by Eli, given he doesn't even think of washing clothes he's taken from the dump before seeing Oskar - a bigger faux pas, I believe, than wearing a fluffy pink sweater and combat boots (I think pink goes with boxing gloves and box-cutters). This is in contrast to film Eli, who does have the sense to wear a big coat when going to visit Oskar at the pool, and to dress nicely when she goes to his place.

And to dress nicely when she's expecting him to visit her at the jungle gym to discuss the Rubik's Cube she'd solved, and to ask him if she smells better now. Movie Eli didn't choose overly feminine attire for this scene, a boy might have gotten away with wearing such clothes, but they definitely made her look a lot more civilised and lent her something of an air of refinement.

Whereas book Eli only managed to shower before meeting Oskar, but what to wear did not seem to enter into his thinking.

Pink might go with boxing gloves and box cutters, but not both at the same time. You can't manipulate box cutters when you're wearing boxing gloves!

No, but the same person might own pink boxing gloves and a boxcutter with a pink handle.

[EEA]

Then Eli does wear the same pink sweater during their second meeting. But I think it's hard to know if Eli does care about what she wears.