For the past few years I've found myself trying to make up a costume an hour or so before the party. I don't know what Jeremy & I are going to end up being this year yet, and I'm actively thinking for what hits the spot. Maybe this year I'll prepare a little ahead, but I must admit my procrastinating habit has developed a bit of a list for simple DIY costume ideas.
Let's take a stroll down the path of past Halloweens and get some ideas:
First, (although this did require some sewing and prep time), here's Peter Pan and Elizabeth Swann from this scene.
I don't remember the details for how to make these; I just searched for help on the internet and fudged it. I made J's tunic from felt roughly measure to fit around him, and cut zig-zags around the edges. I found instructions for the hat and shoe covers online as well. (You can tell the shoe covers didn't fit perfectly, but good enough for me.) Add a red feather, a pair of tights, one of my belts and he was set.For me, I made the hat from felt using these instructions, modified the collar and sleeves of a loose white shirt, made boot tops similar to these, (more ideas here). I made the vest from a tunic pattern and altered it how I wanted it, but any vest would do for a general pirate. The "gun strap" was a leather belt with a nifty belt buckle on it.
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Next, and SUPER easy, a sports player. These were my little brother's baseball hat and jersey and a little face paint. Any sport works!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here's Sizzle & I at a dance dressed up as Lightning & Spring. Jules was there as Starry Night but I guess she was taking the picture.
Here's the basic idea.Lightning - Wear all black and add some lightning bolts out of thin cardboard covered. Sizzle had them attached to her clothes as well as in her hair
Spring - I just wore a flower lei around my head and took another one apart and safety pinned the flowers on my outfit. A good pair of wings always adds to the fun
Starry Night - Jules wore navy blue and attached some glow-in-the-dark stars all over her.
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Jeremy sports a simple mechanic costume. Find any shirt with a name badge on it (thrift store special) & dirty-up some jeans. Throw on a tool belt or a hammer in your belt loop and add some face paint for grease.
Also, a cowboy hat is great combined with a plaid shirt and visible belt buckle. Include the boots if you have them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------One of my favorites from some friends in college. Sweet eh? They drew the stripes on tights and shirts with marker. Then modify some pleated white pants, adding fabric for suspenders. Green hair spray and orange face paint goes a long way.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------The King and Queen of Hearts! I was seriously drawing these right before we left for the ward Trunk-or-Treat last year. I grabbed some computer paper and a deck of cards and fudged my way through it. I connected the front and back with curling ribbon and just wear them over your head. I think they turned out well considering I really can't draw. Could also use poster board if you prepare ahead... and even add a crown and blingy jewelery to back it up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------Here, I think I was a punk rocker... I grabbed a mesh shirt (Ode to KK's dance costume remnants), a striped skirt with a funky hemline and wore it with big clunky boots.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Getting any ideas yet? Here's a few more ideas, that I don't have pictures of, but are easy. One year I wore this vest: (say hello to Toots)
with this hat and scarf:
and was a Snowbunny! I recommend wearing this only for outdoor parties cuz it got really hot and I had to take it off, then I was costume-less! If you have them, add some snowboots and goggles to take it one step further. Could also add some bunny ears to help with the pun :)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These hats have come in handy a few times. Last year we also wore these, dressed all in black and grabbed our huge maglight for a security officer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alright, that was a fun stroll. Here's a few more simple ideas we've explored in the past.
Vampire- grab a black cape & fangs.
Dracula - add some slicked back hair
Chick Magnet - attach some rubber duckies or die-cuts of chicks to your clothes
Smartie Pants - attach Smarties candy all over your pants :)
Mummy - use and old sheet and tear/cut into strips. Sew it around a white t-shirt and tie strips around the arms and legs.
Shadow - Had a friend do this one year. He dressed all in black, wore black gloves and painted his face black too.
Hippie - here's some pants a friend & I made in high school: Just undo the seam on the side and insert a triangle of fabric. Cut a sponge in the shape of a flower and use paints to add some fun. Add a funky shirt and small sunglasses to complete the look.
And to end, my favorite..... a BED! I had my mom look everywhere for the picture of when I did this but to no avail. So use your imagination: We used a flowery sheet and cut a hole in the middle for my head. Then we made a little pillow and attached it to the front along with a teddy bear. I didn't like bulky costumes so we just let it hang and I would hold my arms out to show people what I was. So fun.
Well, anyway, hope this helps gets the creativity flowing.
What ideas have you used for fun simple costumes?
Fun ideas Ritz! I didn't know you did some of those. I always came up with costumes at the last minute too, or after finishing a costume for Toots. I don't know how she managed to convince me to always put her costume first. Some of the best costumes I've put together were for her.
ReplyDelete1. Skunk
Wear all black clothing. Find a piece of white fabric (even furry fabric to make it more realistic) and attach it in a strip down the back. (safety pins, sewing, even duck tape...whatever way works best for you and your time.) For the tail, use a closed piece of fabric
like a pillowcase or sew sides together of a small piece of fabric. Continue the strip of white fabric along the tail too.
The tail has too options. Stuff it with newspapers or some batting material. You can use a wire hanger to make it stand out. OR you can simply sew the end of it to the back.
2. Wizard
Since we always had access to a big box of fabric scraps, we just selected the largest piece (which was a purple felt material) and then cut a jig jagged edged for a cape. I sewed a simple seam at the top and we put a silver drawstring cord through it to tie at the neck.
For a tall point hat, we made a cone out of poster board and stapled it to fit her head. Then we glued the leftover scraps of fabric around the cone to match the cape. We tied a piece of elastic to go under the chin.
The last touch was from some silver, sparkly paper. We cut out tons of stars and then glued them to the cape and hat. Pair the ensemble with maybe a black top and shorts and some fun tights. Toots and I both used this for last minute costumes for a few more years.
Ack! Sorry this is long but I wanted to share
KK
Wow these are awesome ideas! Thanks guys. Looove it
ReplyDeleteI was a Gold Digger last year - I had a gold belt, gold tights and I got a hard hat and put a gold dollar sign on the front. Then I carried around a little hand shovel in my belt
ReplyDeleteSo I was a mechanic as well and recommend using actual grease instead of facepaint. Cheaper and very easy to find last minute. Assuming there's a hood of a car nearby.
ReplyDelete