Showing posts with label dressup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dressup. Show all posts

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Master of Disguise

Boo!
For the third installment of my "I freaking love Halloween and you should too" series (recipes HERE; decor HERE) I thought I would tackle the trickiest of all the Hallo-weeny topics: costumes. Sure you can always go to the store and purchase a packaged costume in a bag (Marie Antoinette was a fan favorite of those for me) or, if you are a lady, be a "slutty ___" (nurse? construction worker? referee?) and pull it off, but sometimes a little DIY can make you the star of the party. Here are a few ideas (from my crazy brain and around the web) to help get your creative juices flowing.

* Get Witty
This is GENIUS!
Rock, paper, scissors anyone!?
This little girl is legit my hero. Easy peasy
how-to instructions HERE
Think about a play on words, your favorite food or a classic song... how can you bring it to life? Maybe you need to be a "Devil in a blue dress" or "Hell on wheels" (devil costume + roller skates!)? Cup of Jo has an AMAZING collection of ideas for adults and kiddies HERE and Coolest Homemade Costumes is an online gallery filled with genius inspiration.


* Be a Star
Khakis, jacket, button down, hat =
instant Indie
Dr. H will forever be attempting to match the
greatness of the year he was "Most Interesting"
Put your LBD to work!
One of my favorite costumes from recent years was when I dressed as Ms. Holly Golightly of Breakfast at Tiffany's fame. Black dress, sunglasses, gloves and a tiny tiara instantly transformed me to another era. Consider Indiana Jones if you're an action movie kinda guy, or a recognizable television or commercial character (two friends once donned maid of the mist ponchos to perfectly portray The Office's Pam and Jim on their wedding day).

* Go Classic
Frank is as iconic as Halloween itself!
A witch, ghost, mummy or Frankenstein are all exceptionally easy to execute and probably require very few purchases beyond what's already in your closet. For a Witch: black dress, black tights, black nail polish. Buy the pointy hat and a broom as well as some green face paint if you're going for authenticity. Ghost: White top sheet and a friend to help  you mark where to cut your eye holes. Frankenstein: Black suit and a black shirt. Purchase some green face paint and use eyeliner to make your "stitches and seams". Black spray-in hair color completes the look.

* Keep it Simple / Pick a Theme
Halloween-y & HOT!
If you're looking for a way to mix up your Halloween party costume theme (because you KNOW I love themes) consider encouraging people's creativity with something like "Heroes & Villains  or "Twice as Nice: Your best costume ever, again" (I literally JUST thought of that and I'm tooootally doing it next year. Is dressing up as Raggedy Ann 3 times in 1 lifetime too many!?) If you know your audience isn't big on theme participation, maybe a simple "Masquerade" or "Black & Orange" is the way to go. 

It's not often that adults are invited to dress up like children (without being considered whack-a-doos) so don't miss your chance to play pretend for a night!