My Homemade Halloween Costumes
- The Thoughtful Baker
- Oct 24, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 25, 2018
As a kid, I was not allowed to trick-or-treat. My older brothers were allowed to before I was old enough to walk and they have all sorts of cute family photos with their homemade #costumes to treasure (one year they were dressed as Kris Kross... so stinkin' cute!). For whatever reason, when I came along, my parents put an end to the fun. Unless there was a "Fall Festival" or school "sock hop" taking place on #Halloween, I was at home, eating the candies I got from some teacher or family member, watching #Halloweentown, #HocusPocus, #UnderWraps, and all of the #Disney holiday classics I could to get over the angst of missing out on all of the fun happening outside. I grew up in the same house from age 2 to 16, and I can't recall a single year when someone rang our doorbell looking for candy. Many of the neighbors took the same stance; Halloween decorations were scarce on our street and the kids usually went to other streets in the community where the decorations signaled that candy would be available. I always felt left out when kids talked about their costumes days leading up to Halloween. I had nothing to offer to the conversations, so I just listened in awe.
Missing out on the candy wasn't nearly as bad as not being able to wear, and more importantly design and create, a costume each year. As a college student, I finally got the chance to explore my creative freedom and dress up for Halloween, but apparently my roommate/BFF and I didn't get the memo that we were "supposed to" choose something sexy and dainty. Freshman year we went to a fraternity party, the Tales of the Krypt party thrown by the Kappas each year, dressed as the most hideous Zombie school girls. I know you're thinking, school girl costume, could be something dainty. Nope. We had my true-knee length skirts from my charter school days, loosely fitting white button downs, white paint to give us a rotted out, pale ghostly look, and fake blood all over our necks and tops. It was tragic (and I am so happy there aren't any surviving pictures from that night LOL). Sophomore year, I dressed as #BillieHoliday with a pompadour and nice dress. My budget was so low, I couldn't afford props to really sale the look. Maybe with a microphone and/or flower in my hair, people could've recognized who I was portraying. Oh well. I'm pretty sure that was the last time I dressed up for Halloween, which was eight years ago...
Fast forward to this year and I have decided to FINALLY do things right. I am participating in a group Halloween costume as Cousin It of the Addams Family on next Wednesday with my coworkers. I will be making this costume from scratch (I'll share all about it next week, so stay tuned and follow along on #Instagram @thoughtfuldozen for all of the details). Aside from this costume, I'll be dressing up Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday as well as a display of my school spirit and encouragement for students to come to our campus dressed in their costumes as well.
This has my mind teeming with ideas! If you saw yesterday's new edition of #TuesdayDIY, then you know a bit about my #QueenofHearts DIY costume. I'm so excited to wear it as a part of my opening costume on Monday. Rather than shelling out money on fancy costumes that hundreds of other people will potentially wear, I am creating all of my looks from scratch, mostly using items I already own. To pull off the Queen of Hearts look, I will wear the "ruff of cards" and wand (spoon with construction paper and playing cards. Ha!) with an item that usually wastes away in so many women's closets, a #bridesmaidsdress from my high school friends' wedding. The dress is so lovely, but way too fancy to just wear any old time. This costume is the perfect occasion to let it finally see the light of day again (don't be surprised if you see me in it again. I believe in repeating outfits... I wore my bridesmaid's dress from my dad's wedding to my #prom. It's what I do... #casualshrug). I'll also be wearing the shoes that I wore with the bridesmaid's dress to complete this Halloween look too. Why not? It just works.
Here's a preview of the look (click the arrow for more images):
Tuesday, I'll be dressed as The Artist Formally Known as #Prince (swooning over the legendary, creative genius!) I am so excited to put this look together and hope to do him justice in my wedge pumps and blazer with padded shoulders. He was one of my mother's FAVORITE artists of all time, so I was always around his music growing up. In order to further carry the image, I'll have a microphone that plays music blasting his track, Diamonds and Pearls, while I carry an open box of... You guessed it! Diamonds and Pearls. Though Prince was very #androgynous, I will definitely be drawing on or wearing a pasted mustache and goatee to deliver the #lewk.
Undetermined is Thursday's costume. A few ideas are rumbling around. I've considered #MaryPoppins, which wouldn't be a stretch for me given my wardrobe full of ankle length skirts and nice blouses (isn't that a funny word... blouses...). I have an umbrella, boots, a hat, thick scarf, bowtie and travel bag to accessorize the look. I also considered paying homage to #ArethaFranklin with a fur coat, gown, and high heels. I'll have to find a way to exaggerate the cleavage (Auntie Aretha was a lot more blessed than I am and I feel like that was a huge part of her aesthetic). Because I already have a microphone, most of my ideas have been singers, so people like #JanelleMonae, #ScarySpice/#MelB, and #ErykahBadu are strong contenders. Though initially Janelle's "uniform" was very tailored and iconic, the latter artists lend me a lot more creative freedom and spontaneity in their looks. My biggest concern with Mel B is her over the top sex appeal. As an Academic Librarian, I don't want to dress inappropriately at work, so I may have to table her look for a Halloween party or just keep it filed away in my repertoire for another year.
Other Halloween costumes I'm considering:
#Spinelli from Recess (90's Babies, what up?!)
#DojaCat as a Cow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXnJqYwebF8
#GreenGoddess... just cuz leaves and nature and foliage and such are plentiful, so materials needed for this look are basically free
#Agnes from #DespicableMe so stinkin' cute
#FredaKahlo I'd only need to make or purchase the flowers for this outfit
#Beyonce covered in bees as a fresh take on the typical look
#Pinata I have a ton of construction paper for this one
#SleepingBeauty any excuse to wear pj's and slippers, carrying a blanket and pillow, will do
I'll be sure to fill you all in throughout next week as the festivities are underway. Be sure to keep tabs on the instagram feed @thoughtfuldozen for live updates. I am SO excited about these looks and still weighing options for the final look. Make sure to comment with your suggestions here and on instagram. Also, let me know what looks you have planned for yourself. I can't wait to read all about it!
Thanks for reading.
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