It’s almost Halloween again! While Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays owing to my childlike love of dressing up, now that I have a job and what not I no longer seem to have time to sew an epic costume that makes people feel bad about themselves (jokes…). These costumes are all pretty easy to pull together at the last minute, so you can go to all of your fancy-pants Halloween parties with your costumed head held high as you aren’t going as a sexy nurse for the fourth year in a row.
Snow White
With two Snow White films and Once Upon a Time released this year, she’s pretty much the fairy tale character of 2012, and you’ve got four different versions to choose from; Kristen Stuart (Snow White & The Huntsmen), Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror), Ginnifer Goodwin in Storybrooke, and Ginnifer Goodwin in magical fairytale land. Whichever Snow you choose, I’d recommend powdering yourself with some baby powder to get nice and pale, and finishing the look off with red lipstick, bright eyes, and some subtle blush. You’ll also need dark hair, so consider a wig if you’re blonde. Or…
Some character from Once Upon a Time
Thanks to this show, fairytale characters are in again, and with a bit of a different twist. You can go Storybrooke, magical fairytale land, or Disney classic—whatever you’ve got the gear for, basically. I’d probably let your hair colour make the choice for you and go from there.
A Burning Man Burner
Not a kitchen appliance or a person that’s on fire, silly. Someone who is attending the legendary Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert! The costumes at Burning Man are about as legendary as the festival itself. Think leather, tails, ears, goggles, feathers, tall boots, things that lace up, epic masks, tutus, tights, and anything else you can imagine. Anything goes! Just remember your goggles, you’ll need them for sandstorms.
One of the Kardashians
I’m not going to pretend I know enough about the Kardashians to give you much guidance on this, but from what I’ve noticed they all seem to blend together, and I think there’s some humor in telling people you’re one of the Kardashians, but no, you don’t know which one. From what the tabloids tell me, you’ll want some tight clothing, a padded out backside and bust, very teased dark hair (a very shiny black wig will do nicely in this case if you’re on the blonde side), and a buttload of mascara.
A Vintage Hiker
Raid the basement of someone 40 or older that has outdoorsy inclinations. Borrow a pack with a metal frame, a poncho, leather hiking boots, woolen socks, a plaid shirt, some sort of horrendous pant, and anything else that appeals to you and is at least 20 years old.
An Original Bond Girl
I’m not thinking young and sexy here. I’m thinking one of the original Bond girls, 50 years on. A trip to Value Village will likely set you up with some seriously humorous high-waisted pants and other 60’s era bling. Comb baby powder through your hair, bring a cane, and draw on some wrinkles with some brown eyeliner. License to… dentures?
Adele
This will be all about the eye make-up and the hair. You’ll want a smokey cat eye with massive fake lashes, and super voluminous hair 60’s influenced hair. You’ll probably need a bump-it, if such a thing really exists (Suburgatory may have made them up, I don’t know these things). Other than that, Adele seems to really like black and chunky knits. Consider carrying a microphone and a portable pack of tissues, and then serenading people until they cry (hopefully from emotion, not because you are tone deaf). A union jack flag may also help people clue in if you cannot sing.
Mr. Gangnam Style
If you haven’t heard of this video yet, you should congratulate yourself on a job well done on ignoring pop culture and most of the internet for the last month or so. Now go watch the video. It is a plethora of Halloween costume ideas. There’s Mr. Gangnam himself, the fellow in the yellow suit, the back-up dancers, his lady friend… and the list goes on. Learn the dance, piece together a costume, and hit the streets.
Michael Phelps
I suppose all you really need for this is a swimsuit and as many dollar store medals as you can fit around your neck. On the off chance that it’s colder than 25°C/you don’t have a drool-worthy 8 pack, I’d add a patriotic-looking Value Village track suit and paint on the 8 pack.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
I definitely didn’t see this movie, but oh my, does the title make me giggle. All you’ll need is a black suit, a bow tie, a fake beard, and a wooden stake.
If you need more ideas, check out last year’s 10 Easy Halloween Costumes for Procrastinators post, and 10 Little Black Dress Halloween Costumes.
SO loving these ideas!!! I’m guilty of being a procrastinator AND one of those people who never manage to come up with a half decent halloween costume without buying one!! And since becoming a sole-owner(well buyer, kuz lets face it, the banks owns it!) of a house/mortgage at western australian property prices, Im perpetually FAR too broke to be splashing out much on anything!! So thanks heaps for these brilliant ideas 🙂
An Aussie! Ah! I remember loving the enthusiasm with which fancy dress costumes were embraced there 🙂 So many men that loved to cross-dress… or perhaps that was just my uni! Anyhow, hello from Canada, and enjoy your fun new costumes!
Hi there! I love your site!( BTW,My site paintedevents.com has not been finished yet) However I am a make up artist, face & body painter…Etc. (OH, & I am right there with you on the $50.00 mascara!) I’ve gotten some that are well over $30.00 & seem like shoe polish & baby oil. The only one that is expensive that I would recommend is the new MAGNETIC mascara duo. There is a waiting list tho. You can build with it, and it works great! Especially for cancer patients who have few lashes left. This is the only one I would ever pay over $15.00 for! The site is.. santhilea.com. From the UK.
ANYWAY,I was reading your Halloween costume page which is GREAT! I just thought of a few things that may help as every year I made my kids(3) costumes intent on taking them to EVERY place within 25 miles I could find with a contest and winning…lol & They did! Here are some things you may have around the house that u can turn into 1st place.
1 My son went as a wolf man..won 1st place. I took cotton balls pulled apart and used a dark face foundation on them to make them brown in color as if hair..and used spirit gum to attach to face, knuckles, shins & chest. I grabbed pants & shirt he’d grown out of an shredded the ends and made small holes in other places so the costume would not be uncomfy for him. (if the clothes r light colored or u cut too large of a hole, stick in some duct tape sticky side facing hole) Slick back the hair with gel,(U can even use small amount of cooking oil) Pencil brows heavy with brown or black. I did not have fangs but they didn’t seem to notice! My daughter went as cat woman. She has a perfect teen figure & that helped..lol I wrapped her in black plastic bags from ankle to neck. Poked many holes in it for sweating, & used white thread folded over 3x’s so it was bright enough and randomly sewed it for eye appeal once she was in it..(U can use a white waterproof eyeliner to get this effect also) I drew most of the mask on that covers her face with waterproof blk eyeliner & colored in. Her head piece was made for crown of her head down the back of neck to meet costume. Ears were stuffed with small amounts of news paper or magazine pages and taped together with blk electrical tape. Another great use for news paper, plastic bags, paper etc..is if ur gonna be a super hero stuff your upper sleeves with it to make your “Muscles” If you want to go as something scary, some Elmer’s or any school glue, t-paper, paper towel, or tissue You can also use white tissue paper, but not colored! The color will stain ur face. slowly build a rugged surface on ur skin or patches of it. (You can cover the face & neck, but this takes a while so allow at least an hour or two to get ready) When dry start using browns, reds, purples, blues, greens & yellows of any make up u have to make the “dead skin” Color lightly the tissues areas. Use a sponge to color the paper! Then finish by filling in where there is no tissue with either white & baby powder or a yellow & white combo. Spray papered areas with hair spray to set in warm climate. Avoid getting close to eyes.
Lastly my daughter went as Miss America. I took an old bridesmaids dress and don’t worry if u can’t sew…Everyone CAN USE DUCT tape!..lol to hem, or even create a false back for a dress that may not fit as duct tape comes in many colors now. with a crown from the $ store as well as a small bunch of plastic roses from there wrapped in clear plastic wrap The only thing I spent any rel time on was her sash. I used a light off white old dress..(u can use a sheet, anything light in color) tube of fabric paint or acrylic in a bottle that has small tip paint the sash “Miss America 2013” & let dry at least overnight. Tape or sew it together after you put it over your child’s shoulder & done. P.S Hem skirt 2-3 inches short if ur child will be trick- or- treating in it & leave roses at home. Remember props r for contests..& u don’t want ur kid to trip & spend what would be a fun night in the ER getting scanned for concussion! This is why I NEVER bought any of my kids a store bought costume or mask!! Masks are just awful in my opinion. Unless professionally made for one person from casting ur face..they will never fit right & visibility is IMPORTANT! I have a ton more of these costumes..lol feel free to mail me if anyone would like help or ideas! 🙂
Wow, Christa, you sound like a DIY costume wizard! That’s an awesome mom trait, I remember my mom also made us great costumes for Halloween, and we usually wore them all year round (I remember going as a rabbit for “dress as what you want to be when you grow up” day in the 2nd grade, lol… that didn’t end up working out for me, which is probably jut as well, haha). Thanks for sharing!