The Hallowe'en Costume Thread

[Deleted]

JDub did you try The Children's Place? They sometimes have colored tights on clearance for like $.50 a package. Or were you looking more for pants? Here are some tights online at TCP for $3.33 black tights. Here are some coupons.

Strands of sewead type plants in the hair (limp green onions would probably look a lot like kelp).

Ooh, good idea! You could also use the green plant-ends of carrots, since they look a lot like seaweed.

Last year and 2000, I dressed Madonna-era '80s (so fun);

That's what I dressed up as last year! I had this cute black tank top w/ a gold lame shirt over it (sans collar and sleeves), a gold belt w/ a pendulum clock hanging from it, white lacy gloves w/ the fingers missing, black leggins, a ton of beady-type jewelry, big, gel-filled hair, blue eyeshadow and a lip mole. No one had any clue who I was supposed to be. Young wippersnappers!

I made an Elmo costume out of a red, hooded sweatshirt for MiniBones#1 when she was two. I just hot-glued two white styrofoam balls on the top of the hood for eyes and an orange pompom for a nose.

I've also done a scarecrow (flannel shirt, overalls, raffia sticking out of sleeves and stocking hat, eye pencil stitches on face), a flower (felt and pipe cleaner petals glued onto a headband, green felt stem and leaved hot glued onto a white sweatshirt, green stretch pants), a clown (pompom buttons down the front of some feety pjs, makeup on face and spray-in hair color over a bunch of tiny ponytails (I could never get my kids to wear masks or wigs)), a bobby-soxer (pink cloth made into a wraparound skirt w/ a white, felt poodle glued on the front, a white, long-sleeved t-shirt w/ the sleeves pushed up and a feather boa hotglued to the collar, a high ponytail w/ a piece of silk tied into it and hanging down, white, turned-down socks, white tennis shoes (I would have loved to use saddle shoes, but my local thrift store didn't have any in MiniBones' size, and there was no way I was paying full price)), and a court jester for MiniBones#3 (hot glued felt to a baby's head cap in triangles that flopped down = pretty simple).

This year, they're going as a 5 year old kitten (kitten ears on headband, kitten tail (made out of cloth w/ pipe cleaners for bendability), black leggings, white turtle neck, a catnip mouse toy pinned to the shirt, white mini skirt to go over the leggings made out of furry, white cloth w/ dalmation-type spots, black sneakers and face paint), a 7 year old bunny (bendable bunny ears made out of cloth and pipe cleaners, glued onto a headband, a fluffy tail, the pink poodle wraparound skirt, sans actual poodle, white turtle neck, an Easter basket filled w/ carrots and the Benjamin Bunny book, white tennis shoes and face paint) and a 2 year old fairy (purple, sequined, tutu type dress found at local thrift shop, fairy wings made out of tulle and glitter, a headband crown made out of leftover Easter decorative wire and a cheap, plastic wand from the dollar store that will probably break before we even get to the first house). All together, cost me less than $10 for all three of them.

Some of the easiest costumes to do are princesses, since we have so many dress-up, tulle-y type dresses hanging around, and accessories galore.

I'm going to dress up as Weird Al to bring the kids out this year. I found a long, curly black wig from Walmart, and I'm going to cut a piece off for a mustache. I found a bright Hawaiian shirt at the trusty thrift shop and the kids have a toy accordian that I'm going to tie around my neck. I wonder if anyone will know who I am again. Wasn't it Weird Al who said imitation is the highest form of flattery? What about imitation of his own image?

My roommate is very excited about Halloween. She's going as a pregnant nun.

When I was pregnant I had wanted to get a nun costume and go as a pregnant nun, but MiniBones#1 came two weeks too early. Bummer.

I usually just throw a sweater vest at Mr. Bones when he gets home from work, and tell everyone that he's Alex P. Keaton. He thinks like him about a lot of things. We (his family and I) joke that Mr. Bones wants to be Alex when he grows up, so I guess this would be an appropriate costume for him. Heh.

Oh, yeah - if you don't want to ruin clothes, you can glue a lot of things on w/ tacky glue. It dries relatively fast, holds decently, and will wash out in the machine. Also, do NOT put Vaseline in your hair. I will NOT wash out easily.

[Deleted]

I'm being a fairy this year. I have a sparkley blue dress, a sparkley set of wings, sparkley false eyelashes, a sparkley wand and some flowers for my hair. I'm going to the bar and the wings will be the death of me.

Last year I was a devil and I dropped my tail in the toilet. Lovely.

[hamhock]

My brother and his wife are going to be Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife, Beth.
Mullets have been purchased, as well as fingerless gloves, temporary tattoos, purple eyeshadow for her, American flag tank top (for her, 2 sizes too small of course), black sleeveless vest (for him), and some weird feathery roach clip things to hang on his mullet. Oh and both of them got bad cheap Oakley-type sunglasses, too.
They'll both be calling everyone "brah" as well.
;D

[Deleted]

My kids have always been into the "make your own" deal for Halloween. I had a ton of fun last year with Little Duke and his Borg costume. We got cheap hockey pads at the used sporting goods store...chest, one arm, one lower leg...spray painted them matte black and added a bunch of tubes & geegaws & flashing lights. I cut down a bike safety helmet & re-arranged it so it covered one eye and we added bionic-looking stuff. He put all this on over black sweatshirt & pants & boots, with greyish face make-up. He was badass.

Too bad we don't have a photo area, y'all could get to see (what I hope will turn out to be) my CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow this year.

[dwanollah]

Oh, Duke, if you don't send out pictures, I'll hunt you down and duct-tape your porn collection to your car hood!

A couple years ago, me and THTM had a party. He went as the Iron Chef (Battle: SUGAR!), and I was Anna Nicole Smith. I wore a tacky sweatpants outfit with a push-up bra, carloads of makeup, and a peroxide-blond wig that I did up in one of those white-trash-tryin'-to-be-classay up dos of hers. I carted around a box of donut holes, and an urn that I'd give impromptu tours of the house, and would periodically non sequiter "I want a pickle!"

That was the year The Slacker Hacker went as an Assistant Manager. He wore his suit and tie, and had one of those springy key-rings around his wrist.

This year I'm gonna be Mommie Dearest. Black robe, white headband, ratted hair and lots of Pond's night-cream. TINAAAAA!

[january]

I always wait until the last minute for my costume, and as a result I never get too creative. I have one "fro" wig I bought during college that I always end up wearing. I tend to put my costume together right before the party, using clothes and other stuff I already have in the house. I just end up looking like a reject from the movie Hair, which is okay.

Last year, one of my co-workers dressed up as the boss we all hate. (Not in front of the boss, of course -- just at the party we had.) If I tried to explain the intricate details of his costume, nobody here would understand, 'cause you've got to know the guy, but trust me -- it was the funniest Halloween costume ever. Mean-spirited, sure, but hilarious.

[squsie]

I teach, so I've usually not costumed for work. But this year, I think I've come up with a costume that won't compromise my academic integrity.

I'm going as a Shawn of the Dead version of myself. I've got the college nametag we wear for Orientation days, and I'll cover one of my older white blouses with a combination of fake blood and red ink. I'll remove my jacket partway through the lecture, so that the students get the full effect (I've mentioned the film in my lectures already, so they know that I'm a fan.).

[Sunnyhorse]

Mullets have been purchased

Funniest thing I've read all day. Thanks for the laugh, Hamhock.

[goggle]

limey said:

One of my best costumes was when I was Yuffie from Final Fantasy VIII. This was before us hick kids had heard of cosplay and the crazy that goes with it.

My best costume was a generic red mage from Final Fantasy. Although the hat blew off every time I stepped outside. At the same party there was also a white mage and a black mage, so that was cool.

My grandparents once dressed up as
"swells" from the movie Easter Parade and won a costume contest. At school one year there were people dressed as characters from Homestar Runner and that was pretty creative.

This year, as I said in the parenting thread, I'm being The Bride from Kill Bill. Because I'm going to wear it for school, but don't want to change out of a costume for gym. But I have brown hair and don't want to get a wig, do you think it'd still work?

[proper stranger]

This year I'm gonna be Mommie Dearest. Black robe, white headband, ratted hair and lots of Pond's night-cream. TINAAAAA!

I've always wanted to do a group Mommie Dearest costume: my friend Michael and I would be Christopher and Tina in jammies--him with creepy-bed-harness-straps, of course ("Strap yourself in, Christopher!"). Another friend of ours would be Joan, complete with kabuki-mask of cold cream, a wire hanger and a can of Old Dutch Cleanser.

My favorite costume I've worn was "Pauline" from the old silent movies (obscure, I know). My sister found an old 1910s era dress in dark brown, I did all my makeup in browns/creams/whites and wore a little cream-colored cap on my head and white granny boots. So I was all sepia-tone-looking. I made up some cardboard "railroad tracks" which I strapped to my back and tied some rope around my chest, to make it look like I was tied to the tracks. I even had a little "title card" around my neck that read: "Pauline...Tied to the tracks!!!"

The best group costume I think I've seen was "New Year's Eve Party"...basically a group of people in evening dress, throwing confetti around and stopping at intervals to count down to New Year's ("10...9...8..."). Also once saw a huge group as the Sound of Music, complete with the entire Von Trapp Family in curtain clothes, nuns, Baronness and Nazi Rolf.

Haven't figured out what I'm wearing to work on Monday. However, my nephew's first birthday party this weekend will have a "Star Wars" theme (not unlike myself, my sister and bro-law are geeks), so I'm throwing together some approximation of a Princess Leia costume.