We are just one more sleep away from the magic-filled day!
Do you have any plans for Halloween?
It is a low-key, stay-at-home Halloween around here. Today is rainy and cold, so my plans consist of some themed baking and catching up on all of the Halloween movies I’ve yet to watch while tackling my weekend To Do list. Tomorrow’s plans are similar.
Staying at home, though, does not keep me from dressing up. I’ve got a handful of Halloween-themed pajamas for when I’m around the house, but I also have some costumes that are always on hand, too. There’s no such thing as too much Halloween – décor or fashion – when we only get a month to lead up to the day.
The more conscientious I’ve become of spending – looking at you, looming mound of student loan debt – and Waste Culture, the more I pause before purchasing something new. One thing I consider when I’m buying something for the garden, wardrobe, or house is: how many times can I wear/use this? If the answer is something like “once” or “only a few times,” an answer that is not substantial, then I do not buy it. It helps keep from having too much extra “stuff” hanging around as well as helps the budget by preventing (too many) frivolous purchases.
For example, my casual brown boots? I wear those almost every day in Autumn and Spring. I’ll probably wear them until they’re falling apart. A Halloween outfit, on the other hand, is worn only one night a year. Sometimes, the outfits are reused time and time again. Often, they’re never worn again. (That level of waste is terrifying.)
I am not about to miss an opportunity to dress up, however. I LOVE any excuse to dress up and have fun. Reducing waste and being kind to your budget does not mean sacrificing either of those! I’ve just… changed how I do things.
When thinking about costumes, here are three ways to reduce cost and waste:
1. Make a costume out of items you have around the house (and supplement with vintage/thrift store accessory finds or regularly store accessory purchases that you’ll use again and again for costumes).
2. Clothes swap costumes. If you have a group of friends or family that you can swap costumes with every year, this is a great way to wear new, fun costumes but minimize waste. (This is especially good for kiddos.) Even better: make a party out of it! Have everyone bring a Halloween themed dessert, food, or drink; put on a Halloween playlist or movie; and have fun with it. A group of friends and I did this in graduate school as a way to clean out our closets and get new attire, both for everyday use and for clinic. Food, drinks, friendship, and clothes swap fun. It was always a hit!
3. Buy a costume you’ll use again and again. Sewing is not a strong skill of mine, so, years ago, I bought a costume for Halloween that was a medieval princess. I’ve had the costume over a decade and have used it frequently for Halloween and Renaissance fairs. When I’m finally done using it, I’ll use tip #2 and pass it on to a friend.
For the most part, I’ve done tip #1 and tip #3. I’d rather DIY a cute costume, often made out of outfits I already owned and frequently wear, than buy one that I may only wear once a year (or, maybe, 3 times, if I can get to a Renaissance fair that year). They’re also often appropriate to wear if you have somewhere else to be on Halloween, like work, but still want to be dressed up.
Here’s roundup of some of my favorite (mostly) DIY Halloween Costumes that I’ve done in recent years. In the future, I’ll do some more in-depth posts on each one, updates I’d make to them, and how you could do them yourself, as well as make them your own! There are some parts to these costumes that I did not have the time to DIY, so I purchased parts. For those, I’ve aimed to keep that cost low and kept the pieces long after, for re-wearing. I hope these costumes serve as inspiration for all of you still trying to decide what to do or looking for ideas for next year!
1. Going Batty
This fun and simple Halloween costume was one I threw together to wear to classes during Undergrad. It was thrown together using a black shirt, heels, and skirt I already owned, a purple scarf and bat earrings I already owned, a bat headband I found at the dollar store, and some makeup. Using a black crayon eyeliner I drew bats on my temple. The only item I purchased here that I did not already own were the bat headband and my purple false lashes.
When I say threw together, I mean threw together. I realized the night before that I had classes on October 31st and was determined to take advantage of costumes being socially acceptable attire. (I told you I love dressing up!) A pair of homemade bat wings would’ve made the outfit really pop. But, it was a hit without needing them! I wore this to class on October 31st and had students wanting to take photos with me.
This costume was one of the inspirations for this nail design from last year.
2. Lady Bug
This was a fun, easy (mostly) DIY costume that I cannot wait to do again. Sometimes, gardeners just have to celebrate our friendly, beneficial insect garden helpers. I’ve done that for two Halloweens now.
I wore this outfit on the Halloween just before I went to grad school. Eager to see kids and community members dressed up for the holiday, as well as an excuse to dress up myself, I volunteered to work on Halloween. (My retail job participated in a community Trick-or-Treat on Halloween. Getting paid to work a job I loved and hand out candy to kiddos was too wonderful to say no to!) So, my attire had to be work appropriate, but still fun.
This costume was thrown together using items I already owned, like my black tights, a black skirt, boots, belt, and a red turtleneck. I used red and pink eye shadow on my eyes and used a black crayon eye liner to make dots. My schedule did not permit making my own wings, so, I purchased these accessories at the dollar store, as well as the antennae. They were the only pieces I bought. For the classic, tell-tale lady bug black dots, I cut circles out of black construction paper (I always have plenty around) and double-back taped them on. (I could’ve also used felt.)
3. Busy Bumble Bee
It was never my intention to rank any of these, but…this might be my favorite!
In graduate school, I transformed into a busy little Chinese Herbal Medicine Dispensary Helper Bee. I had the joy of working on October 31st (there’s a pattern here, if you can’t tell… I’ll work any October 31st as long as I can dress up!) so, of course I was going to be working in costume! The costume had to be business casual appropriate, and I was a haggard college student, so I raided my closet for pieces.
The pieces I already owned: black tank top, black skirt, black boots, and cardigan.
Clothes swap finds: black and yellow striped tights, mustard yellow scarf.
Bought: antennae and wings from the dollar store.
There’s a theme here. When I haven’t the time, I tend to buy my wings & antennae from the dollar store. I try to keep the purchasing to a bare minimum and make sure I buy a staple that I can use for costumes again and again. If I was thinking about minimalism, I would’ve bought a plain black pair of antennae to use for both my Lady Bug and Bumble Bee costume.
It should be noted, though, that the antennae could easily be crafted from household items, like pipe cleaners you already own and painted Styrofoam balls (if you craft like I do, that is, and already have them hanging around – or have kids who craft). And the outfit looked just as cute without the wings! So, they weren’t necessary to round-out the ensemble.
6. Candy Corn
Being simple does not negate the fun. This costume / Halloween-themed outfit is the most DIY out of them all. It is cute and simple enough for a work attire, but also fun to wear to an event. Every piece of this outfit is one that I already owned.
Previous owned (for years): Candy corn earrings, scarf, yellow cardigan, and yellow tank top.
Clothes swap: Orange jeans.
If there was any doubt as to what my costume was, I drove home the Candy Corn theme by pairing this outfit with my DIY Candy Corn nail design.
5. Red Riding Hood
How could I resist the opportunity to be Little Red Riding Hood with Amara as the Wolf? (I couldn’t, that’s how!)
This one is really a DIY-ish costume, which is why I placed it last, despite the fact I’m not ranking these. The base outfit is one I already had on hand: white tank top, black skirt, tights, and boots. The basket I’m carrying is also one I already own. Of course, the Wolf, generously played by Amara, is also an everyday staple in my life. Dad borrowed the wolf mask below, which he paired with a light brown shirt, for a few fun father-daughter photos of the wolf stalking Little Red through the woods.
However, I did buy the cape and costume under breast corset from Amazon. Neither were as inexpensive as my previous purchases from the dollar store and I would have preferred to thrift them or, if finances had allowed, purchase them from a Creative who makes these items for their livelihood. Alas, neither was possible. But, as an avid lover of Ren Fairs, I did not feel too guilty about these purchases. I’m sure they’ll both be put to good use in the future.
~~
Keeping with the tradition, this year’s costume is (mostly) DIY. Alongside my bumble bee costume, it also might be my favorite costume put together! But… you have to wait until tomorrow to see it. 😉
What are you dressing up as this year?
xoxo,
