Halloween 2013: Making Costumes

Picture by Kylesatori

When I was a children living in Michigan and upper Ohio, many of the Halloween were a little cold
 so the costumes we wore also had a nice layer of dark clothing under the costumes to keep us warm. Now living in the south I have to remember not to put that much clothing on the kids or they will roast as we Trick or Treat. My son this year is planning on being a killer. With an old pair of pants and a white shirt both splattered with spray blood. He has a sword that blood drips down the blade. It will be a simple costume, yet affective. Hopefully we can convince him to do something with his hair and maybe a scary face. A good costume can come from old leftover clothes. For example a Lost Pirate:

• Lost Pirate

Take some old clothes that are a little too small. No worries, we are going to make the clothes comfortable to wear by ripping the parts that are unaffordable. Those clothes are what the pirate was wearing when he was lost; he had ripped them as he grew. If you are in a climate that is cold you will want big enough clothes to go over coat or undergarments. The end of the pants and shirt sleeves will need to be ripped, ratted, and dirty. You can make them look dirty by using black and gray spray Halloween paint or simple walk on them in the garden, providing there is an empty spot without plants. With a dirty face by spreading some brown makeup on and an eye patch. Put some black makeup under your eye to give you a tired look. You can add a sword or even a broken sword to this costume.

• Vampires

Vampires are a popular costume. They can be dark and scary or light and pretty or a mix of both. Boys can use old dress clothes or suits. Girls can use old fancy dresses. If you’re going for the pretty look you need nothing more than makeup and teeth. For a dark look rip up the bottom of the clothes. Girls may want to wear a layer underneath and rip the dress on top a lot. This will allow the dress to flow but the second layer will provide warmth and coverage. Pop in some vampire teeth and a little whitish makeup and you’re set to be a Vampire.

Looking at some of the newer costumes for Halloween, there are many adult costumes. Great for adult parties, but not so great for Trick or Treating with the kids. All costumes here I will try to keep PG13, if you have a new costume you would like to share with us… please post a link in your comments below. I will delete any adult costumes, so please keep it clean.