Ghosts Of Halloween Costumes Past

Halloween has always been one of my favourite holidays–only a few weeks to go!

Ever since I was a young girl my mom would hand-make costumes for my brother, sister and I. Those weeks of planning and late nights spent sewing, gluing, ironing, etc have transpired into my life today at 23 years old. I really have my mom to thank for my love of this holiday and for the enthusiasm and creativity we both love to put into costumes. I know that one day when I have kids of my own I will love spending countless hours coming up with ideas and putting it all together.

For now, I will share with you just a few of my previous Halloween costumes that I have photos of.

Stay tuned in a couple weeks time for this year’s costume…a deer ( I can’t wait for the transformation!)

Peacock:

                                                   

I did this costume over four years ago so bear with me as I try remembering details!

From top to bottom…

Peacock Earrings: Forever 21, Peacock hairclip: hot glue gunned an extra feather onto a clip, Large Fake Eyelashes: Shopper’s Drug Mart, Sequin Bustier Tank: Forever 21, extra peacock feather mask (quick stitch across chest of tank), Black Tutu (Tip: Ask around if anyone took ballet, if not you can make your own with tulle from Fabricland), I also used some extra masks along the left and righthand side of the tutu, Feather-back, glued a bunch of masks onto cardboard so it was sturdy and attached that on string so I could easily wear it like a backpack, Peacock Feathers, this is where I really splurged, but it was a definite must– I got 3 large feathers from Pier One Imports and just stuck them down the tank-top. This really pulled the whole costume together and made it come alive! Fishnets, I got mine for $2.00 at Dollarama–they have great little additions for any costume you just have to go early, Black Pumps, Steve Madden. 

Bathtub:

Rub a dub dub…

This was certainly one of my more extravagant costumes that took up a ton of space. It was so fun to create, and super simple! Not only was it a HUGE costume but it was a HUGE hit!

                        

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I got the Plush Bow Headband/Tube-Top Bath Wrap from Forever 21 as a set. It was around $15.00 and the best part about it was that I was able to use it again! I’m all about trying to use things I already have for parts of my costume or if I have to buy items I try to see if it’s possible to use again! I kept jewellery to a minimum as I wanted to keep the image of being in a bath real, I wore small faux-pearl earrings that actually looked like little bubbles! I wore my hair up in a sock bun with a few pieces down, however you might wear your hair in the bath! Now for the star of the show THE BATHTUB: I kept a large rectangular cardboard box and covered it entirely with white poster board and extended it out about two feet on either side shaping it like a bathtub! I attached the box on white strings so that it would hold up (it was surprisingly light!).Having it on straps was also convenient for travelling with your costume so that it can easily come off/on. I bought a pack of white balloons and tried blowing them up all around the same size to make the” bubbles.” I filled in the extra space with a package of spider web fluff that I bought from Dollarama to have a foam effect. I found a shower head at Dollarama that I decided to transform into the faucet of a bathtub. I bought a small rubber-duck and other things such as a sponge, loofas, back exfoliators, and any empty soap containers you may have sitting around. In keeping with the theme,I finished it all off with turquoise flip flops (these ones were from Old Navy that I already had!)

Baby Doll:

This was a year where I actually went out two nights for Halloween so naturally had to have two VERY different costumes (you’ll see what I mean quickly). This costume was extremely simply as I had an old skating costume that I used and transformed into a baby doll with some little touches.

   

From top to bottom…

Hair Bows: These were part of the costume that included the white t-shirt with lace and the CUTE checked shorts. You would use any type of ribbon to create this look, if you match the shorts, even better! I loosely curled my hair and put it into pigtails to channel my inner child. I used fake eyelashes on the top and on the bottom I made an exaggerated eye to look like a doll by using white eye-liner and then making a new bottom lash-line and stuck on more fake eye-lashes on the lower “new lid” I opted for freckles, bright blush and bright lip that I coloured just in the middle to complete the doll face. I had some tall white socks and white loafers to complete the costume!

Sugar Skull:

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos)

I’m a huge fan of all things skulls so figured why not be one?!

I came up with the idea for this costume after countless hours spent searching Pinterest. I had come across a lot of people who had done an awesome job on the makeup so I figured I’d give it a shot. The result ended up being an unbelievable costume which was made entirely by the make-up (I was completely unrecognizable by my very own friends.) I was kind of cool to dress up for Halloween and not look anything like your regular self! This was also the first time I opted for something scary instead of pretty or cute, it was the most fun! This same year I saw a lot of celebrities take on this look too and it started becoming increasingly popular ever since!

Unfortunately I don’t have any tutorials on the makeup as I did this long before I started this blog, but if you search around on Pinterest and YouTube like I did you can find some great tutorials for this! I visited a couple different sites and combined a few looks so that it was exactly how i wanted it to be.

      

From top to bottom…

Flower Clip: I went to Dollarama and bought bright red fake flowers and cut them off the stem and glued them onto a large clip. Black wig: I also got this from Dollarama ($2.00, such an awesome deal)– this was my favourite part, having been a natural blonde my entire life it was neat putting on a jet-black wig for the night! I pulled the wig to one side and tied it in a low pony tale so it wasn’t taking away from the face makeup. Necklace: I got this skull chocker necklace & bracelet and skull gloves I cut the tips off from Dollarama in the Halloween costume section for $2.00 each, Lace Dress: This was a long-sleeve lace dress that I already had, it was just perfect for the look! I used the same black fishnets from a few years back and the same shoes!

Minnie Mouse: 

Last but not least! I was travelling to British Columbia so unfortunately I couldn’t have a large costume and had to keep it pretty small! This seemed to be the year of Minnie Mouse costumes, I knew of three other people who did it that same year! The costume itself I kept simple but the effort on the make-up really made Minnie Mouse come to life! With this costume I put my mom’s years of making children’s costumes back to the test!

               

From top to bottom…

Minnie Mouse Ears, these are authentic STRAIGHT from Disneyland ears! I had the ears for years and it’s really what made me think to do this costume! Makeup: It was as simple as buying some black face makeup and finishing it off with bright red lips! Again, similar to the sugar skull makeup I looked at numerous tutorials. A lot of people who have done this costume only do the little nose, but creating the mouse heart shaped face MADE the look! Shirt/Skirt I bought a plain black cotton long-sleeve from Walmart and my mom used the extra red material from the skirt to make the bib and stitched on some buttons. The skirt would have been easier if I could have just found a red skirt with white polka dots, but of course when you’re looking for something you won’t find it. So I improvised and with the help of my mom and her handy sewing machine it turned out great! All I did was buy sheets of white felt from a craft store and made a circle stencil and stuck them onto the skirt. Bow Belt: This was a belt that I actually had and it couldn’t have been more perfect for this costume, it’s things like these I’m glad I keep in my costume (you never know when they might come in handy like this did!)  I wore thick black tights to make my legs look just like Minnie’s and to match the long-sleeve top! Gloves: I bought plain white gloves from Dollarama and used a black sharpie to colour the black lines after looking at Minnie costumes/pictures online. I didn’t have bright yellow shoes like Minnie does so I just wore black to match the tights!

Check out my post on my DIY deer costume! The makeup on this one is what really makes the look come alive!