Don't be a cat this Halloween! Costume tips

Halloween is just around the corner. It’s meant to be a night of fun, surprises and sugar/alcohol (depending on your age). I’ve spent the last few Halloweens at parties. Not by choice! If it were up to me, trick or treating over the age of 16 wouldn't be classed as begging! Anyway, I digress.

When I think of Halloween, I do think of sweets and alcohol and having fun, but I also think of blood, zombies, scary things! So why is it that when I show up to a party nowadays, I have to double take that I haven’t walked onto Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s stage? Cats everywhere!

I love cats, cats are great. But 99% of girls dress as cats for Halloween, which make it very unoriginal and very…boring. It’s a safe choice, whereas I've always loved thinking of different, strange costumes as it’s one of the only times in the year where you can go totally crazy with how you dress. This post is just a bit of fun but I want to share Halloween dress up ideas with you all and hopefully give you some inspiration to avoid the safe option and avoid ruining your favourite eye-liner drawing on your whiskers! Take a look at my top 10 Halloween dress up ideas:

1)      The Joker

So I thought I’d start with the costume I chose for last Halloween. I went as the Joker from the Batman Dark Knight trilogy. I love the Batman franchise, and Heath Ledger was unbelievable in his portrayal of what was to be one of his last roles. I love the clashing purple and green that the classic Joker wears, but there’s something about Christopher Nolan's portrayal of this Joker that made it a perfect Halloween costume as it's so sinister and creepy. My hair was just past shoulder length, so I thought I’d put a wash-in, wash-out green dye on and leave it curly and messy. I then covered my face in white face paint before smudging black eyeshadow all around my eyes. Using some liquid latex, I was able to create two giant scars starting from my mouth and finishing halfway up my cheeks. Then the last touch, once the liquid latex had dried, was to go over my lips and the scars with a bright red lipstick. I’m not very good at precision (I doubt I’d ever be able to post a nail or make-up tutorial) so it was easy for me to make a big, blotchy mess of my face from just smearing lipstick and eyeshadow all over.



Is it strange to find this look attractive?

I was a poor second year student when I went as the Joker so decided to find the clothes for this costume at the cheapest price possible. I found a purple velvet blazer on eBay, originally from Zara, for just £7 and it was perfect! I matched it with a green dress from Primark that came to £5 and wore tights and ankle boots. Claire’s Accessories had a neon green bow-tie that brought the entire look together and I was ready to go out as the Joker. I’d recommend this idea to anyone, as I was super proud of it. It has so many perks: people complimented my outfit and were really impressed so that was really nice to hear, plus it’s a great conversation starter if you want to discuss the film or Heath Ledger. 

*WARNING* However, a word of warning. I had a major blonde moment last year with the ‘wash-in, wash-out’ dye. It turns out I had bought a semi-permanent green dye by Directions, made worse because it had been applied onto bleached hair! So, yes, I spent the next month with green in my hair, and everyone made sure I knew about it. It was eventually subtle enough to be dyed over but I’ll never forget that Halloween now! If you do follow this costume idea, either buy a wig or read what dye you’re actually using. Oops.

My hair stayed green for a month!

2)      Porcelain Doll

They are terrifying! I cannot comprehend why people collect these things? The only reason I could ever think of having one of these dolls in my house is to use it as inspiration for a Halloween costume! I think it’s a great girly Halloween idea as you get to wear a cute dress, curl your hair in ringlets and have immaculate make-up. I think the more make-up, the better for this costume. Again, the outfit itself can be found on eBay or in Charity shops and can be dressed up with a pinafore and knee high socks. False eyelashes and white eyeliner will give you that big doe-eyed stare. If you want to go all out, you can buy contact lenses to change the colour and size of your eyes which makes the look 10x spookier. To make yourself look even scarier, cover yourself in fake cobwebs to look like you have been hidden away, or draw cracked lines on your face as though you have been dropped and smashed. I think this is a great look and it’s very girly for those that like to still feel pretty on a night out. 

Why would you collect this?



3)      Disney

This can have a similar effect as the Porcelain Doll, as you can dress girly and still be scary with Disney characters. When searching for inspiration online, I have come across Disney characters under the Halloween section (Malice in Wonderland, Snow Fright etc.). But I never see girls dressing as Disney villains! When you look back on the films you watched as a child, it’s surprising you turned out okay after watching Mufasa and Bambi’s mum die. Disney had some really dark, horrible moments, which make them all the more ideal for Halloween costumes now that you’re older. My top three Disney costumes for Halloween would have to be:

-         Ursula, The Little Mermaid. I think this would be a fantastic costume, and I’m yet to see it on Halloween. Buy a long black strapless dress with a fishtail effect on the bottom, or make your own with extra fabric! Then backcomb your hair and apply bright, popping eye make-up. Perfect your husky cackle and you’re ready to go.

Sassy.

-         Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmatians. This is what I am going as for Halloween this year and I can’t wait! I bought the outfit online in a pack which comes with a black dress, a bejewelled choker, a faux (I hope) Dalmatian fur shawl and long black gloves. To finish the look, I have purchased two coloured hairsprays. I’m going to centre part my hair and spray one side black and one side white. Please note: no puppies were harmed in the making of this Halloween costume.

Cruel Devil.

-         Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty. What an amazing idea, if I do say so myself. If I hadn’t already planned and bought my outfit, I would definitely be going as this for Halloween. Following the release of Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie this year, it is such a current and glamorous fancy dress idea that can be made so easily. Outfits are available online and in fancy dress shops, but you can also make the outfit yourself, if you’re quite a crafty person. Again, a long black dress will do. If you can source a black cape and wings, wear them too. For Maleficent’s horns, you can create them using newspaper, PVA glue and paint. Mould the newspaper, cover in PVA glue and wait to set. Then paint them black. You can then attach the horns to a black swim cap, a headband or hair slides.  I think this look would be amazing this Halloween and would love to see one of you give it a go!

Why am I not her?

4)      Carrie

Classic horror films are some of the best. I’m trying to stick with a theme of girly/sexy costume ideas that you can feel both scary and confident in. Carrie is one of the best Halloween costumes for girls. The best part about this outfit is the getting ready. It’s like prom night all over again. You can do your hair and make-up really nice, put on a gorgeous ball gown…then cover yourself head-to-toe in red paint. Okay, so it must feel pretty devastating to have your hair, dress and make-up ruined in the middle of your Prom Queen acceptance speech, but it makes a great Halloween costume. You also get to wear a pretty tiara. Win-win.

I'd look pretty angry too if you ruined my dress.

5)      Karen Smith, Mean Girls

PLEASE somebody go as Karen Smith for Halloween! This Halloween costume would get the whole party talking, for all the right reasons. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, leave this blog post now please. Just kidding. To summarise, in the chick-flick Mean Girls i.e. the greatest film you will ever see in your life, a fifteen year old girl from Africa finds herself lost in American teenage girl world. Halloween to her is dressing up scary, but Halloween in girl world is dressing like a slut. Here's a gif to explain:

To pull off the Karen Smith, you will need:

• A black leotard
• Mouse ears
• …and not much else.

This is one of my favourite moments of the whole film, and would make a fantastic Halloween costume.

Bless you Karen Smith

6)      Spider

If you’re a creative person who likes making their own outfits, a Spider is a pretty fun outfit to make and wear. Stuff two old pairs of black tights with newspaper and sew the crotch to the sides of a black, long-sleeved dress. Then using string, connect the two legs of your tights loosely together before sewing the higher leg loosely to your sleeve. Repeat the process on the other side of your body and you should look like you have eight legs when you lift up your arms. Cobwebs and thick, spikey eyelashes should complete the look. I don’t think there are enough spiders, at Halloween parties of course (God knows there’s TOO many around my house). It’s a fun, creative costume that will get people talking and I don’t know why more people don’t dress as it, when nearly everyone at the party will be scared to death!

I couldn't find a good enough picture, therefore, this spider has 10 legs.

7)      Alex (Alexander the Large), A Clockwork Orange

Alex is one of the scariest fictional characters I have ever read about/seen. A quick summary for those who don’t know: Alex is part of a gang who steals from, rapes and assaults people for his own enjoyment. When he is caught, he is used in a social experiment where he is injected with a vomit inducing drug that is administered whilst he watches videos of assault and rape. So I think that small synopsis justifies his place in this post. I dressed as Alex in my first year at University. I didn’t want to wear the strange nappy-esque pants over some trousers, so opted for a girlier look.

Nice nappy.

I wore a bowler hat, a white t-shirt, braces, tights, a tutu skirt and black doc martens. I painted my face white, coating one of my eyes to make it look pale. On the other eye, I applied mascara, eye-liner and false eyelashes to the top and bottom lash lines. Voila! I loved it! I then spent the rest of the night posing in a rather sinister fashion in the background of other people’s pictures. I suppose when you look the part, you’ve got to play the part a bit. This was a great Halloween costume that I would definitely do again.

Creepin'



 8)       The Black Swan

Since the 2010 Oscar-winning film, I have loved seeing girls dressed as the Black Swan for Halloween. Again, it’s a great, feminine costume that also has the scare factor. I really enjoyed this film and think this would make a great Halloween costume for anyone. All you need is a black dress, or top and tutu. Tie your hair up and use a donut and grips to secure it in a ballerina style. You can go all out and wear ballet shoes, or just wear pumps. Use eyeliner to create a thick, harsh flick on both eyes to finish the look.

 

I have always loved dressing up as something quite original and creative, but I’ve also liked to keep a girly essence to my outfit, especially when I'm going on a night out for Halloween. I hope this post has given you some inspiration for your own outfit. Remember, no cats and also no twinkly, sparkly vampires – Twilight is off limits! Don’t be a pussy – try something new this Halloween (if you’ll pardon the pun).

Have a great time!

-          Becky