A Frugal Halloween Costume

I know, I know, you still have more than three weeks until Halloween. You may not even know if you’re being invited to a costume party, or if you’ll need any sort of costume at all.

Well, it’s time to start thinking about costumes anyway. It’s hard to make a frugal Halloween costume that doesn’t look like a cheap costume, and if you wait until the night before you need it, it will look like a cheap Halloween costume that you threw together at the last possible second.

None of the costumes I’m suggesting should cost you more than $20, even if you have to purchase pieces or supplies and most should take you less than an hour or two.

General Frugal Costume Tips

1. Avoid trendy costumes. First off, they’re more expensive to buy or make and secondly, you won’t be able to reuse them.
2. Be creative on ideas, but don’t get in over your head. I’m sure you’d be the only one going as Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and the supplies (poster board, some paint, black clothes) would be pretty inexpensive, but do you have the kind of skills to pull that off?
3. If you need clothing pieces for a costume, first raid your closet, then raid the thrift stores (that’s why we’re starting early.) It’s much cheaper to buy a second hand shirt and alter it than it is to buy a ready-made costume piece.
4. Raid party stores after Halloween for cheap gloves, hats, tights and other things on clearance that you can use the next year.

Quick, Frugal, Classic Halloween Costumes

Zombie

You’ll Need – Old clothes, fake blood, dirt, white stage makeup, dark brown, purple/red, yellow and green eyeshadow or stage makeup.

Start deconstructing your old clothes: tear holes, cut some stitches so pieces hang wrong. Then, add grime: put your clothes on and roll around in the dirt/grass, clean your apartment in them… Finally, add a little fake blood (you want a dark brown color because it’s ‘old blood’).

Mix the white makeup with some of the green eyeshadow to make a nice, zombie-ish, base foundation. Cover your entire face and neck with foundation (over your lips too, or use a white eye pencil on them) Apply yellow eyeshadow liberally around your eyes (up to the eyebrow) and in the hollow of your cheeks. Make nice big under-eye circles with your purple eyeshadow and purple splotches where you want bruised flesh. If you really want to get into it, you can add some oatmeal to leftover fake blood. and apply to your face for disgusting, crusty, rotting goodness. Yum!

Pirate

You’ll Need – Black boots, bandana, pirate-ish clothes, corset/waist-cincher (if you have one)

The fun part about pirate costumes is that it’s all about layering. When you attack the thrift store, look for off-the-shoulder 90′s-style shirts in white, black or brown, vests, black or striped pants you can make into cutoffs, scarves, belts, long skirts you can tatter, cheap gold costume jewelry… If you want to splurge, buy yourself a pirate hat.

Greek Goddess

You’ll Need: Old sheet (or two), (white t-shirt), sandals you can paint, gold ribbon, gold costume jewelry

For sandals: If you have gold ones, great! If you don’t, you can make passable ones by buying a cheap pair of flip-flops or other sandals on clearance, painting them gold and attaching the gold ribbons to tie up your legs.

For your toga, cut that sheet in half lengthwise (hemming it is a good idea) and then get to tying:

If you have another sheet of a different color, you can make a wrap with it.
For hair, braiding the ribbon in looks good, so do most updos.

Barbie Doll

You’ll Need – Big, blonde wig, Bright dress in purple or hot pink, lots of glitter/tulle/ruffles (80′s style prom or bridesmaid gown work perfectly), 4-inch pumps (flaming pink, spray paint if you have to)

… I don’t think you really need directions on this one.

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