What’s in your closet?  

A Halloween costume, perhaps?

What Halloween Costume is in Your Closet.  You can create a terrific costume by using things you have in your closet with the addition of some make-up and accessories.  How easy is that?

Do you have an old graduation robe?  A tube of green make-up, a scraggly black wig, and a witch’s hat – Voila!  If you’re really feeling adventurous, add a fake nose & a wart or two.  Grab a broom & you’re ready to go.

Bridesmaid’s dresses are usually shoved to the back of the closet.  Bring them back out into the open!  Add a sash and some smeared mascara and you just became the loser in a beauty pageant!

Your torn, paint-splattered work clothes can turn you into a slasher victim.  Wrap some bandages around your body; add some fake blood and you are ready to go.  Word of warning: fake blood will stain clothing and skin – so don’t wear anything you don’t want ruined!

Make-up, wigs, and hats can turn the most basic wardrobe item into a costume.  Let your imagination run wild!

Makeup and Accessorize 

Paint on a mustache with a black greasepaint stick, add a pair of horn rimmed glasses and a cigar….and there you have it.  Groucho!   A short blond curly wig and a bicycle horn (a white or tan duster if you can find it).  And there you have Harpo.

A little makeup here, or a special hat there, or a cane or a pair of red suspenders.  It takes a little imagination, and not much money to come up with that perfect Halloween costume.

A trip to your local costume store?  Probably a great idea to get great ideas for makeup and accessories.  While you’re there, look at the makeup display case and see what you can see.

Nose putty?  You can build a new nose, or re-shape your nose, or just add a wart or two.  With an adhesive like spirit gum, you can even rebuild your chin.   Your new nose and chin will need some makeup to help blend it in with the rest of your face.  Green greasepaint or a water soluble cream makeup or pancake helps make a great witch or Frankenstein.

If you want to be a clown or a mime, then a tube of clown white will do the trick.  Put it only very lightly though, and suddenly you become very pale in appearance….almost Ghostly or Vampirish.  Clown White can be cream base or water base, each having its own advantages.  Some shops might also carry it in pancake.

Crepe hair is a well known product available at the full service costume shops; and can be used to make mustaches and beards, or even hairy faces like a werewolf.  If you are into monsters and vampires, then makeup is the best way to go about it.

For great makeup ideas, visit your local library and borrow a copy of Richard Corson’s “Stage Makeup”, one of the best makeup books ever published on makeup.   It is also for sale through our Amazon store or Barnes and Noble.  As you scan through this book, you will find numerous ideas that you may want to implement.  Then off to your local costumer.

‘Stage Makeup’ as shown above is available through our Amazon store, and many other booksellers. Earlier editions are also available.

<All makeup items above are available via our Amazon Halloween Store>

Movie Character Halloween Costumes 

Sometimes a role is defined by the actor/actress; and sometimes the actor/actress is defined by the role. Are you Scarlet O’Hara or are you Vivian Leigh?  I think that Scarlett O’Hara is the more recognized name.  Clark Gable might be better known as Clark Gable, rather than Rhett Butler.  Either way, you want to be recognized, even if you have to tell the other guests who you are. 

Dressing as copyrighted characters are usually a big no-no; but you might assume that wherever you get a famous character costume, whether it be from a costume shop, a retailer, or from the net, that the licensing fees have been bought for whatever character it is that you choose.

Movies open up another world to your imagination.  You might take the movies by genre (westerns, musical comedies, gangster, war) or you might just to back to the silent movies or perhaps the decade that you grew up in.   

Or as mentioned in the previous paragraph, pick a star and the movie that that star was most famous for.

Lastly, is there a costume you might buy, rent or assemble from your favorite movie?  And was your favorite move, “Wizard of Oz?”

<Costumes available through our Amazon store>

Transform Yourself This Halloween 

On the subject of costumes for Halloween ideas for kids  (although we weren’t on the subject), the options are actually unlimited. Phineas and Ferb or Purple Bunny inspired costumes are the possible Halloween costume ideas for kids that you might consider.

You will find several internet sites (especially this one 🙂  ) that have some creative Halloween costume ideas for 2021 that you may search and find to fit your requirements. Get a little creative this Halloween with memorable Halloween costumes. If you are unsure about some of the newer choices, you may still wear the classic Halloween costumes for this year’s Halloween 

Any person troubled with the many choices of costumes to wear need to first have a suitable theme under consideration. You will discover many options for costumes for Halloween ideas but an excellent place to begin basically by drawing inspiration from some of the happenings of the year 2021.

You may be innovative this Halloween with many different options for your wigs, masks, makeup, et al that you may purchase for a unique look. 

You can try Halloween makeup tips with some theatrical grease paint kits that have great colors that are very easily applied and can be removed at the end of the night hassle-free.

Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, Halloween makeup may allow you to transform yourself into another Halloween character better than buying a Halloween mask.

By using makeup it can be less expensive and a lot safer for kids when Halloween trick-or-treating and not impairing their vision with a Halloween mask, also with the variety of Halloween makeup that is available you can create some fantastic Halloween effects. 

Cartoon Characters Costumes!

 I love cartoon character costumes.   Big, and baggy and goofy, and kids of all ages love them.  They are horribly uncomfortable but are usually the delight of any Halloween costume party.  Most of the famous cartoon characters that you see on TV, in the movies and even sometimes on a box of cereal are copyrighted and not available to rent or buy, at least for adults. 

 But at most all season costume shops, there likely will be a variety of really cute and funny characters.

 Cartoon animals, cartoon cute monsters and cartoon comic strip type characters are the most fun!

Although they can be ‘air conditioned’, most are stuffy and hot.  One way to reduce the heat is to put an ice pack or two into a bag and strap it over your shoulders so as to be a little lower than your arm pits. 

 Watch your shoes and feet.  The coverings are usually larger than your own shoes, and can cause havoc going up or down steps.  Many a character has been ‘tripped up’ by their own feet.

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Personality Plays a Part! 

Under the guise of a mask, makeup or a costume, you can be your own alter ego.  

Are you the quiet, shy, retiring type? Are you happy to be in the background; but yet yearning to be the life of the Halloween party?   Perhaps a hot, peppery Spanish dancer with a hint of cleavage, and a rose between your teeth.   Or Lorelei, the siren of the seas, luring sailors with her hypnotic voice? Perhaps a Saloon Girl from the bawdy West or Mae West, a bawdy lady from the movies?  And not to forget Scarlett O’Hara.

Are you an outgoing, Type A personality who always draws attention, no matter the venue?  Wearing a costume that is opposite your personality is an option.   Going as Sister Mary, or as a virginal ‘Marian the Librarian’ (from ‘The Music Man’). Comedy, ala a pairing with your significant other, as in a pair of jailbirds; or Rag Dolls like ‘Raggedy Ann and Andy’.  Or opposites as in Satan and a beautiful angel?  Laurel and Hardy make a great cinematic and party team.

Who are you or who do you want to be?