Day 7 - Emily the Strange

This is one of my favourite characters, so I had to have a go at dressing up as her.
Another easy costume to put together:
- black wig (always handy to have).
- black dress
- white top
- white knee socks
- black shoes
Usually Emily would have black tights and white shoes, but I dont own white shoes so I switched it up a bit.

Day 6 - Cowgirl

Another one all put together with stuff I already have. By this stage, if you have been following along from the beginning, you must be thinking "this person has some crazy items in her wardrobe", and you would be totally right. You haven't even seen the craziest stuff yet.
Ingredients:
- White shirt, tied at the front.
- tiered skirt
- boots
- cowboy hat
- western looking necklace + bracelets.
- an attempt at some country hoedown poses.

Day 5 - Minnie Mouse

Not very authentic, but still recognisable because of the accessories. I got the headband ages ago from a dollar store, another one of those 'just in case' purchases. The belt was also from a dollar store. The rest of it was stuff out of my wardrobe. I was thinking about adding face paint, but I thought it looked good just like this. Normally Minnie Mouse wears a red dress, but everyone owns a little black dress, right? Then all you need to add is a red belt, black heels, black tights, and the mouse ears headband. Easy peasy.

Day 4 - 1980's Madonna

This is all stuff I already had, and the kind of things most people would have in their wardrobe, or easily found in a thrift store.

The main ingredients for this costume were the animal print dress, black jacket, black tights, and loads of jewellery. Also, important accessories to pull off the look are the lace/fishnet gloves and headband with bow on top. I really don't have the right hair style for this look, and if I was going to wear it out I would probably get a wig with the bad bleach job kinda look that Madonna had back in those days.

Day 3 - The Cat in the Hat

This was an easy peasy costume, because I already had the main ingredients. The only things I had to buy were the white gloves and red bowtie, which I got from a dollar store. Of course, not everyone has a Cat in the Hat hat lying around. I have had it for years, it's just a random item I bought because I knew it would be handy one day. I tend to do that a lot. That's why I have so much stuff.
So, once you have the hat, gloves and bowtie, all you need are some black and white clothes. And if you wanted to be more authentic, you could add face paint - White face, black nose and whiskers. I also should have had a black tail, and I tried to find one, but with no luck, so I will keep an eye out for one in the future.

This is a really good time of year to find a few key items to put away for when you may need a costume, being Halloween month. Just about anywhere you go has Halloween stuff out at the moment, but as I said earlier, Halloween isn't a big thing here, so after Halloween you can go buy stuff on clearance for next to nothing. Hats or head accessories are always good to have, because you can usually put together a costume to go with a hat from normal everyday clothing items.

Day 2 - 1920's

This is a costume that I have put together for a function we have to go to at the end of the year, Hubby's work are having a 1920's murder mystery night for their Xmas function.

This was put together mostly with stuff I already had in my wardrobe & jewellery box.
The skirt and top were mine. I got the little cardi to go over the top from a thrift store. The shoes I bought ages ago from a thrift store because they are vintage and really comfortable. The necklaces, bracelets and rings I already had. I made the headpiece from some trim, feathers, fabric, chain and a brooch I already had in my stash. So in total I only spent $2.00 on this costume. Obviously not everyone has pieces in their wardrobe that could fit into this theme, but these things are easily found at a thrift store. So many ready made 1920's costumes are the shiny flapper dresses, but the fashion of the time is really beautiful, and looks good on just about any body shape, I think.

To see my inspiration for this costume, check out my 1920's board on Pinterest.

Day 1 - Steampunk

My latest obsession, thanks to Pinterest, is Steampunk. The way I like to think of it is a combination of Victorian/lacy/frilly & futuristic/mechanical/metal. I desperately wanted to create a Steampunk costume, but I really had no reason to. I considered having a halloween party just so I had a reason, but I'm not much of a party host. Then, in the process of looking through all my stuff to put this costume together, I realised I have a lot of dress up stuff, and the idea for a month of costumes was born.

Components:
Tulle petticoat - found at funky junk (free) and altered to fit.
Dress - something I've had for years.
Waistcoat - from the $1 rack at the thrift store.
Belt - dollar store.
Handbag - already had.
Boots - already had.
Leather clutch (attached to belt) - thrift store.

Accessories:
Headpiece - made by me from bits & pieces I had in my stash of Junque; a clock-face out of an old alarm clock, bits of lace and tulle, an old key, a fabric flower, feathers.
Mono-goggle - made by me from handbag straps, hose connecter, magnifying glass lens, elastic.
Wrist cuff - made by me from bits and pieces I had in my stash; fake fur, lace & trims, buttons, a doily, random charms and bits of watches (including a functioning watch, so I can actually use it to tell the time).
Necklaces - cameo necklace from thrift store but altered by me, random chains put together with some things hanging off; a bullet that came on a keyring from dollar store, a huge nut and bolt I found in my stash, butterfly charm, and a few other random little things.

Another little detail you can see in some of the close up photos is the shoulder hooks. I sewed metal rings onto the shoulders of my dress, then metal hooks on chains onto the shoulders of my waistcoat, so the hooks can attach to the rings. This is actually a functional feature, because the dress is a bit loose and the shoulders kept falling down, so the hooks on the waistcoat hold it up.

To see my inspiration for this costume, check out my Steampunk board on Pinterest.