How to make my own halloween costume
How I did it: i hadn't dressed up for halloween since freshman year of high school, and due to my recent desire to make more of an effort in fashion, i decided to make up for lost time and create a fashion-forward costume. i enlisted my mom to help me with the sewing cause she's way better at it than i am. i decided to be a wolf so we went to a specialty fabric store. my entire outfit cost under $30. the fur alone was $23, and i thrifted a super soft uniqlo cardigan, perfect for the autumn night!
it was a fun challenge to be creative, but i wanted to be able to create something that i could make. instead of a giant fur suit, i opted for a fur skirt, collar, and ears. the fabric was difficult to work with (according to mom), but she did a fabulous job sewing it onto an elastic waistband. the collar was made by sewing the fur fabric onto a piece of velvet ribbon, so i can easily drape and tie over my tank top. i stole the idea for the ears from a pair of winnie the pooh ears i bought at disneyland: my mom cut triangles, and i bent them accordingly and sewed them onto a hair clip! it worked out really well.
the makeup was another fun part. i wanted to go all out with this too, in a tasteful way, so i asked my sister, the makeup and hair guru, for help. i was inspired by the heavy black makeup that runway models are often seen in, and this was the result:
she applied grey shadows for the base and used black liner to define the curves. i wore false lashes and coated the tips with white mascara. she also dipped a liner brush into the white mascara to highlight certain areas on my eyelids.
my sister furiously teased my hair, and braided two sections of it on the crown of my head so the ear pieces would be more fixed. the final touch was the nude colored lipstick. ta da!
Lessons & tips: it's fantastic if you're deft with a sewing machine, but if not, enlist a friend/family member who's skilled at sewing! i was inspired by a lot of things i've seen in photoshoots and runway photos, so keep all your inspirational pictures handy so you have a reference point. most importantly, have a lot of fun with this, and don't be afraid to go all out!
also, starting earlier is better. i bought the fabric during the second week of october on a saturday, but actually didn't start on the costume until thursday night on the last week of october—2 days before halloween! thankfully my mom did the sewing or else i wouldn't have had any time at all because of school. i sewed the ears on in the car while running errands with my sister, the morning of halloween. everything was finished as planned, but starting earlier would prevent the hectic rush, plus you can fine tune your costume and make it even better.
Resources: my mother and i bought the fur fabric from a designer fabric store called mood:
6151 W Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90035
they carry a lot of designer fabric and gorgeous fabrics you can't find at joann's. it's not too expensive. i bought 1 yard which cost $23. the fur was exactly what i wanted!
if fur isn't what you're looking for, joann's would be the place to go. i bought the black elastic band and velvet ribbon from there. the hair clips i bought at target. i also purchased matte black nail polish from sephora (not mentioned above, but i'm mentioning now!) to complete the look. rawr.
