DIY Halloween Costumes

HALLOWEEN isn’t Melbourne’s biggest holiday, but that shouldn’t stop you from feeling a little ghoulish by October’s end. Elisa Scarton Detti has six DIY costumes to help make your night. 

Comic book/pop art character

A yellow wig, an eyeliner pencil and some red face paint are all you need to transform yourself into the sort of pop art princess Andy Warhol would be proud of.

To start, emphasize your bone structure and eyebrows with a thick eyeliner pencil or liquid liner. Then cover your face with small, evenly spaced red dots. Slap on some red lipstick and you’re good to go. Finish your look with a 1950s-inspired costume and big fake pearl earrings.

Despicable Me

Photo: Orlee Pasion via Flickr

So what if Despicable Me was meant for kids? Channel one of the minions with a yellow jumper, black gloves and overalls, which you can pick up for next to nothing at Big W or Target.

To make their iconic goggles, cut holes out of two grey plastic lids and connect them with piece of black ribbon. You can also use pipe cleaners or grey cardboard for a less authentic, but still cute look.

The Great Gatsby

Photo: Fernando Messino via Flickr

You’re going to want to check that no one else is doing a costume that’s Gatsby-related before you pick this one. Google lists the movie as one of the most popular Halloween costume choices for 2013.

For girls, a Gatsby-inspired costume is as simple as finding a shapeless and sleeveless dress and gluing tinsel or fringe in rows from top to bottom. You can buy fabric fringe from stores like Spotlight.

To finish the look, put on a pair of heels, some red lipstick, a few layers of fake pearl necklaces and a headband. There are plenty of YouTube videos that will show you how to make your own 1920’s headband.

For guys, it’s a little trickier. A white or cream-coloured suit jacket works great with blue slacks.

Otherwise use what you have in your closet and emphasize with accessories. Slick you’re hair flat with some gel and buy a bright coloured pocket square and matching bow tie. Suspenders, a pocket watch and a vest complete the look. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, you could add a bowler hat.

Candy  Crush

Because we’re all addicted, admit it. A Candy Crush-inspired costume is as easy as sticking bright coloured lolly-shaped cutouts onto a black top and leggings like this blogger did.

Or you can get a little more creative and pick you’re favourite character to emulate. Think Tiffy with a pink dress, pink shoes, pigtails, a red bow and rosy cheeks. Or channel Mr Toffee with a fake red moustache and goatee, a monocle and a tiny red hat, which you can buy from most $2 shops.

Breaking Bad

Photo: Sean the Better Twin via Tumblr

There are so many Breaking Bad Halloween costume ideas out there, but if you didn’t watch and love the show, you might not get most of them.

The easiest and most convincing costume involves a yellow hazard suit and a pair of goggles, which you can buy from any hardware store like Bunnings.

Toast

Photo: Michael Shirley

A toast costume isn’t exactly topical, but it will blow your friends away. This one takes a bit of work, so start early.

You’ll need two pieces of cardboard and some brown paint or spray paint. You can get both of these from a hardware store or Spotlight. Cut out a toast shape and remember to make the edges or crust of your toast a darker brown than the rest. Have a look at this DIY tutorial for ideas.

The guy in the tutorial paints a creepy face on his toast, but you can just paint or even glue on some fabric to look like peanut butter or kaya jam. You can also change the costume by making it fit over your body instead of your face. All you have to do is attach a piece of string or ribbon to the top corners of the cardboard cutouts and connect them together to make shoulder straps.