Why Homemade Halloween Costumes Rock

October 14, 2009 2:00 pm     Posted in Cool Stuff, Halloween Central  Kelly g+ page

Homemade Costumes


By Kelly

With only 2 weeks to go until Halloween, there are costumes everywhere you look. Hop into any store and it’s easy to come out with something slutty to wear on October 31st. But finding something original that doesn’t cost the same as a week’s worth of groceries is the hard part. Seriously? $60 for a cheap rayon dress that barely covers my ass? No thank you, Wal-mart.

Instead of forking over money for some mass-produced-costume-in-a-bag that is neither cute nor economical, why not get creative and make your own costume? I’ve done the homemade costume thing for the past three years and they’ve turned out pretty phenomenal. DIY costumes are leaps and bounds above that BS lining the cardboard aisles at those pop-up Halloween stores. Need proof?

They’re more original.

I was a nun last year. At all the Halloween parties I went to, I saw about 7 sexy witches, 6 sexy devils, 20 fairies, 3 sailors, and 2 Strawberry Shortcakes. How many nuns did I see? Zero. One of my friends was spaghetti and meatballs, another was bubble tea, and they both looked hotter than any other girl there. Homemade costumes make you stand out and show off your creativity, not just your skin.

They’re cheaper.

$80 for a dress that’s going to fall apart the second time I wear it? I’ve got better things to spend my money on. Save some money this year with a homemade costume. You probably have most of what you need in your closet already, so you can splurge on few key accessories to make your costume truly fantastic.

They’re more fun.

If you’re at all like the girls I know, you start planning your Halloween costume on November 1. The year before. After all that planning, purchasing something at a costume shop just seems like a huge let down. It’s so much more satisfying to get together with some girlfriends and make a costume that you actually care about and that shows off who you are.

With two weeks to go, you’ve got plenty of time to whip up a spectacular homemade Halloween costume that you can be proud of. Don’t give in to the man! Do it yourself and this will be one Halloween for the record books.

What’s the best costume you’ve ever made?

18 Comments on "Why Homemade Halloween Costumes Rock"

  1. Casey says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 200910:20 am 

    What is this, like the 10th post this week bashing sexy/slutty Halloween costumes?

    Seriously, have you looked at the costume websites? there are thousands of different sexy/slutty costumes out there, it's highly unlikely that everyone buys the same two or three to all show up at the same party in. 3 years ago I bought a sexy/slutty costume off of one of those sites, not only was it pretty high quality but it was super hot, covered everything just right, and I was the only one walking around Tallahassee wearing it, in fact, I think I only saw one or two repeats of any costume that night, and EVERYONE was wearing a sexy store bought costume.

    Some people just don't have the creative ability to pull off a cool homemade costume. I was going to make mine this year, but for everything I needed it would have ended up costing more than the store bought one I eventually got, which ISN'T a nurse, fairy, devil, angel, sexy bug, cop, OR school girl.

  2. Emily says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 200912:11 pm 

    Love this article. I have never worn a store-bought costume because I just find it takes away from..something. If you buy a funny costume you are wearing someone else's joke, it seems lame to me somehow.

  3. Lauren - University says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 200912:20 pm 

    Uh, Casey? This article isn't about slutty costumes. It's about MAKING a Halloween costume.

    "Homemade costumes make you stand out and show off your creativity, not just your skin."

    You have a right to your opinion, but maybe you should really read things before you comment on them.

  4. Casey says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 200912:48 pm 

    I didn't say it was ABOUT slutty costumes, I said it was BASHING slutty costumes as read in the begining of the article…

    "With only 2 weeks to go until Halloween, there are costumes everywhere you look. Hop into any store and it’s easy to come out with something slutty to wear on October 31st. But finding something original that doesn’t cost the same as a week’s worth of groceries is the hard part. Seriously? $60 for a cheap rayon dress that barely covers my ass? No thank you, Wal-mart."

    It's a good article regardless. Making your own costume is a good idea, but one that a lot of people can't partake in, which is why companies sell pre-made costumes.

  5. Elizabeth Finfgeld says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 20091:42 pm 

    I totally agree that homemade costumes are better — in fact, everything that you make with your own two hands is better quality and better for the planet in general.

    If anyone wants some fantastic inspiration, this guide offers 22 Halloween DIY resources (including a lot of video tutorials) and all of them require very little financial investment, just some creativity and craft skills — http://bit.ly/3t1YBK

  6. Dirk Diggler says:
    Wed, 14th Oct 20094:43 pm 

    I think everything Casey writes is a joke. Interesting sense of humor.

  7. Marissa says:
    Mon, 19th Oct 20092:11 pm 

    My best costume was last year when i was Bon Qui Qui! I got weave and cheap dark foundation, and just puff painted the king burger logo onto a red shirt. I also got fake witch nails that were black and painted them gold. It was FABULOUS. haha. My friends and I make our costumes every year! I've also gone as a Taco Bell Hot Sauce(with 3 other friends) and Wonder Woman.

    I'm telling you, puff paint and a cheap t-shirt are your friends!!

  8. christina says:
    Sun, 25th Oct 20094:17 pm 

    ok so i'm DEFINITELY being spaghetti and meatballs like your friend!! haha thats hilarious/totally cute :) can you ask her how she made it? thanks!

  9. Christina says:
    Sun, 25th Oct 20097:20 pm 

    Two years ago for Halloween I was a gold digger, which doesn't seem so original these days, but nobody else had freakin ever thought of it then. I had a black bubble dress that had a gold, sequined bandeau and some gold glitter heels (not typical things to have lying around… but maybe I'm a little different) and I bought a costume fireman helmet, spraypainted it gold, and duct taped a changing color pumpkin light on the front to be my headlamp. I got a big dollar sign necklace for like three fifty, and some clip on dollar sign earrings. I'm a makeup artist so I got to have a lot of fun with that, too. I wore giant gold lashes, gold lipstick, and LOTS of bronzer and glitter. I even had a little bitty shovel that I carried with me while at work (was very popular there, lol). It was a blast! You should definitely try this!

  10. Trish says:
    Mon, 2nd Nov 20094:45 am 

    Hallowe'en is bigger than Christmas in my family, and homemade costumes were how my mom managed to get two kids to school parties and trick-or-treating, long before Wal-Mart.

    My aunt went out as a bag of jelly beans (large clear plastic bag, cut the bottom corners out for your legs, once it's up, cut for your arms, fill with multi-coloured balloons, secure (not too tight!) around your neck with some wide satin ribbon (get it for cheap at fabric stores), and voila!), an Identity Crisis (covered herself in "HI MY NAME IS" tags with different names), and a robot (yep, we went through a dozen rolls of tinfoil that year…). I'm in the navy, and one year I was out at sea during Hallowe'en – still no excuse for not coming up with a costume! I got two pairs of TyVek coveralls (you can find them at some Dollar Stores, or Home Depot) – the white ones with the hoods – and dismantled one of them: the hood was removed and stuffed with a large clear garbage bag and stitched shut to make my tail. The arms were removed, stitched shut at the wrists, and each was stuffed with one half of the rest of the coveralls (torso n' legs), stitched shut, and made my ears. I did the eyeliner whiskers and lipstick nose, and became a rabbit!

    Hallowe'en lost a lot of its fun once it became so commercialized and cheap, and so many people today just go buy one at a depot because it's easier (which is how you get the multiples of costumes)…it doesn't have to be too much work, or too much money, to come up with something original and fun!

  11. Kristina says:
    Mon, 2nd Nov 20095:23 pm 

    For $30 this year, I replicated a costume that was going for $60-$70 in the stores. (Poison Ivy from Batman)

  12. yeahwell says:
    Sun, 15th Nov 20093:07 am 

    i think you're all slutty bitches who can't dress yourselves, halloween or otherwise.

  13. Cambruzzi says:
    Tue, 2nd Feb 20106:49 pm 

    They could have been more creative with the costumes. The girl on the end had leaves tape to her dress. Thats lame.

  14. Cambruzzi says:
    Tue, 2nd Feb 20106:50 pm 

    but they are all hot.. I just think they needed to put in a little more effort.

    landscape lighting specialist
    http://www.ledlandscapes.com

  15. female gangster cost says:
    Thu, 17th Jun 201010:21 am 

    Any outfit can be fun with the right attitude regardless of whether you make it at home or buy it in the store.

    Kristi @ http://femalegangstercostume.com

  16. Jessica says:
    Sat, 27th Oct 201211:47 am 

    @Marissa your Bon Qui Qui costume was not funny at all!! Offensive in fact! Dark foundation?? Really?? You are lucky you stayed arpunf your friends with that !!

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