Hello My Darlings,
It’s that spoooooky time of the year where we channel our wildest imaginations and bring them to life by using our best canvases: our bodies.
While remembering to be social-justice friendly to your fabulous peers and respectful of other cultures and religions, you can take this fun opportunity to be a character you wouldn’t normally be!
The big day is here so if you haven’t bought or even thought of something to wear yet, I’m here to help. This post will be all about creating a quick, easy, chic costume using only the items from your closet and a few inexpensive materials.
In the photo above, I’m wearing my own version of a Minnie Mouse costume. It was inspired by the Minnie Mouse snapback hat I’m wearing in the picture. I bought it at Disneyland for $20 this past March. I went to the Spirit Halloween store in Berkeley to buy the black crayon to draw on my nose, for $1. Then I wore my black American Apparel Disco Shorts and paired it with my Mickey Mouse sweatshirt from Forever 21 (which I’ve had since my senior year in high school).
I finished the look off with a pair of red suede ankle-cut booties from Charlotte Russe (also something I’ve had since high school). I essentially created this costume out of pieces that I already own. I only needed to spend $1 on my nose (ha!).
For me, Halloween is a time to challenge my inner fashionista. How inventive can you be? I’m not a huge fan of spending too much on an outfit that I know I’m not going to wear more than once, much less take the time to go shopping for a costume that would both fit me correctly and also look good enough to spend my money on.
So these past few years I’ve taken to buying smaller items, like animal ears or cute hats, and drawing inspiration from them. Then, I open up my dresser drawers and closet doors and throw some things together. It saves time and money, AND you can rest assured that NO ONE will be wearing the same costume as you.
Pictured above is a Halloween ad from 2020ave.com. I love the simplistic elegance of this look. If you like this look, all you need to do is buy a witch’s hat, clunky gold jewelry, and a timeless little black something (dress, jumpsuit, or what have you).
I’ll admit I tried to emulate this look myself. I couldn’t find the right hat because I was so set on finding a little black hat with a lace veil over it. When I realized this just wasn’t going to be lying around your basic Halloween store, I picked up a big witch’s hat with purple and black feathers around the brim.
If you can’t find the veil, you could always focus more heavily on your makeup to really tie in the overall look. A black and silver smoky eye with black lipstick will really give off that sultry bewitching look you’re looking for. If you don’t have a black jumpsuit, a simple little black dress is an easy alternative.
I was going to wear my old Black and White Ball dress that I wore my first year at Mills because it’s a short, one-sleeved dress that has silver charms on the right shoulder. It’s made out of a flowy material, so it fits closely to that of what (I think) your classic witch would wear to a party.
I’ve seen velvet dresses around since the 90s. They’re almost as timeless as the little black dress! Now, this “vampire velvet” is the perfect way to dress like a vampire on Halloween. For this look, I would wear black lace-up boots, any spiky jewelry, and really exaggerate the makeup around your eyes. Since you want to look drop dead gorgeous (get it?), the best way to go about it is to draw in your innocent victims with your smoky eyes and your long, voluminous false lashes!
Of course, to finish off the look, you can curl your hair (if it’s not already curly) and tease it like crazy, to give off that sexy reckless look. Add in some fangs and draw some blood around the corners of your mouth and there you have it!
Now it’s your turn my darlings: send in your fiercest costumes to sugapong@thecampanil.com and I’ll be sure to feature them on my next blog post! As Tim Gunn would say, “Make it work!” I hope you all have fun and safe Halloween this year!
Stay tuned, stay curious, and stay fabulous!
XOXO
-FAS
