I get asked a lot about how to pick a great costume each Halloween and how to go about reaching the look. The key to a great costume, there isnt a simple answer. A lot of factors go into selecting the right costume. One thing I always say though is you have to be realistic. If youre heavy set, you probably wouldnt pull off a great Jack Skellington or if youre thin Fat Albert just wouldnt be as recognizable (people would think you look more like Gilligan). Dont get me wrong, by all means go for whatever look you want but what looks best on you tends to be what best compliments your frame. That doesn’t apply to generic costumes though (ninja, pirate, zombie, etc). Funny, easily recognizable, and original are always hits. Blending all three, even better! Always keep that in mind when selecting your next costume if you want to stand out. Remember, just about everyone is shopping in the same store and most likely following the same current trends. You dont want to pick something obscure either. Its almost a put-off when you walk around thinking everyone recognizes whatever character you think you look like but nobody knows at all. If you have to explain who you are, you didnt pull off the look (or simply the character just isnt known). Up next is the budget. How much are you willing to spend? Set an amount and plan your costume around that. Youd be surprised how much you can save by trying to build the costume yourself versus buying all the pieces. Most of the time, the costume you buy is flimsy and can only really be worn one time. I understand some pieces are hard to make but where theres a will theres a way. One thing I always keep in mind when making or buying materials/pieces is how close to authentic does this look? I try my best to remain as true to the original as possible. You can do this with just about any budget, get creative. Building your costume is part of the fun! Nail the look. Get as many reference materials as you can gather. The more you have to compare to the more you can widen your options when hunting around for props, accessories, wigs, costume wardrobe. First place to always look is at home. Gather anything you already own that could be adapted into your costume. Second place are fabric stores or discount stores, what materials or accessories can you get for cheap to help build your costume. Foam fabric, acrylic paint and sowing/glue gun go a long way. The last place you should be looking is the actual Halloween stores. Thats where I go when Im trying to think of ideas or getting that last resort piece I cant make or find elsewhere. Shopping online ahead of time is a great money saver as well. If you need to do make up, grease pallets (not cream tubes) tend to be cheaper than powdered pallets and can generally achieve the same look. The best tip I can give in regards to makeup and latex applications, YouTube. It has a tutorial on almost every look! Look it up and practice ahead of time. This is just a quick overview. Id get into further details but its long enough as it is. Im always open to questions or available year round if you have any questions about building next years costume :)
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:20:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015