I love to make a fun and unique Halloween costume for the kids, but who says the kids should have all the fun? We often have a Halloween costume theme at work and can never bring myself to purchase a costume. I have a lot more fun with DIY adult Halloween costumes than boring store-bought costumes. Below are some of my costumes from Halloween past. I hope these ideas inspire you to create your own Halloween customer this year.
Statue of liberty
I made this costume in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. I was feeling patriotic. I bought a white T-shirt and sheet and dyed them the green color of the Statue of Liberty. The book, crown, and torch were made with poster board painted and sculpted to the shape needed. I cut and wrapped the sheet around my body with a few strategically placed pins and a little bit of face paint to complete the perfect Statue of Liberty costume.
French Artist
This one is super easy to make. Purchase a white nurse-like top with pockets, a beret, slip-on shoes, paintbrushes, and paint. Your kids will love helping you with this costume. Simply paint your shirt and shoes. Glue paintbrushes into the pockets of your shirt and use cardboard to create a palette. For paint on your face just use eye shadow, or you can purchase a Halloween face painting kit.
Fortune Teller
For this costume, I visited my local thrift shop to pick up a funky skirt and a couple of scarves. I bought a lot of gold costume jewelry and wore a pair of sandals. The tarot cards I just printed from the internet and cut out. The crystal ball is a light fixture that I painted and added glitter. The makeup is one of those store-bought Halloween eye makeup kits.
I have many other fun costumes I created that I just don’t have photos of such as a jester, bunny, cat, and lion. It is really easy to make costumes without knowing how to sew it is all just in what you can put together.
Tips for DIY Adult Halloween Costumes
Dye
you can use dye for almost any costume. For my lion costume, I purchased a white sweatshirt and pants and dyed them a light brown
Heat n’ Bond
This stuff is great for adding embellishments to clothes without sewing. This can be found in a craft store and is a layer that goes between the two fabrics and makes it an iron-on transfer. I have used this to make my children a tiger costume and Blues Clues.
Thrift Stores
No need to purchase something you are never going to wear again. Visit your local thrift stores to put together a costume.
Your Own Closet
To get inspiration rummage through your closet to see what you can find. One year as a kid my Halloween costume was too hard to trick or treat in. My mother quickly put me in a pair of her jeans (too big for me), added suspenders, gave me her bowling shoes, and my father’s tie, and added some makeup to make me a clown.
Specialty stores
If you don’t have the time but you have the money for a detailed costume, you can go for period-appropriate clothing. Characters from the medieval era or the Renaissance era become more fun to dress up when their costumes and accessories include historically accurate details.
The best thing to do when it comes to making your own DIY Adult Halloween Costume is to start thinking about what you want to be ahead of time so you can start searching for the perfect pieces to create your costume. Once you have everything you need to make your perfect costume give it a trial run. Try everything on to make sure it looks good and fits right. There is nothing worse than waiting until Halloween or a party to find out the shoes don’t fit, or you can’t find that shirt you needed to complete your costume. Think of making your next Halloween costume instead of buying it. Show off some of your creative side!