Still Don't Know What to Go As For Hallowe'en?

With Hallowe'en coming up in less than a week, I thought I'd help you out with some costume ideas and how to create them. Here are some suggestions on how to look stylish for Hallowe'en:

Katy Perry

Why not try a Katy Perry costume? Every day seems to be a costume day for her so there are many outfits to choose from. The above outfit from her California Girls video seems quite easy to create. Buy a cheap white strapless form fitting dress. Buy some styrofoam balls, cut them in half and colour them in fuchsia, blue, and yellow. Glue gun them onto the dress. Buy a blue wig - they have some at Ardene and Value Village. Buy a chunky white bracelet and throw on some high heels. Make sure you put on some fuchsia lipstick, fake eyelashes, and winged black eyeliner.

Steampunk

Steampunk seems to be a popular fad right now and seems quite easy to put together. The above look is great except I think she could've chosen better shoes. Select your main clothing in shades of gray, brown or black. For women, you could go with something shown above or combine a tight corsetlike top or dress with a full skirt and bustle and puffed-out sleeves. Or you could choose a button-down shirt with a tie, vest, and pants or shorts; because Steampunk is less gender-biased than the actual Victorian era. Add the proper Steampunk style in your shoes. Tall, lace-up boots work well in the Steampunk tradition. Try to find narrower boots with a little bit of a heel rather than bulky, combat-style boots. Spats or leg warmers with laced wingtip-style shoes also complement Steampunk style. Accessorize with goggles. Channel the Wright Brothers in your goggle selection. Choose large, full-faced goggles that mimic an aviator style; if you can't find any, try making some with fabric glued to science-lab goggles instead. Gears and cogs are the height of Steampunk style, and they belong outside your clothing just as much as inside your pocket watch. Break up an old watch or clock to pull out the gears, and then string them together to make a pendant or hang them from earring hooks. Spray paint the cogs in metallic bronze or copper colors if they don't fit that color scheme already. Top it all off with a hat or hair accessory. Glue large feathers and gears or cogs to a hair clip, and wear it on the side of your hair as a fascinator.

Femme Fatale

If you have a love for vintage looking clothing and being dark and mysterious, then go as a femme fatale. A femme fatale is defined as a woman of great seductive charm who leads men into compromising and or dangerous situations. In the 1940s, the femme fatale was popular in contemporary pop culture with the introduction of film noir. She represented the liberation and power gained by females throughout the Second World War: she is sexy, duplicitous and often ruthless. The colour scheme for this costume should be either black, dark grey, dark red, or emerald green would also work. If you have a killer vintage looking body hugging dress now is the time to wear it. If you'd prefer separates, go for a blazer with a peplum and bellshaped knee-length skirt. Keep the colours the same. For accessories, grab a beret or fedora, peep-toe pumps, skin coloured seamed stockings with garters, a gun or a cigarette holder. Red lips and smoky eyes are a must as well as long hair like Veronica Lake or Jessica Rabbit.

Elle Woods From Legally Blonde

While this may not be a current, trendy costume, it is certainly easy to do and easy to recognize. When picking out clothing for a Legally Blond costume, "pink" is the key word to remember. A pink three-piece skirt suit creates the ideal look for the costume. However, more casual clothing could be worn. If mixing and matching items, make sure everything is the same shade, or at least complementary shades, of pink. If you have blonde, medium-length hair with some curls, great! But if you don't a wig will be required to get the look right. For makeup, aim for a glamorous approach in terms of eye shadow and overall makeup. Try to find pink lipstick to match the shade of the clothing. Nails need to receive polish in that same shade of pink to complete the look. For accessories, add tasteful but glamorous jewelry, a stylish pink hat, pink high-heeled shoes, and sunglasses with pink lenses worn atop your head. Carry a pink purse. Elle Woods owns a chihuahua named "Bruiser Woods." Find a realistic stuffed chihuahua. Add a pink collar to the dog. A pink outfit of some kind should be worn by the dog, too. If possible, try to match the shade of pink to the shade of clothing worn in your costume and pop the dog in your purse so he can look out. 

Justin Bieber

Another easy costume to pull off. To totally go for the Bieber effect you need to wear as much purple as possible so find a purple hoodie or shirt and bandana to wear around your wrist. A black cap worn backwards, high top sneakers and tight jeans are very important too. But the real key, is the flippy hair so make sure you find the right wig. You need to commit to this one so flip your hair every few minutes. 

Facebook Page

I know I spend WAY too much time on facebook and many of you probably are guilty of the same. So why not go as your very own facebook page? First of all: you don’t have to be your own Facebook profile. You can be a celebrity’s, monster’s or anyone's Facebook profile. Use a whiteboard as your base, or use pieces of a dry-wipe board for interactive areas like your status update, your wall and gifts. Attach a belt at the backside of the board in order to wear it without using your hands. People will want to pose on pictures with you, so make the cut-out area large enough for people to become part of your profile picture. Take felt-tip pens with you so that you can update your status on the fly, or let people write comments on your wall. Possible status updates: “is wearing the best costume at this Hallowe'en party”, “is wearing his Facebook profile”, “is wishing everyone a happy Hallowe'en”, “is posing with monsters and idiots”, “can’t wait to go home and check facebook”, “doesn’t want to be tagged in any Hallowe'en pictures”, etc. Bring a Polaroid camera so you can instantly add friends attending the party to your friends list by gluing their photos onto your profile. If you don’t have a Polaroid camera, why not have Count Dracula, Jason Voorhees and Hannibal Lecter in your friends list? Get sponsored and put funny, targeted ads on your profile, like tooth whitening for vampires, human burgers for cannibals, Einstein brains for zombies… Or if you are not so good at making things, you could just put a blue book cover on your head and be Facebook 0.1 Beta.

Hope these ideas help you to find a fun costume this Hallowe'en!

Joelle