DIY Halloween Costumes

For all of my adult life, I've never wanted to buy a store-bought, packaged Halloween costume for the following reasons:

1. They're cheaply made - a lot of costumes have VELCRO (I hate velcro) instead of buttons or zippers, and most of the fabric is crap.
2. I have body issues, and I like to be in control of what I show off and don't. (I think this translates to: I'm okay with not wearing pants, but the twins ARE staying in)
3. I was on an extremely strict budget in college, so most of the time, things that I had already owned in my closet became part of my costume.
4. I never wanted to wear (or be) something completely identical to someone else where ever I was.
5. In college, I'd attend multiple Halloween parties on different days. Halloween was basically a two week event. I didn't want to wear the same costume at every party, and being something different was a lot more fun anyway.

What I've been over the past few years:

1. A one night stand. I actually borrowed this from my roommates friend. We made a night stand/dresser out of a box (literally cut a hole for the arms and head, and drew drawers, super glued condoms and an alarm clock), and a lampshade for a hat.
2. A sailor - I have a souvie hat from a cruise that I had went on that previous summer. All you need to pair it with is a nautical dress!
3. An Indian - I found the most amazing headdress from a dollar store. It fit well, and it was actually FULL but not too heavy. I had a brown tunic in my closet, so I wore the tunic as a dress (I don't recall wearing pants or shorts), and some brown suede boots.
4. Juno - Had a white & orange striped tank top (already in my closet), stuffed an inflatable beach ball for my belly, wore a brown jacket, and jeans with a skirt over it. I carried around a jug of sunkist, which was perfect cause I brought my own mixer to the party. Someone actually thought I was pregnant. 
5. Cowgirl - plaid shirt, daisy dukes or jeans tucked into books, and a cowboy hat. Add a lasso, or a badge or gun in a holster for some fun!
6. Lumberjack - Red/black plaid shirt and some daisy dukes and combat boots. This one was SUPER last minute. Like 10 minutes before walking out the door. 
7. Hello Kitty - I wore a red & white striped shirt underneath a denim romper with white tights. Bought Hello Kitty ears and drew Hello Kitty's yellow button nose and whiskers on my face. 
8. Hermione/Hogwarts Student - All you need is a gray/black knee length skirt, high socks with loafers, a white button up with a Gryffindor house colors tie (or whatever house you choose), and a cardigan. I got mistaken for Britney Spears this year, but whatever.
9. Pageant Queen - I'm pretty sure NONE of us got our money's worth out of our prom dresses and they're still sitting in our closets. Make your own sash, get a tiara, and a bouquet of roses. Feel free to add on extra bling to anything.

The fun of the costumes is PLAYING the part. Get props that will help you pull this off. Be mysterious, use an accent, and mimic the mannerisms that your character would do. The people that you encounter on Halloween will enjoy it.

A lot of these homemade costumes are ABSOLUTELY doable. There's nothing you can't accomplish without the help of some heavy duty glue (A hot glue gun OR E-6000 in the gray tube will be your best friends) and perusing the internet for ideas and tutorials.

So here are some ideas that I'm liking for this year:

Loofah/Soap Costume

I'm not in love with the soap costume, but I think the loofah is a lot of fun. All you need is a dress or leotard, a ton of tulle, and a rope/cord. I like the headband on the soap one because it looks like bubbles, so I'd probably add that onto the loofah and make a bracelet or something to match and accessorize. I think the perfect prop with this costume would be a bottle of bubbles and going around blowing them throughout the night!

If you're going out with a bunch of girls, be the Spice Girls, or another girl group (En Vogue, TLC,  anyone???). All the girls have a particular sense of style that is easy to match. My idea that I'm entertaining is to be the SIXTH Spice Girl.

PUMPKIN SPICE. I would totally make this same dress (minus the jack-o-lantern accessories) in an adult size. Basically this dress is made by making a very large and full tutu, so you would need a LOT of tulle. Tutu's are very easy to create and there are tons of tutorials for no-sew versions. I love the gold glitter, and there's just so many ideas I have for makeup. You can't be a Spice Girl without platforms, and I have these tan booties that give the perfect amount of height!

If you are a Wes Anderson fan, Team Zissou is the way to go. Powder blue clothes, and a red beanie.

I LOVE these. All you would need is the base color dress, do a little snipping, and then patch on the other colors. You don't even have to know how to sew - just use fabric glue!

Get a set leopard print pajamas (I'd totally use onsesies), some white gloves, white tennis shoes, wayfarer sunglasses and draw a kitty face with face crayons/make up. You can take it one step further by using an empty cheeto bag as your purse for the night. Or a full cheeto bag for a snack. Whichever.

You could definitely manipulate a skirt to look like a mustache. 

If I were to be a jellyfish, I think structurally, it would be very similar to this, but EVERYTHING would be shiny and iridescent.

Flamingo costume! All you need is about 2-3 pink boa's attached to a tank top/dress, and then pink or black leggings, a pink foam visor, and black paper glued onto the visor for the beak. There are different variations you could do for this costume, but what I like the most about it is the usage of pink boas - most dollar stores will have them in the girls toy/dress up section! I also saw another version where the body of the flamingo was made out of a tutu.

Something out of a Lisa Frank coloring book. I think the cat is the most doable - get everything you'd need to be a white cat (white dress/leotard, ears, tail), and glue on neon triangles for the "stripes". You'd need a really bright and colorful set of wings, and lots of color for makeup!

MacKayla Maroney. Get a sparkly leotard in Red/White/Blue, some windbreakers, a silver medal on purple ribbon. Put your hair in a scrunchie with a thousand snap pins, and you're good to go. This costume is ALL about the attitude of being "not impressed", and the persona of a gymnast (think about posture and how you walk!)

POISON IVY. All green clothes, red hair, and sparkly green eyebrows. You could keep it simple, or add some additional elements, like gluing leaves and such to your outfit.

Grapes. Costume is made from attaching (with tape) purple balloons (but you could be green grapes if you wanted!) to regular clothes. I think this one is fun, especially if you want to stand out. AND if you bump into people at a party or a bar... you have protection.

Everyone loves a throwback costume. All you need is a nude leotard/dress, make a jeweled tone shape (you literally can just cut a piece of paper), glue/tape it on, and get a matching colored wig, or get that spray stuff. You can use enough product to make your hair defy gravity, or wrap your hair around a water bottle on top of your head and secure it with rubber bands.

My ideal couples costume. 

Rugrats. This is another fun idea if you are going out in a group. You can make pretty much any of these by cutting up a t-shirt, and gluing/drawing/painting on the details needed.

I'm going to be upset if I don't see ONE Honey Boo Boo and Mama June (and Glitzy, the pig). Really upset. Y'all better redneckanize!