There are many ways to get a costume for Halloween, but often the fastest and easiest way is to go out and buy one. To make it easier and a lot cheaper, a good idea is to make the costume from items already in the house.
Old clothes, torn tablecloths, beat up socks, everyone has at least some of these laying around or stuffed away in a closet. If most items of the costume can be found at home, then, at most, a little jar of inexpensive make-up or some glitter, may be all that is needed to complete the look.
Following are ideas for some great Halloween costumes that will be fun to put together and won't cost much at all.
Fun Pirate Costume
This Halloween costume can be almost entirely constructed of old clothing items. Use an old pair of pants; they can either be cut off below the knee, or tapered and tied with an elastic at the calf or knee. Next, use any regular button-down white shirt leaving the top buttons open. Then, if a vest is not available, make one by cutting an old dark t-shirt down the middle and taking off the sleeves.
Use a thick belt with a big buckle, or even a couple of thinner ones used together. A sash can then be wrapped around the belt on the waist, or even by itself, if a belt is not available. A piece of old tablecloth can be cut to make a sash, or any kind of scarf will work as well.
Use a large bandana to wrap around the head and make an eye patch out of an old sock. Simply cut out an oblong piece of the sock and put a small hole at each end, then tie two pieces of thick string or yarn into the holes and secure around the head.
For the shoes, any long boots will work, if available. Otherwise, cut the sleeves off an old long sleeve dark shirt and slide on top of a pair of dark shoes. Secure the tops of the 'boots' with two elastics.
Cool Edward from Twilight Costume
All that is needed for this costume is a button-down long-sleeve shirt, some dark jeans and any style of regular dark shoes. Then, put on a short pea coat, if available, or a dark jeans jacket should work as well too. Next, a messy hairdo is needed to get the ultimate Edward look. Use some mousse to tousle up the hair and, for darker haired people, golden hairspray can optionally be used to lighten the hue up a bit.
An important step for the Edward costume is to make the face look very white. To do this some make-up will be needed, but a cheap drug store brand should work fine. Get the lightest shade available and apply abundantly on the entire face and neck. Some make-up can be applied to the back of the hands for an optimal effect.
An optional step is to use some eye mascara to fill in the eyebrows and make them look very thick and dark. A small amount of mascara can also be applied under the eyes to get the dark circle vampire look. Some lip balm may also be used on the lips to bring out the 'paleness' of the face.
Golden contacts are an option, if available, and a pair of wayfarer style sunglasses will finish up the look.
Harry Potter's Hermione Costume
To look like Hermione the best bet is to make a Hogwarts uniform. This can be achieved by wearing a regular black skirt, black tights, dark shoes and a white shirt. These items should be easy to find at home or to borrow from a friend. Next, a dark gray sweater or cardigan is needed to wear over the white shirt.
To complete the Hogwarts uniform, however, a minimal purchase of a Gryffindor gold and burgundy striped scarf may be a good idea, unless one is available. These can be found at costume stores everywhere or online at fairly cheap prices, Amazon usually has a good selection.
A robe is optional and can be made by someone who is crafty out of some black material, or a black graduation gown can also work. Robes can be purchased at many costume stores as well, or online if the extra cost is feasible, they are not highly expensive, though.
For the hair, simply messing it up and spraying it with strong-hold hair spray should give the signature Hermione thick hair look. Lastly, a wand is a great accessory; it can be purchased or even made from a simple stick cut into shape.
These are just a few ideas on costumes to make at home. Imagination is key and these tips can be applied to other costumes and they also work well for kids and teenagers.
For more on Halloween ideas check out Fun and Quick Food Ideas for Halloween.
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