DIY Halloween Costumes….Refurbishing your formal dresses
into classic characters with a twist.
Walk in your closet…..look around and you will most likely find at least one formal dress, the
ghost of proms past, the homecoming dress that haunts you or the bridesmaid dress that tried to
bite you. We can admit they are all a little bit of a monster in their own way….. yes they hold
memories, they are just to cute to get rid of, but we all fight them teeth to tulle when we go to
make room in our closet. We ask ourselves every time we see them “When am I ever going to wear
you again?” I have found for your sad one and done dress another reason to live! I turned a past
Homecoming dress that sadly sits in the closet and wishes she could be a part of my college life
into a Tin Man costume with a girly twist! I named her “The Tin Girl.” Then I took my Southern
Belle inspired Senior Prom dress and I turned her into a “So Cute Cinderella!” I turned these
dresses into easy Halloween Costumes with things I already had at home and a few items I
picked up from the Halloween store. It was easy…. oh so easy! Also I promise you won’t show
up to the Halloween party in the same costume as ten other girls. Here’s a step by step of each of
my costumes, to spark inspiration of what you can do to break out your favorite formal for a
night of tricks and treats! Or maybe you have a dress similar to mine and you want to go as the
“Tin Girl” or “So Cute Cinderella.”
The Tin Girl
What I used
Homecoming dress
Black Leggings
Silver Bracelet (that was also bought for a homecoming or prom look at some point)
Elastic Headband
Safety Pin
Silver Spray Paint
(Costume) Bow Headband
Mask (Halloween store)
Silver Bow Ring (another accessory from a past school dance look)
Hunter Rain Boots
What I made for the costume
“Metal Bow”
* I took my bow headband, and detached the bow from the actual headband
*You should detach when using spray paint because it tends to loosen and break apart the glue
the headband was actually made with and your bow or flower (whatever is attached to the
headband will break off)
* Then I spray painted the headband and bow with my silver spray paint bought at the local
hardware store, when you want something to look metal like in this case I recommend silver
not grey because the silver will give it the shine effect.
* I went for probably 10 coats of spray paint for the bow and 3 -4 for the headband spray it as
much as you like the more I put on the deeper the color for a more realistic look.
* I then let both the bow and headband dry outside for about an hour then I brought it inside to
dry for 2 more hours.
* I then used a hot glue gun and glued the bow back on to the headband after they were both dry.
“Choker”
* Elastic Headband
* Cut the elastic headband in half
* Fit it around my neck
* Safety pin
* Safety pinned the two cut ends of the headband together (hiding the safety Pin behind my hair)
* (This one was EXTREMELY easy and could be made out of anything)
So Cute Cinderella
What I used
Prom Dress
Necklace (heart choker on ribbon, I’ve had forever, again an item I should get rid of
but haven’t, they come in handy 😉 )
Silver Converse with Pink ribbon laces (glass slippers)
Princess face stickers and gems (bought at Halloween store, I would also recommend
just small rhinestones with an adhesive side to put on after your makeup)
Small Crown Comb (bought at Halloween store)
Pearl Bracelets (costume jewelry)
Glitter Hair spray (Halloween store & can also be found almost anywhere that carries
hair products)
“Glass Slippers”
* My glass slippers are a pair of silver converse I had actually made for homecoming one year
laced with pink ribbon.
* 1 pair of converse
* 2 Spools of the ribbon of your choice and lace (I do this with all my converse even for casual
wear its a super easy and cute look)
“Hair & Makeup”
(this will involve a top knot its my favorite hair style at the moment)
* For this costume the hair and makeup helped make the costume
* I love head accessories but they always give me a headache and when your trying to have fun
in a costume you don’t want to deal with something falling off.
* I bought a small “Cinderella” tiara at the Halloween store that was a comb, not clip or
headband.
* Curled hair
* Put hair in a top knot
* Hair sprayed and teased
* Pulled the front of my top knot forward
* Took the tiara comb and pushed it into the front of my top knot and then applied hair spray
* Took Glitter Hair Spray and sprayed all over (go big or go home)
* After makeup was applied I applied small face stickers (Halloween store) I recommend hair
spraying these after application for extra stick, the makeup will make them less sticky.
So I can’t wait to see what you create from those formals haunting your closet! Remember, they deserve to get another chance to be beautiful this Halloween! So get busy! Halloween is around the corner! Happy Halloween!
Love,
Sierra Rae
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