This is a cautionary tale: making a costume from scratch is a brave choice that is not for the faint of heart. I’m generally the kind of person who is scrambling to find a Halloween costume during the week leading up to it, or sometimes even on the day of a Halloween party I’m attending. However, this year, I knew months in advance that my friends and I would do a Strawberry Shortcake themed group costume. So, I had plenty of time to try and knock it out of the park as accurately (and as cheaply) as possible.
Lesson 1: Deciding how much effort you want to put into your costume.
Depending on the ending result of your DIY costume, you will most likely either look like you put in a lot of effort, or like you lost a fight with a hot glue gun. Believe it or not, there are pros and cons to both of these outcomes. The main pro to looking very put together is that you could get some very cool pictures out of it. The con, however, is that there’s a chance that you may look like you put in too much effort. This could be fine if you’re doing a costume by yourself, but for a group costume, there’s a good chance that you’ll stick out like a sore thumb if you look exactly like your inspiration.
Most people are going to just throw together clothes that fit the same vibe as the character they’re trying to replicate rather than create a one-to-one copy. On the other hand, if you look like you lost a fight with a hot glue gun, there’s a good chance that you’re not going to look like your Pinterest board inspiration, or be recognizable. Yet, being low profile can be cool. You have the potential to look resourceful and thrifty, which is especially impressive if you are one of many broke college kids. Speaking of being thrifty, I got quite a few good deals on some of my costume pieces by going to my local thrift store. So, I would recommend searching there for high-variety and low-price costume pieces.
Lesson 2: Matching the look versus adapting to what is available.
Not every store is going to have exactly what you want for your costume, and sometimes you have to accept your options. When I was looking for a top for my character, Blueberry Muffin, I found two tops that would have potentially fit the look. One was a different shade of blue than the shirt that she wears, and while the other one matched the color, it was short-sleeved. When it comes to making these decisions, it’s truly up to whatever you want to prioritize. If you truly have enough time on your hands, like how I believed I did, you can try to do some crafting to make yourself look more authentic.
Lesson 3: You may not have as much time as you think.
Going into the craft store with a wide-eyed and creative mindset is great. You see elements that could fit the missing pieces of the puzzle. You think to yourself, what if I combine this, or cut this, or glue this here, or add ribbon to this spot? I’m here to warn you about where this kind of optimism could take you though.
It’s all fun and games until you get home, set down all of your new-found crafting materials, and forget all about them until the weekend before your Halloween party. I’m begging you to set an alarm, mark down a date on your calendar, or get a reminder tattooed on your wrist. Whatever you do, just don’t do what I did where I ultimately left it until the last minute. The pile of knick knacks and accessories stared me down constantly, daring me to do something with them. I remembered the moment in the craft store when I had thought it would be a great idea to paint each of the pearls that I bought one-by-one. I thought it would be an amazing idea to make my hat from scratch by using paper bowls, felt, pearls and a plain blue baseball cap.
What I forgot to figure out is how in the world paper bowls, felt, and a baseball cap could possibly make the hat shape. This predicament led me to figuring out something very important — you only get one shot when it comes to glue. If you do miss your shot, the game may or may not be done altogether. Yet, you can probably still cover it up no matter what, so it isn’t as noticeable. If you’re really good at innovation, a mistake can even turn into a new opportunity to be creative. If you have enough time, of course.
Halloween can be as fun as you make it, and the same goes for your DIY costume. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and take into consideration my advice to make the ultimate costume. Good luck! I believe in you!