DIY Costume Evolution

First post! Let's get right to it.

   Halloween is my main thrill in life. I will use any excuse to celebrate (other countries' independence days, the birthdays of acquaintances, etc.), or to wear over-the-top outfits, but Halloween is the one day it's truly acceptable. I know it's February, but I'm still salty that I missed the deadline for Chictopia's I DIE FOR DIY costume contest. Although my submission pictures are the grainy sort that could have been (and were) taken with an inebriated stranger's iPhone, I thought my submission was pretty clever: a DIY costume evolution. Three costumes in one! Cheating? Probably. But add the fact that I'm cheap to the fact that I'm broke, and almost all of my costume components end up repurposed one year or another. For my "costume evolution", I reused/repurposed a tutu and corset to create three different costumes. My best friend (let's call her "Deb") and I first created tutus out of green metallic fabric and lime green tulle for Saint Patrick's Day 2010 at O'Shea's Casino in Las Vegas.

(You can see the edge of Deb's tutu in this pic. Out of mercy, she will remain real name-less and faceless here).

   We didn't even use a sewing machine. Cut to seven months later at the end of October, when I needed a spare costume for a party and was short on time (confession: I aim for at least four costumes a Halloween, and end up with at least two), and I decided the tutu would make a great Tinkerbell costume. Dollar Tree and Goodwill produced a pair of green wings and a white corset. The wings I covered in green glitter shit, the corset I painted green and covered in the same metallic fabric I made the skirt in. Again, this was a quick and dirty job with no sewing machine in sight. I also added some white maribou puffballs to a pair of silver flats, just for authenticity.

   There was a Peter Pan involved, but his story ends here (it ended that night, actually). It was an easy costume, and surprisingly comfortable; probably the whole wearing flats part. The next year was pretty costume-free, sadly, as it was my first year in graduate school and I had a bitch of a time and almost no social life. Moving on! Halloween 2011 rolls around and I decide my two "definite" costumes will be Mario (Deb was Luigi, obviously; we had the sickest mustaches) and Medusa. I had just bought a large amount of white chiffon, intending to make a maxi skirt with it, but decided it would make a good Grecian-looking gown for Medusa. Out comes the corset again... I spray-painted it gold, bedazzled it with my trusty glue gun, and attached a rubber cobra snake with a combination of glue gun, staple gun, and will power. I sewed the white fabric to the bottom of the corset, and used a extra piece as a "sleeve". I also cut a bunch of rubber cobras in half and pinned them randomly to my head, which in conjunction with my hair made my head weigh about 800 pounds.

   Clearly, in this grainy iPhone pic I was at the point in the night where shoes become optional.  So there you have it! Two items of clothing, three costumes. 

   So glad this is finally on the internet where it belongs, so I can stop thinking about it. And hopefully you can too.