So, we're still talking Halloween over here, and we won't stop 'til the date itself. Lest you think you'll get away without adorning yourself, remember that this year offers the rarest of celestial events: a Halloween that falls on a Friday. Yeah, I'm aware that's not really celestial. Solar, I guess. But anyway, you might even be invited to a party. Taking someone with you? Try one of these on for size.
Oh, and in case it's not obvious, what we're going for in all these costumes is fairly inexpensive, fun, and can be made in not too much time. Some require a little heavier lifting than others. Don't worry. I'll walk you through it.
1. Kermit & Miss Piggy
Are these two perfect, or what? The height differential, the adorableness, and they pulled it together without too much cash or effort. It was easily the best-received Halloween costume I've ever seen, and it's a classic: Miss Piggy and Kermit!
So what do you need?
For Miss Piggy, you need (1) gloves, (2) a feather boa, (3), some piggy face gear, (4) a blonde curly wig (sultry model not required), (5) a very fancy pink dress, preferably thrifted, and, not pictured, as much bling as you want and heels as high as you dare.
For Kermie, you need head-to-toe green, however you want to get there. Start with (7) green felt and cut Kermit's little frill. Use more felt for Kermit's hands and shoe covers if you're feeling fancy. For clothes, any green will do. Pictured here are (8) a leotard and (9) tights. This (10) cheap foam visor is perfect; just cut it into more of a triangle shape and glue on a halved (6) ping pong ball with painted on (11) Kermie eyes.
And there you have it: the best couple ever.
1. Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
The same night that Kermie and Piggy took NYC, I went for comfort. Not that kind of comfort. Comfort food. The only pic I have is the group one, but here I am, as my favorite wintertime snack.
I loved this costume. I had the idea because I had the can shape - it's one of those collapsible laundry baskets, which I cut the bottom out of. Then I just used the straps as should straps and stepped into the thing. We'd actually used the basket the year before for another couples costume (I was a grape and Bret was a bottle of wine), so I re-purposed it. And people liked it - but all anyone wanted to know was where was my grilled cheese? Home with the 6-month-old baby, that's where, but it was a fair question. Ever since, I've wanted to reenact it, with Bret as my favorite sammie. Like so. Yes, even a grilled cheese can be sexy, apparently, as yes, that's the one I picture Bret in. But seriously, it's nice that this costume is genderless, and would fit any couple or pair well.
So the why is pretty apparent. Here's the what and how.
Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Halloween Costume
Both of these costumes rely on shoulder-based equipment. The soup needs its can; the sandwich, its bread. But the underclothes are important, too! For the tomato soup, go with red from head to toe, with a (1) long sleeve red shirt, (2) red tights or pants, and if you're into using Halloween as an excuse to buy fun things, (3) red chucks. For the can, use a (4) collapsible hamper, like this one, and cut out the bottom. If you need to shorten the straps so the can hits the right place (about mid-chest), just snip the straps at the center and knot them to your desired length. For the can wrapper, cut two lengths of fabric long and tall enough to wrap around your can, plus an extra few inches. (5) One white, (6) one red, and use (7) no-sew tape to attach them. Use craft paint and a gold fabric marker (not pictured) to write the necessary Campbell's and Tomato Soup and to add gold stars. For the gold seal in the middle (sorry I have no good pics of mine, but here's a Campbell's soup can for ya), I just painted a piece of fabric gold, cut out the circle, and hot-glued it to the center of my wrapper. When the wrapper was dry and finished, I attached it to my hamper using the high-tech method of draping an inch or two of extra fabric at the top, all the way around, and safety-pinning. Hot glue would work too.
For the grilled cheese, start with your (9) foam core, which you can buy in large sheets like these for cheap. (Cardboard, large yoga mats like this one and thinner foam core would also work, but you won't get the awesome bread texture that the styrofoam will provide. Then again, styrofoam is terrible for the environment, so your choice). Cut the foam to size, depending on how much leg you want to show, and paint the edges a medium-dark brown for the crust. For the main bread, try dappling on cream and brown paint with a sponge. Of course, cheese is at least as integral to a grilled cheese as bread, so suit up in a (10) yellow long sleeve shirt, (11) pants or tights, and (12) yellow Charles Taylor's.
So those are the tutorials. But wait, there's more! Several years ago, Bret and I went as a knight and dragon for Halloween. I wore a thrifted little boy's knight costume shirt, pleated black skirt (that really evoked medieval times, a teeny bit), black boots and a sword. Of course. We dressed Bret all in greet, had him wear these scary dragon gloves we found at a garage sale, and he made himself a long talk with clearance shiny, scaly green fabric stuffed with batting and safety pinned to his back and down to his waist band. It was hilarious. Sadly no pics of both of us, but here's a pic of my face in my knight's hood.
Repurposing a little kid's knight costume for Halloween couples costume: a knight and dragon.
Of course now, I'd do Daenerys and her dragon. Even better.
I'm also always down for a little Robin Hood action, because I was obsessed with Robin Hood legends as a kids. My favorites cast Lady Marian as the real hero and super archer. Can you tell?
Robin Hood and kick ass Lady Marian for Halloween. Also this was a long time ago, and I look really young :)
Also always fun to have darts to shoot at people. I am a big fan of props on Halloween. And what about Miss Muffet and her Spider for Halloween? A thrifted dress can easily be made Miss Muffin-y with the addition of a flowered shower cap and some ringlets; a spider is easy with 3 unbent wire hangers sheathed in tissue-paper stuffed black stockings and pinned to the center of the back, below your arms. Plus all black clothes and maybe a mask? You can see how our friend did it (the same Halloween as Kermit & Miss Piggy and tomato soup) here. She used thread to attach the ends of the legs to her arms, so every time she moved her arms, all 8 "legs" would move. Awesome.
Spider Halloween Costume. And since we highlighted the others, our final friend is a cat, but not just any cat: she carried around a big sack all night and told people she was a cat out of the bag. Get it?
And, though I sadly have no pictures, I also love the idea of a baker and a donut Halloween costume. My parents did this a few years ago. My dad wore all white and a chef's hat and dusted himself with flour, while my mom wore an inner tube she had spray-painted brown and put sprinkles on. Sorta like this, but without the pun. Adorable.
That's it for the couples ideas today, but as always, I welcome your brilliant ideas. Have an awesome weekend!