Siouxsie Sioux & Robert Smith DIY Halloween Costumes

This halloween, David and I decided to be two of our favorite singers - Siouxsie Sioux (of SIouxsie and the Banshees) and Robert Smith (of The Cure). 

The clothing part was easy - we wore black clothing that we already had (I already had the fishnet shirt and got it at www.WeLoveColors.com). I also threw on my spiky bracelet and a few more snake bracelets for good measure. I used the same black crinoline from my "Black Swan" costume from last year (blog post here.) David had a black velvet blazer and a polka-dot shirt. He has found a $16 cardboard "paper jams" guitar that actually plays and also holds 3 mp3s. He put the CURE and Siouxsie songs onto the guitar.

For the makeup, I watched a few youtube videos but then decided the best way was to try myself. I tried the eyebrows with eyeliner as the videos suggested but they did not look right and it was harder to get them even or get the right texture. Using an angled mac brush and mac matte black eyeshadow, I made the eyebrows much easier and then did the lighter Siouxsie eye, blending white iridescent shadow with some lightly applied black. I put on a little more black eyeliner that usual, some deep lipstick and was good to go.

 

The tricky part was the hair. We originally wanted to be this last year, but the wig we ordered online from amazon for Robert Smith was cheap and looked it and also the hair was impossible to ratt or make it stick up. We threw it in the costume box and forgot about it. After a year of being in the box, smashed into a corner, it was perfect this year when we took it out of the box. 

However I needed a Siouxsie wig and didn't have a year to make it. I bought a very cheap wig on amazon here(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NVKG44/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&redirect=true). When it arrived I used hairspray, brushes and combs and even hung it upside down wet. Nothing worked since it is cheap but slippery hair. I realized it was longer than the quintessential Siouxsie so I decided to give it a trim but worried about the hair being too thin. I then decided that instead of throwing away the hair clumps from the trim, I could use them to fill out the wig and make them look ratty. After putting the wig on a mannequin head, I took each clump and put a bunch of glue on the edge to hold each one together and then place them each in the middle of the seam of the wig. The glue worked great to make it stay and give it a boost to make it stick up. If I want to use it again, it is smashed in the costume box so it will look even better next year I suspect! :o) Until next halloween.... jennifer

Black Swan Costume for Halloween by Red Ostrich on Etsy

Halloween Costume. Black Swan - DIY

I thought I would share my Halloween costume this year and also how I made it in case anyone needs tips for next year! I wanted to continue my feather obsession and decided to be Black Swan, the goth ballerina from the Natalie Portman film. I was also inspired by the MOCA show of the real costumes earlier this year ( http://www.moca.org/audio/blog/?cat=79 ). I used items that I already had except for one $15 short tutu that I used to make my petticoat stick further out. I started with the following items:

1. a corset I had in the back of my closet (I turned mine inside out so it would be more black). 

2. two feather pads or lots of black feathers 

3. feather boas - one or two black ones - they can be old or falling apart - mine were and it adds to the distressed character.

4. black petticoat or black tutu or both.  

5. safety pins

6. needle and thread

7. tiara

8. some type of black necklace or brooches or jewels 

9. jewels for the corset

10. tights and ballet shoes or black heels and satin ribbons to use instead

11. black and white eye makeup (both eyeliners and shadow work best)

12. birdcage french veil netting or tulle and two bobby pins

I used the needle and thread to sew jewels on one side and the feather pads on the other side of the corset chest area. Then I took the feather boas and safety pinned them onto one side of the petticoat. I pinned them from the underside so the pins didn't show. I then made up my eyes like the character, after getting ideas by watching several youtube tutorials. I found that patting black and white eyeshadows over white and black penciled lines, helped the makeup stay all night. I used the MAC angled eyeshadow brush to achieve sharp lines. 

Then I used two overlapping bobby pins to adhere the french veil birdcage netting over my face, right above the center of my forehead. Then I placed on my goth tiara. I used an old tiara I had that was silver with a few fake diamonds but then I took an everyday necklace that was black and used wire to wind it around the tiara so it would have height and the black goth-y look. If you don't already have one, you can probably find something cheap at either H & M or Forever 21. You can also pin brooches on your tiara or use them instead of sewing on jewels on the front of the corset.

I got some great reactions at the parties I attended, all for a costume that cost me under $15. I ended up wearing it three different nights that week! :o)