Well, my husband plays dress up. Willingly, I should add. In fact, a lot of our Halloween costumes have been his idea. He is just cool like that and my habit of procrastination thanks him. :)
Neither of us love the guts and gore of Halloween, but we definitely love to dress up and love figuring out the details of our costumes each year. Halloween is just around the corner so I thought it would be fun to create a post featuring our costumes ideas from 2009-2013. Bear with me, it's a long post, but full of fun pictures and helpful tips! We hope to inspire your own creativity!
Our Halloween tale begins with one of our first phone call conversations prior to our first date in August of 2009. During our random "friend" phone call, he asked if I knew what I was going to be for our church's college group costume party. Please. He was talking to someone who has the best intentions to think of her costume ahead of time, but then procrastinates until the morning of October 31st and winds up dressing up like some weird little lollipop person that doesn't even exist! Great makeup, though. Anyways, I had no idea. It wasn't even September yet! Knowing that I liked Johnny Cash and the movie Walk the Line, he randomly mentioned that he was thinking about dressing up as Johnny Cash. OMG, my heart skipped a beat--he needed a June Carter Cash! But I kept my cool and tried to respond nonchalantly. I mean, please. His idea wasn't amazing or anything. ;) He then proceeded to ask if I would like to be June. Agh! I knew he liked me! What a friend. How could I say no?
Knowing what I did about June Carter Cash, I was going to need a dress, voluminous hair, and a guitar-strapped man who liked to wear black. Even though I knew some about June Carter, I find that when dressing up like a character or icon of any sort, it's helpful to have a reference photo. I like to pay attention to every detail of what they look like, how they're dressed, etc.
The following images were our reference photos for Johnny and June. :)
So on the hunt I went!
When needing a costume, take inventory of anything you might already have and make a list of items you will need to complete your look. More than likely, you probably won't be able to 100% replicate the outfit/look unless you want to spend a ton of money! No worries! This is where you get to use your own flair and creativity! :) When I don't have the right items, I love to borrow from a friend or hit up thrift stores and take my time to search through the variety! You may not always hit the jackpot, but even finding that one particular item for your outfit can be helpful--and even if it's not an exact match, it will be more authentic looking than a tacky, cheaply made item from those Halloween City stores that randomly pop up this time of year!
-2009-
Johnny and June
Don't mind the cat. It was our prize--and lovingly donated to a white elephant exchange. :)
OUTFIT DETAILS
I found my dress and short cardigan at a thrift store and paired it with a necklace and black slingback heels that I already owned.
Craig created his suit from black items he already had hanging in his closet and paired it with a plastic guitar he retrieved from his parents' home. His hair was a bit shorter than Johnny's, but we did our best to slick it back with a Dapper Dan like substance (I truly don't even remember, I just know we used a lot of it).
The following year was another college costume party complete with a bonfire! At this point, Craig and I were dating, but I was still set in my ways of procrastination so I was fully relying on him to figure out our 2010 costumes! ;) He randomly suggested that we should be Bonnie and Clyde. Those names were very familiar, but I didn't know too much about them at the time, so we decided to do our research together.
The image below is a photo of the real Bonnie and Clyde
Cute, right?
Without reading about them first, we continued our research by watching the movie Bonnie and Clyde starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.
The photo below was used as a film poster and also served as our reference for our costumes.
Wow.
This couple had issues.
Well, technically, they weren't even a couple. Just very interesting friends. Apparently, our research provided us with the information that they traveled through the Midwest during the Great Depression, robbing various places and leaving killed police officers and civilians in their wake. They continued their rampage until they were ambushed and killed by law officers in Louisiana.
Seriously, just watch the end of the movie. It was morbid.
Despite the images we still can't get out of our head, we proceeded with our plans!
-2010-
Bonnie and Clyde
-2011-
Epic Fail
2011 was our first Halloween being married. I was SO excited to dress up again, but to our dismay, Halloween fell on a Monday which happened to be a school night for Craig. what.A.bummer. So unfortunately, there was no dress up involved, but I invited a friend over and we carved minion pumpkins...and I'm pretty sure we ate brownies.
The following year rolled around and I was determined to not let another year go by without dressing up! Craig came up with such a fun idea to be Mary Poppins and her trusty, loveable sidekick, Bert! Now that Pinterest was in full swing, we found excellent inspiration!
The following images were our reference photos
I'm sure most everyone has seen the movie, Mary Poppins, starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, but if you haven't, I don't even want to hear it--just go watch it. It is magical and will make you want to eat sugar.
-2012-
Mary Poppins and Bert
OUTFIT DETAILS
By the way, we're all about the Halloween bathroom selfies. It's kinda our thing now.
We definitely hit up the thrift stores for these costume looks! As you can tell, not everything is a perfect match to the reference photos (ex: no flowers on my hat, boots instead of heels, etc.), but that's ok! Like I said before, make your costume your own!
Everything except my hat, red belt, white gloves, and the umbrella were found at a thrift store. And darn it, that white collared shirt was hard to find! Thank the Lord for thrift stores that cater towards the elderly. ;) There were also touches of red that were important for this look: the bow and the lips.
For my bow, I used a cool Painters pen from Walmart.
For my red lips, I used NYC's Smooch Proof Lip Stain in Rock on Ruby.
Craig went all out for his costume!
He went to the same "elderly" thrift store and found his pants, shirt, ascot, and beret. He then used a few of my dark eyeshadows to create the ash on his face and arms. He fashioned his broomstick/chimney sweep out of a broom, dowel rods, electrical tape, and black spray paint, using hot glue to hold everything together! He's so crafty. I think he was very proud of that! ;)
2013 was my favorite year by far! I mean, Mary Poppins and Bert were fun, but the tables turned! Despite my continued procrastination, I was the one who decided our costumes--can you believe it?! The Little Mermaid and Prince Eric were to make their debut!
Because there are multiple ways you can dress up as Ariel (ex: purple shells and green fins, shipwreck dress, pink princess dress, blue date dress, wedding dress), I wanted to pick one outfit that was modest but not overly intricate.
The following were our reference photos
-2013-
The Little Mermaid (Ariel) and Prince Eric
And one last reference picture for kicks
OUTFIT DETAILS
Like the year of Bonnie and Clyde, my outfit was a little tricky to put together! Pinterest was my huge inspiration, but everyone was either making their blue dresses or buying them! I love to be creative, but sadly, sewing is not in my crafty category. Because there are cool people in the world, there are ways of getting very realistic princess costumes (or any costume for that matter) via Etsy or Ebay, but you will pay money for it! Dresses like Ariel's blue dress were easily $75 and up!
I instead opted to try and recreate the look piece by piece. I had nothing I could use from my closet and my thrift store adventures were coming up empty. I still needed a skirt, a top, a dark midsection, and a wig with a bow! Ebay (and Hobby Lobby for my blue bow) turned out to be my best friend for all of it! It was definitely cheaper to purchase each item individually, but it was tasking trying to search through all of the listings! I won't bore you with all of the details, but if you decide to use Ebay, keep in mind when you're ordering (don't procrastinate!), the location from where your item is shipping, and the time frame it may take to arrive. My white shirt arrived the evening of Halloween! Eeek!
On the flipside, Craig's outfit was very simple. His jeans and white shirt came from his closet, he borrowed black combat boots from a friend, and the red material for his belt came from Hobby Lobby. I'm pretty sure Eric did not have facial scruff, but that's ok. He should've. ;)
So there you have it!
We always have so much fun dressing up as a couple! We pop in a cute Halloween movie, take bathroom selfies, and love to see the reactions and the costumes of the kids who come to our door! Although some of them need a brush up on their classic Disney characters...
I hope this post helps to inspire you this Halloween!
Costumes can be anything you want them to be, but it is fun to put a little thought, time, and creativity into them! Always take advantage of pinterest, blogs, and your friend's closet! And if you're reading this thinking all of this is stupid because you're dressing up solo and have no need for a couples costume--no problem! There are quite a few couples costume ideas that can be hacked in half and rocked out in a single fashion. Make it your own and act like Prince Eric never existed!
You have ONE WEEK left to let your creativity out of the box! Have FUN.
As far as 2014 goes...
What shall we be for this Hallow's Eve?
Come get a treat and you shall see!
Seriously, I don't want to eat the leftover Reeses.
Our Halloween tale begins with one of our first phone call conversations prior to our first date in August of 2009. During our random "friend" phone call, he asked if I knew what I was going to be for our church's college group costume party. Please. He was talking to someone who has the best intentions to think of her costume ahead of time, but then procrastinates until the morning of October 31st and winds up dressing up like some weird little lollipop person that doesn't even exist! Great makeup, though. Anyways, I had no idea. It wasn't even September yet! Knowing that I liked Johnny Cash and the movie Walk the Line, he randomly mentioned that he was thinking about dressing up as Johnny Cash. OMG, my heart skipped a beat--he needed a June Carter Cash! But I kept my cool and tried to respond nonchalantly. I mean, please. His idea wasn't amazing or anything. ;) He then proceeded to ask if I would like to be June. Agh! I knew he liked me! What a friend. How could I say no?
Knowing what I did about June Carter Cash, I was going to need a dress, voluminous hair, and a guitar-strapped man who liked to wear black. Even though I knew some about June Carter, I find that when dressing up like a character or icon of any sort, it's helpful to have a reference photo. I like to pay attention to every detail of what they look like, how they're dressed, etc.
The following images were our reference photos for Johnny and June. :)
So on the hunt I went!
When needing a costume, take inventory of anything you might already have and make a list of items you will need to complete your look. More than likely, you probably won't be able to 100% replicate the outfit/look unless you want to spend a ton of money! No worries! This is where you get to use your own flair and creativity! :) When I don't have the right items, I love to borrow from a friend or hit up thrift stores and take my time to search through the variety! You may not always hit the jackpot, but even finding that one particular item for your outfit can be helpful--and even if it's not an exact match, it will be more authentic looking than a tacky, cheaply made item from those Halloween City stores that randomly pop up this time of year!
-2009-
Johnny and June
Don't mind the cat. It was our prize--and lovingly donated to a white elephant exchange. :)
OUTFIT DETAILS
I found my dress and short cardigan at a thrift store and paired it with a necklace and black slingback heels that I already owned.
Craig created his suit from black items he already had hanging in his closet and paired it with a plastic guitar he retrieved from his parents' home. His hair was a bit shorter than Johnny's, but we did our best to slick it back with a Dapper Dan like substance (I truly don't even remember, I just know we used a lot of it).
The following year was another college costume party complete with a bonfire! At this point, Craig and I were dating, but I was still set in my ways of procrastination so I was fully relying on him to figure out our 2010 costumes! ;) He randomly suggested that we should be Bonnie and Clyde. Those names were very familiar, but I didn't know too much about them at the time, so we decided to do our research together.
The image below is a photo of the real Bonnie and Clyde
Cute, right?
Without reading about them first, we continued our research by watching the movie Bonnie and Clyde starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.
The photo below was used as a film poster and also served as our reference for our costumes.
Wow.
This couple had issues.
Well, technically, they weren't even a couple. Just very interesting friends. Apparently, our research provided us with the information that they traveled through the Midwest during the Great Depression, robbing various places and leaving killed police officers and civilians in their wake. They continued their rampage until they were ambushed and killed by law officers in Louisiana.
Seriously, just watch the end of the movie. It was morbid.
Despite the images we still can't get out of our head, we proceeded with our plans!
-2010-
Bonnie and Clyde
Before you continue reading,
PLEASE take note of the ironically giant oompa loompa in the background
and the most hilarious Randy Savage Slim Jim guy. Those two make this
picture so fantastic and I laugh every time I see it! It's great to have
fun and funny friends!
OUTFIT DETAILS
Finding items that resembled Faye Dunaway's outfit was harder than I thought! Everything except my beret (which I already owned) came from the thrift store, but as you can tell from the picture above, I'm sure Bonnie did not wear leg warmers and boots. ;) My hair was longer at the time, and I didn't have time to buy a wig, so I pinned the nape of my hair under, letting the top layers spill over to achieve a bob-like effect.
Craig's entire costume came from his closet (once again) with his hat being his grandpa's. The only thing that needed attention were the bottom of his pant legs which my mom was sweet enough to hem for him!
His gun was a pellet gun that he already owned (with which he may or may not have killed a varmint) and my gun came from Walmart's toy department and was spray painted black. And yes, as you can tell, we're expert gun holders.
-2011-
Epic Fail
2011 was our first Halloween being married. I was SO excited to dress up again, but to our dismay, Halloween fell on a Monday which happened to be a school night for Craig. what.A.bummer. So unfortunately, there was no dress up involved, but I invited a friend over and we carved minion pumpkins...and I'm pretty sure we ate brownies.
The following year rolled around and I was determined to not let another year go by without dressing up! Craig came up with such a fun idea to be Mary Poppins and her trusty, loveable sidekick, Bert! Now that Pinterest was in full swing, we found excellent inspiration!
The following images were our reference photos
 |
| Thank you, cute Pinterest couple! |
I'm sure most everyone has seen the movie, Mary Poppins, starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, but if you haven't, I don't even want to hear it--just go watch it. It is magical and will make you want to eat sugar.
-2012-
Mary Poppins and Bert
OUTFIT DETAILS
By the way, we're all about the Halloween bathroom selfies. It's kinda our thing now.
We definitely hit up the thrift stores for these costume looks! As you can tell, not everything is a perfect match to the reference photos (ex: no flowers on my hat, boots instead of heels, etc.), but that's ok! Like I said before, make your costume your own!
Everything except my hat, red belt, white gloves, and the umbrella were found at a thrift store. And darn it, that white collared shirt was hard to find! Thank the Lord for thrift stores that cater towards the elderly. ;) There were also touches of red that were important for this look: the bow and the lips.
For my bow, I used a cool Painters pen from Walmart.
For my red lips, I used NYC's Smooch Proof Lip Stain in Rock on Ruby.
Craig went all out for his costume!
He went to the same "elderly" thrift store and found his pants, shirt, ascot, and beret. He then used a few of my dark eyeshadows to create the ash on his face and arms. He fashioned his broomstick/chimney sweep out of a broom, dowel rods, electrical tape, and black spray paint, using hot glue to hold everything together! He's so crafty. I think he was very proud of that! ;)
2013 was my favorite year by far! I mean, Mary Poppins and Bert were fun, but the tables turned! Despite my continued procrastination, I was the one who decided our costumes--can you believe it?! The Little Mermaid and Prince Eric were to make their debut!
Because there are multiple ways you can dress up as Ariel (ex: purple shells and green fins, shipwreck dress, pink princess dress, blue date dress, wedding dress), I wanted to pick one outfit that was modest but not overly intricate.
The following were our reference photos
 |
| Thank you, cute Pinterest couple! |
As with Mary Poppins, if you haven't seen The Little Mermaid...well, I have no words. Actually, I do. Ariel is the best Disney princess EVER and this classic movie was and still is my absolute FAVORITE! When I was little, I watched it 65 times before I lost count. My obsession is real.
-2013-
The Little Mermaid (Ariel) and Prince Eric
And one last reference picture for kicks
Like the year of Bonnie and Clyde, my outfit was a little tricky to put together! Pinterest was my huge inspiration, but everyone was either making their blue dresses or buying them! I love to be creative, but sadly, sewing is not in my crafty category. Because there are cool people in the world, there are ways of getting very realistic princess costumes (or any costume for that matter) via Etsy or Ebay, but you will pay money for it! Dresses like Ariel's blue dress were easily $75 and up!
I instead opted to try and recreate the look piece by piece. I had nothing I could use from my closet and my thrift store adventures were coming up empty. I still needed a skirt, a top, a dark midsection, and a wig with a bow! Ebay (and Hobby Lobby for my blue bow) turned out to be my best friend for all of it! It was definitely cheaper to purchase each item individually, but it was tasking trying to search through all of the listings! I won't bore you with all of the details, but if you decide to use Ebay, keep in mind when you're ordering (don't procrastinate!), the location from where your item is shipping, and the time frame it may take to arrive. My white shirt arrived the evening of Halloween! Eeek!
On the flipside, Craig's outfit was very simple. His jeans and white shirt came from his closet, he borrowed black combat boots from a friend, and the red material for his belt came from Hobby Lobby. I'm pretty sure Eric did not have facial scruff, but that's ok. He should've. ;)
So there you have it!
We always have so much fun dressing up as a couple! We pop in a cute Halloween movie, take bathroom selfies, and love to see the reactions and the costumes of the kids who come to our door! Although some of them need a brush up on their classic Disney characters...
I hope this post helps to inspire you this Halloween!
Costumes can be anything you want them to be, but it is fun to put a little thought, time, and creativity into them! Always take advantage of pinterest, blogs, and your friend's closet! And if you're reading this thinking all of this is stupid because you're dressing up solo and have no need for a couples costume--no problem! There are quite a few couples costume ideas that can be hacked in half and rocked out in a single fashion. Make it your own and act like Prince Eric never existed!
You have ONE WEEK left to let your creativity out of the box! Have FUN.
What shall we be for this Hallow's Eve?
Come get a treat and you shall see!
Seriously, I don't want to eat the leftover Reeses.
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