Halloween will be here sooner than you think. While you can find many amazing costumes in costume shops, you can also design your own costume for a fraction of the cost. One popular theme that people seem to love is TV shows. TV show character costumes can be easy to find in costume shops, but only if the show is extremely popular. With a bit of creativity and imagination, you can create your own Halloween costume to match your favorite TV show character.
Look at Character Pictures
Visit Google and search for different images of your favorite character from different episodes. By looking at several pictures, you have a better chance at coming up with something that’s easy to make. If you’re making a costume for your children, you may be limited with one outfit that the character wears constantly. Still, having different pictures can give you ideas of what could be used to create the costume.
Visit the Thrift Store for Customizable Clothing
There’s no sense in buying new clothing that will be used once. Instead, make a list of the pieces you think you’ll need and hit the thrift stores. If the TV show you’re making costumes for is an old show, or set in a different time period, visit a vintage clothing store.
Think Outside the Box
The costume doesn’t have to be exactly the same as what you see on TV. For example, let’s say you want to dress up as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. A tattered t-shirt and jeans is really all you need. Best of all, the dirtier the pieces the better. This means you can raid your closet and use pieces that are stained. Play around with coffee, wine, and other even grass to create the stained look. If you really can’t find a piece you need, visit a site like TVStoreOnline to see if you can find items related to your favorite show.
Put Your Craft Skills to Use
Depending on the TV show character you’re trying to recreate, you may need to customize pieces with your sewing machine or glue gun. For example, if your child wanted to dress up as Spongebob, you would use a glue gun to attach extra large men’s clothing to the outside of a box that has been pre-fitted over your child’s head.
Creating a Halloween costume doesn’t have to be complicated, it can actually be quite fun. The key is to not get obsessed with details and not to overspend. Visit the local thrift store or vintage clothing store for the supplies you’ll need and be creative. More importantly, don’t wait until the night before Halloween to start putting the costume together. Give yourself time to do it right.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons