Halloween Costumes: A Do It Yourself Guide

Two hundred years ago if there were people out on Halloween’s night they would likely be Scottish going from door to door singing and begging for food and drink. Most others would be huddled playing fortune playing games and telling ghost stories. Costumes were simply not a big thing until the 1920s when it first became a holiday for children.

The earliest children’s Halloween costumes were the traditional little pixies. Ghosts were made from sheets and pillow case covers. Then Burglar and Red Indian costumes appeared in the 1920 followed in the 30′s by tramp costumes, no doubt inspired by the great depression. It was not until the 1950′s after the wars had ended that the entertainment industry got started in children’s costumes. So now you started to see characters like Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell appearing in shop windows. It became so established for kids that you would rarely see an adult in a costume without a child.

In the 70s things changed again and now Halloween costumes parades started to take place in San Francisco’s Castro District and Greenwich Village in New York. Now the small town Halloween parades brought city people back to Halloween.

By 1980 1 in 4 adults was now wearing a costume and not just to parties but in turnpike tollbooths and cafeteria lineups.

One person remembers it well. “You didn’t just see little Casper-in-the-box costumes, but costumes that looked like the actual film characters themselves. First we saw Star Wars characters and later on, Thriller inspired outfits”.

Now in the mid 90′s adults were starting to spend big money on outfits, particularly from the rental shops. Medieval and Renaissance themes were the biggest sellers in shops. The current president and first lady are popular as are characters from the most recent movies. As well as this, anything sexy or exotic remain favorites.

If you were to carry out a survey of 100 people today, you would find that sheets and pillow cases and cheap packaged costumes are no longer the favorite. Pet costumes are now in and 1 in 8 families would dress their dog up in a costume. Aliens and psychopaths are also in fashion and as you might expect, witches outfits remain one of the most favorite.

Here is one short idea for a head on a platter. Find a box big enough to fit over your head and body, an old tablecloth and plenty of parsley. Cover the top and side of your box with the table cloth glue it to several parts of the box so that it does not slide. Now cut a round shape out of a large piece of cardboard big enough for your head to fit through and on the top glue some parsley and other food. Now stick your head through so it is the main course of a ghoulish meal.

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Robert Knight -
About the Author:

Roberta Knight organizes party games and supplies products for a range of parties. Halloween costumes are a growing favorite.

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Halloween Costumes: A Do It Yourself Guide

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