October is a cold month, and platform shoes and low-cut bustiers (and sleazy dudes) are a party-going nuisance. Unfortunately, retail Halloween costume options for women still consist mostly of “sexy” this or “naughty” that. Which means you’ll probably want to make your own.

Here are some of my favorite costume ideas, most of which are no-sew:

1. Pop Art/Comic Book Character

So cool. It’s a popular look, but the makeup is time-consuming enough that it’s not been overdone:

• Lichtenstein-inspired makeup by Karin Stone for MAC Cosmetics.
• “Homage to Lichtenstein” photo by Eva Mueller, makeup by Andrew D’Angelo.
• Comic-inspired headbands, $23 by Janine Basil.
• Another Lichtenstein-inspired photo by Shannon Brooke Imagery (makeup by Jennifer Corona).

2. Celestial Beings

Pair an elaborate star (made with foam glitter stars & wire) or moon headdress with simple dark clothes:

• Hedy Lamarr photo from Ziegfeld Girl.
• Cosmic headdress from Martha Stewart.
• Image from Alexander McQueen FW07 runway from Style.com.

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Sorry for the delay–the work is catching up with me! I may have to post a few things this weekend instead.

The Concept

During my Halloween Week research, I read about a “Which Witch?” party, where all the participants dress up as famous witches. It sounded like fun, and as I kept finding great witch-related ideas, a witch party concept seemed obvious.

The Host/Guests

Literature & film are packed with witches for costume inspiration. For starters: Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service, Bellatrix Lestrange (or any Harry Potter witch), Elphaba or Glinda from Wicked, Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle, Chocolat from Sugar Sugar Rune, Jadis the White Witch from Chronicles of Narnia, Baba Yaga, Circe, the witches from Hocus Pocus, Ursula from The Little Mermaid, and on and on. The blog Sexy Witch has tons more historical inspiration, and below are a few more ideas:

Row by row, from left:

• Both runway images are from Luella Bartley AW08, photos from Vogue.co.uk.
• Middle image from “Dark Light Shining” article in Rue Magazine Issue 4 (pg 145). Stylist Jesi Haack has behind-the-scene photos & the full credits here.
• Professor McGonagall’s hat, $16.30 from Amazon.
• Borrow the hairstyle of this witch from Donkey Skin (fun fact: she spits toads when she talks).
• A large rubber toad glued or sewed to the shoulder of an outfit will give it instant witchy flair (and give you a familiar). Here’s a vintage example of a vermin-covered witch costume, and here’s a hair mice tutorial from Martha Stewart.

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The Concept

When I saw this cocooned man (also below), I knew I had to do a spider-themed Halloween post. I’ve titled it the Arachnophobia party concept, in honor of the Jeff Daniels movie (I’ll never forget those pulsing larval sacs), but it could easily be a Black Widow party, or for the nerdy, a Shelob’s Lair or Aragog’s Nest party. Repetition is key here: you need a volume of webs, fake spiders, and ensnared victims to get visitors’ skin tingling.

The Host

Simple costumes are better if you’re hosting. Just dress in all black and add some of the following spidery touches:

• Spiderweb fake lashes makeup by Erika Uhl. Here’s a better D.I.Y. version (better only because it’s more visible).
• Spider lace hose, $9 at Sock Dreams.
• Cheese cloth spider web wrap (scroll down) from Martha Stewart.
• Spider sunglasses (scroll down) from Martha Stewart.
• More spider web eye makeup by Daisy Van Winkel.

Other ideas include drawing a spider on your mouth to go with the eye webs, gluing fake spiders onto your face and neck with eyelash glue, and creating a black widow-infested beehive per the urban legend. Martha Stewart also has a spiderweb shawl, a sock spider costume for babies, and a black widow spider costume for Fido.

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