Burlesque and Toy Soldier Costumes

I know it's a little late to be posting Halloween photos, but it's been a crazy week. This year I said I would make a lot less effort with my costume, and I did, but I didn't exactly do something simple either! I wanted to go for a burlesque steampunk look, but I wasn't dressing up as anyone in particular. A lot of people on the night were asking 'Who/what are you?' and my answer was 'Fabulous!', a bit cocky, but hey it's Halloween! 

Unlike last year I don't have any photos of the making process, sorry! I bought the hat in the joke shop on Catherine Street for about €7.50, thankfully I have a huge box of lace and ribbon, so I glued and tied on lots of frilly goodies. I also made two slits in the side and added a bow so the hat could be tied on(at Halloween there are a load of idiots who think it's funny to rip off people wigs/hats/costume-not fun!). I loosely followed this tutorial for making the bustle skirt, you can't really see in the photos but it is really full and it's much longer at the back. I also added a black tulle skirt that I owned already underneath to add even more volume. I really love the skirt and I can see myself wearing it again on a normal night out. The top was really simple, I just sewed some lace onto a waistcoat that I own, and changed the plastic buttons to lovely textured metal ones. The cuffs were an odd mish mash of off cuts from my scraps box, they are the sleeves from a jacket, with ends off pop fastener leggings with a few layers of trimming and lace. They were quite time consuming to hand stitch, but I like the end result, and the kept my arms warm too! The coat was a last minute addition as the temperatures had really dropped and I was losing a battle against a nasty cold. I had been eyeing it up at the Friday Flea Market for a few weeks, but I'm trying to be good and not buy things, so I resisted. But it seemed like a perfect match for my costume, really practical , I would wear it again, and at €15 it was a bargain.

Anyone who know me will tell you I'm a bit crap at girly girl things, I love skirts, pretty stuff and being silly, but when it comes to make-up, heels, and beauty products I'm totally clueless. I found this costume quite a challenge as it involved fake nails, hair extensions, and false lashes, and about an hour doing my make-up! I picked up the hair extensions in Pennies for €2 per set of two, it took me a half an hour and some eventual help from Youtube before I figured them out. I then backcombed the hell out of them and blended them with my hair-I love the effect, it felt very Cyndi Lauper. Hats off to women who do this on a regular basis, either they are certifiable or they are superheroes, I can't decide. 

 After seeing this picture on Pinterest John decided he was going to be a toy soldier, and my God it was a huge undertaking. He spent about a week shopping around town looking for the right guns, holster, helmet, and clothes. But John is quite obsessive about the finer details so most of these had to be altered so the seemed more authentic, he lengthened the gun, reshaped the helmet, and stitched his holster. Then he gloss and spray painted the lot of it, including half of our house(our light switch still has paint on it! Next came the ultimate sacrifice, the beard! He has been growing this ginger beauty for ages, go see it here, but the costume wouldn't have been right with a beard, so it had to go(sniff sniff!)

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