How Are You Preparing For Halloween?

With Halloween just 4 weeks away, are you or your loved ones prepared to dress up? One of the coolest ways to have a stand-out costume is to skip the pre-packaged costumes, and develop a one-of-a-kind concoction through thrifting, swapping, and DIY. 

To give you some inspiration, here are some of my looks over the last few years: 

By attending a swap, I scored a chicken hat and beak. Read more about hosting a swap here. 

One year, I DIY'd an Ursula costume from thrifted pieces, with a little sewing and painting. Read a step-by-step here. 

The year I was Rock Lobster for Halloween, I was also able to resell some pieces to keep the fun going for the next person and recoup some cash. 

Then there was the year I was a time lord, the one and only Dr. Who, incorporating some second-hand pants and top.  

And last year, a combination of thrifting and DIY, let me bring a classic painting to life, and intentional use of double stick tape means I'll be able to reuse the main component as a formal gown in the future. 

This year, I've already acquired most of the components for my costume from online consignment, but am also happy I'll be able to re-use the blond wig from my Dr. Who costume. 

 

 

Pretty for Pennies

After a few years of schlubbing at home in t-shirts (thanks COVID and WFH), I wanted to add some more flirty tops to my wardrobe. Maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't old and hadn't given up, but it was just the slump of not going out every day and *having* to make an effort. 

In comes thredUP (of course), and a purchase of a couple puff-sleeve, plunging neckline blouses. I love this green floral-print Topshop blouse. Maybe a little too plunging, I paired it with a camisole, but maybe I'll get brave for date night. :)

The back is also a deep V, as well as has a slit in the peplum, so it's essentially secured with a few cute buttons as the waist and a tie at the neck.

The detail is a little more visible in this listing photo. And what a steal at $19.99 (72% off)!

I paired the blouse with jeans (free from Buy Nothing), and sandals (free hand-me-down from Aunt T), for a comfy summer-day-out 100% second hand outfit. 

 What are you buying second-hand this summer to complete a new outfit?

Charity Shops

thrift store: American bucket term for second-hand stores. Often refers to the business model where items are donated to the store, and the store may be a non-profit serving a specific cause.

consignment shop: American term for second-hand stores where the business model is for items to be sold to the store instead of donated. Typically for-profit and dissociated from any social causes.

charity shop: British term for non-profit second-hand stores that serve a specific cause.

opportunity (op) shop: Aussie/New Zealand term for non-profit second-hand stores that serve a specific cause.

pre-loved: a sweeter way of saying "used"

Thoughtful Consumer rule #82: When exploring another town, check out their second-hand scene. There are so many different styles in different regions, that you'll find things you could never find back home, and you may get to bring home a discounted souvenir!

I recently when on a trip to the UK, and London and Edinburgh are *extremely* supportive of second-hand, with charity shops throughout the cities. (Learn the local lingo: they looked at me funny when I said "thrift store".) In the UK, it seemed the stores were much more transparent about exactly what cause they were supporting, for example, the shop I went into was named Royal Trinity Hospice, and others were named after supporting children with autism, etc.

Royal Trinity Hospice was a cute store, well-decorated like a local boutique, with a few main sections: general second-hand clothing, luxury brands, and finally company donations (ie. new items that were leftover from last season).

 

To give you an example of the type of savings you might find, see this splashy linen shift dress. Similar Paul Smith dresses go for approx 300 new, making this like-new dress about 75% off.

 

I was happy to discover this sweet rose-gold necklace in the "last season company donations" section, meaning it's completely brand new but wasn't able to be sold previously. At just £7 (~$9), it was a bargain.

A little different from my standard "single pendant on a chain", I like the delicate, cascading circles.

The store had reminders throughout of why we want to shop second-hand:

Save an item from the landfill, all while looking stylish and donating to charity? Count me in!

Frugal Friends

By now you've seen we can be quite successful finding great pieces thrifting, either online or in person. But I haven't shared all my tips yet to coming home with amazing pieces you'll love and at the right price. 

By far, the best tip for in-person shopping is to go with a friend who knows your style. Thrift store racks can be chaos, and it can be easy to miss a gem by moving too fast. You and your shopping buddy can keep an eye out for each other's tastes. My dear friend T knows that I love anything with bold print (especially animals!) and I know that she prefers anything in 100% cotton and handbags that are iridescent. She's been the person to find over half of my in-person purchases.

This week, we went to Capitol Hill Goodwill, and she spotted this patterned sleeveless blouse for me. Is it circles? Is it diamonds? Yes. 

The double layers keep it from being sheer. I will like this sleeveless for warmer days, or layered with a flowy sweater for cooler days.

 

And, of course, the price needs to be right. This Rose + Olive blouse was in excellent condition for $15. It was hard to find an exact "new" price, but similar blouses by the brand on Poshmark have reference prices ranging from $35-50, so I'm pretty pleased.

On the same outing, at Lifelong Thrift, I was super excited to find this adorable little llama planter by Kikkerland.

 

Originally sold for $18, this little guy was priced at $5 and its color tag was on discount, so he came home with me for just $4. He's now with my growing collection of plants and will eventually hold a succulent.

So, if you're having a bit of a dry spell seeking those special finds, gather your treasure hunting buddies and try again!

Second-Hand Socialite

It's time for the annual second-hand/DIY Halloween costume post. A few years ago, I aspired to be something glamorous and epic for Halloween. And at the last minute, I made a fatal mistake in my DIY-ing, and had to change direction entirely. 

This year, I was out thrifting with my friend T, and kid you not, the Goodwill gods directed me to 2 identical ballgowns, new-with-tags, and in my size and the adjacent size. 

It was meant to be that I should revisit the idea from years ago.  Introducing, painter Gustav Klimt's muse, the socialite Adele Bloch-Bauer. She was the subject of several of his paintings, and the 2015 film "Woman in Gold". 

This is the pre-altered dress. About 6" too long for me, but otherwise a perfect fit and very comfortable. My goal is to not damage the dress with my costume embellishments, so I still end up with an evening gown. 

Beyond this being a generally great gown, the price was fantastic. As mentioned, it was new with tags, so I know the original retail price was $357. The Goodwill price was $50, which was already a great deal. However, I noticed the other size was marked $10 less. ALWAYS ask the question. So I bring both dresses to the register and ask if I can pay the lower price, and they agree! So this gown came home with me for $40 (89% off).

First, I start with hemming the dress for my bitty 5'3" stature. I'm finally trying a zig zag stitch, because it's a stretchy fabric.

If you can learn some of these basic stitches, you can save some major cash. I had a formal dress hemmed last year for a wedding and the alterations cost $70 at Nordstrom. Halloween costumes are a great low-risk project to practice on, because worst case scenario is I only wear it for Halloween. 

Next, I use that 6 inches I cut from the hem, and reuse it to make a wrap that will serve as a faux ruffled "cold-shoulder" neckline. Adele's ruffle is patterned, so I'm painting on a design before sewing. The paint? Craft acrylics from Buy Nothing (free!) mixed with a little textile medium.

Onto the body of the dress, the painting is decorated with what I describe as eyeball shapes. For those, I started with an old bed sheet that  contained a similar pattern, and embellished with acrylic paint.

Now, when I went to attach these appliqués to the dress, I wanted to make sure I could remove them without residue, so I could rewear the dress in the future. I tried 2 products: a basting spray adhesive (did not work to adhere the eyeballs), and a double sided fabric tape, which worked phenomenally. (Cost $9)

Finally, I completed the look with this gold and pearl collar. I had found the collar at an estate sale for $5 years ago, with no purpose in mind, but knowing I'd eventually put it to good use. This collar emulates the stunning bejeweled heirloom necklace that Adele wears.

Here is the completed look! For just $54 (dress, collar, and tape), I was able to create a one-of-a-kind look:

This price is competitive with the average pre-packaged adult costume cost at Spirit Halloween, and is a $320 savings on the leftover strapless formal gown.

Now... time to start thinking of ideas for next year. :)