# 19th century Halloween costumes



## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

I am invited to a party where the theme is "19th century halloween costumes". I need ideas! I don't even know where to begin!


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## HauntedWyo (Apr 13, 2017)

Sorry to ask, but I can offer better suggestions if I know who the attire is for. Will the costume be male or female?


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## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

I am a female and love the makeup/blood..etc. My husband would be coming as well so something that can correlate with him as well (he doesn't care much for makeup...will do minimum or masks.


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## Edmund K (Aug 18, 2017)

HauntedWyo said:


> Sorry to ask, but I can offer better suggestions if I know who the attire is for. Will the costume be male or female?


If I could add to Haunted Wyo's question, are you looking for costumes people wore for Halloween in the 19th century, or is it a period themed-party of 19th cent. life? 
I hope I'm not coming across as rude or smart-alecky, just trying to narrow down the options to guide you successfully


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## HauntedWyo (Apr 13, 2017)

Here is an idea for your husband's attire. He could be a civil war soldier. You could wrap some gauze around his head with a blood spot as if he had been injured and maybe put an arm in a sling. Here is some suggested items to look for to make a soldier's outfit. http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/UnitStudies/FREE-CivilWar/civilwar-costumes-FREE.htm

For you, you could go as a civil war nurse like Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale. If you have any thrift stores in the area, check to see if they have any long dresses with long sleeves and a fairly full skirt. If you can't find one, then look for a long sleeved button down the front blouse. Maybe something with a little puff in the sleeves, or some ruffling down the front (Not a bunch of ruffles more like pleated ruffles) and a long full skirt in a color that matches as close to the blouse as possible. Try to find solid colors. If you can find a blouse but not a skirt you can make a simple circle skirt or a half circle skirt in a color that matches fairly close to the shirt. Then all you need to do is make an apron. Here are a few links to some ideas how to put things together and make an apron. You can bloddy up the apron as if you had been attending to wounded soldiers. 
https://www.ehow.com/how_8451809_make-civil-war-nurse-costume.html
Here is an example of what the apron looks like: 
https://www.missem.com/florence-nightingale-or-civil-war-nurse/
Here is a tutorial and a cutting guide for making a circle skirt or a half circle skirt:
https://byhandlondon.com/pages/circle-skirt-app

Now these are more for a period costume. Not necessarily a Halloween Costume for that time period. If you are looking for something people wore as costumes in the 19th Century, well that is a whole different ball of wax.


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## theundeadofnight (Aug 14, 2011)

Not sure if you mean costumes people wore at Halloween in the 19th century or creepy characters around that time . Jack the Ripper and victim would fit the 19th century theme , if that is the kind of Halloween costume you mean . You could do the blood/make up wounds , your husband could do top hat , cape , doctor's bag and knife .


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## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

Ok so the invitation states this.. " The theme of the party will be the 19th century Halloween which takes Halloween back to older costumes/creepy as* looks"


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## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

Anything zombie related?


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## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

HauntedWyo said:


> Here is an idea for your husband's attire. He could be a civil war soldier. You could wrap some gauze around his head with a blood spot as if he had been injured and maybe put an arm in a sling. Here is some suggested items to look for to make a soldier's outfit. http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/UnitStudies/FREE-CivilWar/civilwar-costumes-FREE.htm
> 
> For you, you could go as a civil war nurse like Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale. If you have any thrift stores in the area, check to see if they have any long dresses with long sleeves and a fairly full skirt. If you can't find one, then look for a long sleeved button down the front blouse. Maybe something with a little puff in the sleeves, or some ruffling down the front (Not a bunch of ruffles more like pleated ruffles) and a long full skirt in a color that matches as close to the blouse as possible. Try to find solid colors. If you can find a blouse but not a skirt you can make a simple circle skirt or a half circle skirt in a color that matches fairly close to the shirt. Then all you need to do is make an apron. Here are a few links to some ideas how to put things together and make an apron. You can bloddy up the apron as if you had been attending to wounded soldiers.
> https://www.ehow.com/how_8451809_make-civil-war-nurse-costume.html
> ...


 OK this could be an idea...but I love the makeup aspect of it so I would have to get a little creative with this.


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## FitRN01 (Oct 5, 2017)

theundeadofnight said:


> Not sure if you mean costumes people wore at Halloween in the 19th century or creepy characters around that time . Jack the Ripper and victim would fit the 19th century theme , if that is the kind of Halloween costume you mean . You could do the blood/make up wounds , your husband could do top hat , cape , doctor's bag and knife .



it is the creepy characters..this could be an idea.


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## HauntedWyo (Apr 13, 2017)

If you go with the types of costumes they wore in the 19th century, well they were pretty crude in comparison to costumes today. Here is an image of the kinds of costumes they created around that time period. This pic is from right around the early 1900's. I imagine they are very similar to costumes worn in the mid to late 1800's. Not very many pics. available for mid - late 1800's as they didn't have instant cameras back then to just snap photos when they felt like it. Anyways they would have worn homemade masks made of paper mache, or sacks or pillow cases over the head with eye holes cut out and some kind of rope or tie around the neck, Burlap sacks with head and arm holes cut out, full head oversized masks shaped like pumpkins, or clowns, or fancy women (eye makeup, rouge, lipstick, white skin) or men that looked similar to anonymous, baby faces, or animals.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/89/43/42/894342552a5b2df31c271e3116a20be8.jpg


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## Sharonr3106 (Sep 8, 2014)

What about Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, thought this might work if Hubby doesn't like a lot of make-up, but you could go as gory as you like. You could even make a fake body part pie to take with you!


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## mikeg (Oct 8, 2017)

*Halloween Costumes*



FitRN01 said:


> I am invited to a party where the theme is "19th century halloween costumes". I need ideas! I don't even know where to begin!


you could try this website x
http://www.code2u.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=545&product_id=921


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## Edmund K (Aug 18, 2017)

FitRN01 said:


> Anything zombie related?


You could be a "zombie" Clara Barton, giving new meaning to the "Red Cross"; maybe the "Dead Cross"?


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