# Costume ideas that are not too hot!



## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

When I say costume ideas that are not 'too hot' I don't mean sexy--that ship has sailed! Lol. I mean a costume idea that I can wear all night without make up dripping in my eyes or without causing spontaneous combustion when wearing/dancing. I've dressed as a killer clown, lady vampire, dead bride (wearing a bloody long wedding dress all night with half a steering wheel was too much!) and a zombie. Between the make up and the wigs I always feel like I'm going to croak before the night or event is over. Last year I blacked my eye and wore a name tag that said Susan. Anyone get this? Lol. Yep I was Black-eyed Susan. But I just didn't feel like this was really a costume and I regretted that decision but I just couldn't come up with a good idea. I want to dress up but this year I'd like to be comfortable, able to move around and not dripping hot before the night is over. I know this is vague but I just don't have any ideas or a theme in mind. HELP!! 

GiggleingGhost


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## punkineater (Apr 26, 2014)

Hello, GiggleingGhost~welcome to the forum!
I want to follow along with this thread~I have the same problem...too HOT. And as the hostess, that's no fun. 98% of my energy is focused on the haunt setup & details, so I've yet to get super elaborate in the costume department. 
All of your costumes, with the exception of the Black Eyed Susan, were 'scary'. Do you want to stay in that genre? It's hard to be creepy without the makeup, or worse, a mask. Personally, I only do creepy, so here's what's on my future costume list:
This year I'm batting for the other team: *a male ghostly Victorian character(clothing is loose, easy light ghost makeup, white hair 'coloring'). *Scarecrow (overalls, hat & streaky scary brown/black face makeup, hair in braids), *disheveled dead housewife(minimal face makeup, in summer pj's & curlers), *freshly dead corpse(minimal bruising makeup technique, yoga pants & a Tshirt), *cracked/broken doll(pigtails, min face painting, loose babydoll dress, comfy Mary Janes) *Doctor Men O. Pause(scrubs, lab coat, dark under eye exhausted/crazy makeup, teased hair). None of these require a wig, most can be done with minimal makeup(& if it gets a little smeary- who cares), clothing is comfortable & loose! 
Hope this helped  Can't wait to hear what others come up with so that I can add ideas to MY list!


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## printersdevil (Sep 7, 2009)

What about a fortune teller? You could always do a shorter skirt or hike one side up and tie it with a scarf. Hair could be tied back with scarf and makeup could be minimal if you put your accent on the jewelry and accessories. Everything loose and comfortable and easily obtained from things in your closet or GW and thrift stores.


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## Pretty Little Nightmare (Aug 12, 2013)

In the last 3 years I have done a 1950's pinup girl, Dia De Los Muertos, and last year my husband and I went as Jack and Jill AFTER the hill. We went bruised and bloody with bandages and ripped clothing complete with grass stains. All of those were nice and cool!


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## chocolatemice (May 2, 2014)

I wore a toga last year as Medusa and I was so comfortable all night (except when people kept stepping on my train and popping my safety pins loose). 

I made my toga from a king sized sheet so you can also easily adjust the modesty level. If you use multiple sheets you can also create more of an Ionic chiton style which can have two sleeves instead of the sorority/fraternity kegger style one-shoulder toga. There's so many ways to make a sheet toga as long as you want to spend the time on adjusting, pinning, and/or sewing to get the precise effect you want; if you sew it in strategic places or pre-pin, you can arrange it all ahead of time too. 

I hate wearing wigs and will do everything in my power to build costumes entirely around the fact that I will not wear a wig. ^_^ So since I'm blonde, I can more easily do costumes like Alice in Wonderland, a Viking or Valkyrie, Tinkerbell, etc. 

But if you're a brunette you could more easily (and coolly) be Maryanne from Gilligan's Island, Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mary Poppins, etc. Redheads, I'm super jealous, because you can be Nancy Drew! Obviously I lean towards the classics though. ^_^

Hair neutral and closer to the macabre side of things, you could be a rather inept knife thrower's assistant from the circus?


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

Hello punkineater,

Thanks for the warm welcome and the fast reply to my post. Sorry it's take me several days to get back to you but it's just been crazy here! Lol.

I do adore scary, bloody and gory costumes!! It's just the dripping makeup and wigs I hate especially when I'm the hostess. I like your idea for the Victorian character. Any pics yet? Keep me posted on your costume--sounds awesome!

Your suggestion of the dead housewife made me laugh and recall a character I played in a local haunted house. I was in a nasty kitchen and the guests would enter into my set though the refrigerator. I would hide behind the door as it opened in a deep part of the wall. I'd jump out and bang a skillet over their heads and yell in a voice I borrowed from the movie Throw Mama From The Train--"Your late for dinnah!! I hate it when you're late for dinnah!!" The makeup for that was minimal and my gray wig is pretty light so I might be able to wear that for the night. Let me see if I can find a pic of that character. Nope! I have the picture but I can't seem to embed it in this post. Arghhhh I hate not knowing how to do stuff like that on here yet!! Lol. Each time I try my screen locks up. Let me see what I can do--I did get the album to load. 

GigglingGhost that just noticed that I misspelled my ID!!! *rolling eyes at self*


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

printersdevil said:


> What about a fortune teller? You could always do a shorter skirt or hike one side up and tie it with a scarf. Hair could be tied back with scarf and makeup could be minimal if you put your accent on the jewelry and accessories. Everything loose and comfortable and easily obtained from things in your closet or GW and thrift stores.


He printersdevil,

Good idea and yes I could pull that one together quickly too! Lol. Ohhhhhh I wonder if I could use just a tad bit of make up and be the gypsy Cher shoots for having an affair with her man? Check out these lyrics:

So I ran home and crawled in my bed,
I couldn't sleep because of all the things she said
Then I remembered her strange perfume,
And how I smelled it was in my own room!
So I sneaked back and caught her with my man,
Laughing and kissing till they saw the gun in my hand
The next thing I knew they were dead on the floor,
Dark Lady would never turn a card up anymore

Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhh I wonder if hubs would be up to this too? The only make up we'd need is bloody bullet holes-----hmmmmmmmm???

Good idea! Isn't it funny how such a simple good idea can get all twisted and interesting in just an instant??? Thanks printersdevil!! *evil grin*


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

Pretty Little Nightmare said:


> In the last 3 years I have done a 1950's pinup girl, Dia De Los Muertos, and last year my husband and I went as Jack and Jill AFTER the hill. We went bruised and bloody with bandages and ripped clothing complete with grass stains. All of those were nice and cool!


Too funny! I like the Jack and Jill after the hill idea--do you have any pics? Great imagination Pretty Little Nightmare!!!

GiggleingGhost (yes I just noticed that I misspelled it!!!) *rolling eyes at self*


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

chocolatemice said:


> I wore a toga last year as Medusa and I was so comfortable all night (except when people kept stepping on my train and popping my safety pins loose).
> 
> I made my toga from a king sized sheet so you can also easily adjust the modesty level. If you use multiple sheets you can also create more of an Ionic chiton style which can have two sleeves instead of the sorority/fraternity kegger style one-shoulder toga. There's so many ways to make a sheet toga as long as you want to spend the time on adjusting, pinning, and/or sewing to get the precise effect you want; if you sew it in strategic places or pre-pin, you can arrange it all ahead of time too.
> 
> ...


Wow great suggestions and so many! I laughed so hard I snorted and scared my cat as I envisioned the circus inept knife thrower's assistant!!!! That sounds like hubs and I if I were foolish enough to LET him throw knives at me!! Lololol. I really like that idea and of course being Nancy Drew. I read all of those books and I adored Nancy growing up. Too bad I was more like George Fayne!! 

GiggleingGhost . . . aka . . . misspeller of own name!! LOL


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## darkhalf (Aug 8, 2014)

Hey Giggleing Ghost!

I understand where you are coming from. I love being scary and gory, but halfway through the night I get hot, sweaty, and my makeup and prosthetics start to waver. It's also really hard to do gory without heavy makeup. My suggestion is if you really want gory, try just one big statement piece instead of a lot of different wounds in different places. About 8 years ago I did my "Runs with Scissors" costume. Once I carefully applied the one prosthetic, everything else was fairly simple and worry free, but it was still an effective costume.









Whatever costume you choose, check the material the costume is made out of. Try to get something that breathes, like cotton, if possible. Also, if you are worried about your makeup running, they sell spray products that keep your makeup from running or accidentally getting wiped off. I know Ben Nye makes a spray called final seal. It's always worked really well for me. Hope this helps!


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## punkineater (Apr 26, 2014)

from darkhalf: Also, if you are worried about your makeup running, they sell spray products that keep your makeup from running or accidentally getting wiped off. I know Ben Nye makes a spray called final seal. It's always worked really well for me. Hope this helps![/QUOTE]

At my age, anything called 'final seal' scares the hell out of me!


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

darkhalf said:


> Hey Giggleing Ghost!
> 
> I understand where you are coming from. I love being scary and gory, but halfway through the night I get hot, sweaty, and my makeup and prosthetics start to waver. It's also really hard to do gory without heavy makeup. My suggestion is if you really want gory, try just one big statement piece instead of a lot of different wounds in different places. About 8 years ago I did my "Runs with Scissors" costume. Once I carefully applied the one prosthetic, everything else was fairly simple and worry free, but it was still an effective costume.
> 
> ...


I love it! Lol. Very clever and like you said--this kind of costume is cool to wear with minimal make up. I have a picture of a character I mentioned in one of the posts above that I'd like to share but I can't seem to get my pic to load. Whhhhhoooooooaaaaaaaa maybe my character's face broke the forum!!!! LOL

Thanks Darkhalf!! *evil grin*


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

punkineater said:


> from darkhalf: Also, if you are worried about your makeup running, they sell spray products that keep your makeup from running or accidentally getting wiped off. I know Ben Nye makes a spray called final seal. It's always worked really well for me. Hope this helps!


At my age, anything called 'final seal' scares the hell out of me! [/QUOTE]


I'll look into that too. Ohhh and I'm righ there with you punkineater . . . final seal . . . is so ah yeah. Not ready for that yet darn it!!!! I think I've still got a few years left on my tread . . . I hope! Lol.


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

Hey Giggleing Ghost to post your pictures: Next to the "Post Quick Reply" is another button "Go Advanced" select it, and then select "Manage Attachments". Then choose the .jpg files you want to post, and find "Upload" button, then close. Select Preview Post to see how they will look. 

BTW Alcohol based makeup won't run or smear (without spilling a very stiff drink on it. lol ) and is very comfortable to wear. It's more expensive than other types, but cost wasn't one of the criteria you mentioned (unless I missed it).


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## GiggleingGhost (Aug 10, 2014)

BobbyA said:


> Hey Giggleing Ghost to post your pictures: Next to the "Post Quick Reply" is another button "Go Advanced" select it, and then select "Manage Attachments". Then choose the .jpg files you want to post, and find "Upload" button, then close. Select Preview Post to see how they will look.
> 
> BTW Alcohol based makeup won't run or smear (without spilling a very stiff drink on it. lol ) and is very comfortable to wear. It's more expensive than other types, but cost wasn't one of the criteria you mentioned (unless I missed it).


Hey Bobby,
Thanks!!! I finely got it and I forgot to come back and thank you. Nothing like being new and not able to get a picture posted! Lol. Oh and yes spilling at least one stiff drink is always a possibility!! I'll try the alcohol based makeup. Cheers my good man!

GiggleingGhost . . . aka . . . GG


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## VampKat (Aug 4, 2014)

The company I work for has it's Halloween release in August and, therefore, we have a costume party in the middle of summer. In Georgia. So my store was trying to think of costumes that would be comfortable to work in as well as not be hot.

We did a gangster theme/flapper theme. I was a gangster. I already had pinstripe pants and a button down shirt in which I rolled up my sleeves. I bought some pinstripe fabric and made a vest. Bought a pinstripe fedora on amazon for $10 and a tommy gun for $5. I did splurge on a rhinestone tie necklace because I don't know how to tie a tie and I just liked it. And I just did a smoky eye and bright red lipstick for makeup, so essentially just regular makeup but more glam.

I was the most comfortable all day and, actually, got the most compliments all day. I was surprised by that because it was such an easy costume. Sometimes easiest is best!


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## Itzpopolotl (Jun 10, 2013)

You could also do an Egyptian princess, that's what I am doing this year. The make up is simple enough and "normal" enough that my plan for the day of my party is to do my make up in the morning, then do last minute errands party prep etc. That way all I have to do right before the party is put on the dress/costme and wig.


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