Halloween

About this costume, starting from the top.

Hair: At first I dyed my hair with non-permanent black dye, because I've lived through the horrors of growing out hair dye, and I didn't want to do it again. Unfortunately the non-permanent dye only managed to get my hair to a dark brown color. I liked how it looked, but I needed black hair, so I dyed it with permanent black the next day (yesterday). Now I have to go through the horrors again.

Decorative comb (not visible): This was a gift from Lorraine (I think from Spain. Lorraine in Spain gives gifts not plain).

Skin: That is my skin.

Lips: Superstay lipstick by Maybelline. I actually had to reapply it several times during the day because parts of it would wear off (weird blotchy lips are even worse than faded lips). JB swears that Outlast by Covergirl(?) is indestructible, but I couldn't find it in a bloody enough color. Laulau pointed me towards where I can get permanent lipstick of another brand, but it was too late by then. (I'll keep it in mind for the future, though)

Blouse: I made it several years ago for Elizabethan garb. It's made with a thin, loosely-woven white cotton.

Brooch: This is also from Lorraine (she made it). I think it was a trade but I don't remember what I made for her.

Bodice: I made this (and angsted a lot over it) over the past week. There is a lot about it that I was forced to do due to time constraints. I couldn't put gores in, nor sleeve tabs, nor grommets. I had to use green bias tape instead of black because it was too late at night to shop and I didn't have time to make bias tape. I used the loopy trim on the front in lieu of grommets (have to lace it up somehow), but fortunately that doesn't look at bad as I thought it would. That said, this is made from a pattern for 18th century stays. For my own documentation, I added 2" to the bottom, took 1/2" off each center front and back (for a total of -2") and made size 14. It's made with wide-whale cotton black corduroy, interfaced with polyester twill, and lined with light blue cotton with tiny printed penguins. It has just under 12 yards of plastic boning. (Don't nark me for it, it was cheap, available, and of much higher quality than the last time I used such stuff; and I'm not an 18th-century re-enactor). Also the lacing is a delightfully Slytherine ribbon, to which I attached aglets.

Apple (not pictured): A delicious half-red, half-green apple that I bought at a roadside fruit stand. I'm just assuming it's delicious, I haven't eaten it yet. Maybe if I eat it I'll actually fall asleep quickly.

Skirt: I made this last year from a pattern for a Civil War dress. It's made with black cotton in a strange weave which gives it an awesome nubbly/scaly-looking texture.

Shoes: You can't really see them. They are my normal lace-up boots.