Goodwill Halloween costumes

My 2013 Halloween Costume!

It's finally time to reveal my costume!!  I decided to stay true to my red hair and pick a character from a TV show that I'm obsessed with.  I had a few Halloween parties on the agenda this past weekend and was furiously trying to get everything finished just in time. I used two pieces that needed a little bit of work - this bodysuit was thrifted...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costumes - Vintage Bodysuit

...and this lovely lace robe was a swap party score!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

Somehow at the swap party, I failed to see this lovely spottage action.  Who's got two thumbs and isn't afraid of that spot??

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

THIS GIRL!!

It's time to get cracking because “winter is coming.”

I started off costume prep by getting rid of this spotted area on the lace robe.  It's weird because this wasn't just a discoloration, but a hardened bit of something that got stuck to this piece.  Texture wise, it felt just like pockets do when gum is left in them when they go through the washer.  Super weird, right?

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

I decided to just follow the hem and trim off about five inches from the bottom.  The weird spot was gone in no time!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

With the robe tweaked, it was time to dye!!  The character I'm dressing up as wears more muted tones and earth colors, so I decided to go with a shade of dark green.  I was super excited to dye both pieces because there are so many different bits of fabric that will take differently to the color.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

I added them to my washing machine...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Vintage Slip

...and out they came, dyed to perfection!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Rit Dye

Now that dyeing was complete, it was time to work on my headpiece.  I found this wreath at a Salvation Army for $1.25.  I loved the paper flowers and it felt perfect for the vibe that I was going for.  I was originally going to make my own, but when I saw this one I just knew I could make it work!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Salvation Army Wreath

Because it was too big for my head, I snipped the wire base of the wreath in half and adjusted it to fit me.  I overlapped each end of the wreath, unraveled the thinner bits of wire wrapped around the whole thing (you can see this thinner wire below) and rewired them on top of the layered bits to hold them together.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Salvation Army Wreath

Now it was time for my main piece of flair...my husband!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Tyrion Lannister Poster

OK, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm working on an epic Game of Thrones-inspired costume, going as Sansa Stark.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Now I really wanted people to get who I was, so I bought a poster of Peter Dinklage's character Tyrion Lannister (Sansa just married him last season as I'm just an episode watcher and haven't dug into the books) and began to work on him, to make him totable for the evening!

I took an old cardboard box and cut one of the sides off from it.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Cardboard backing

I trimmed the poster to fit the square, coated the cardboard box with spray adhesive, and then affixed my man!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Elmer's Craft Bond

To make him comfortable to carry all night, I turned him into a shield of sorts with some duct tape!  Perfect for my arm to slip in and carry throughout the evening.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Because she just got married, I ended up adding some white tulle and hand-stitched it to the back of my headpiece to create a veil.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Floral Veil

Ready to see the entire look???

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I paired my dyed pieces with a pair of comfortable vintage boots and a fabulous gold brocade skirt that I bought a while back at Goodwill just to have in my collection.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I'm really glad I talked myself into buying it years ago because it was the perfect complement to the ensemble!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Is it weird that I totally want to wear this headpiece out and about??  I'll just remove the veil for everyday wearing :)

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I feel like a part of Winterfell.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Oh, and I can't forget my "raven" ring accessory.  We'll just pretend he's got three eyes.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

There were SO many amazing costumes, but this one really takes the cake.  My pals TJ and AHJ really knocked it out of the park.  How 'bout some DIY Ghost Shark and Sharknado action?  Both stellar Syfy movies from this year.  I was secretly hoping that the real Ian Ziering would be at one of these shindigs just for photo taking purposes...I mean he is local and I do see him at my gym from time to time...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

Smoke machines just don't allow for awesome iPhone photos at the end of the night either...

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

I think this year's costume went off without a hitch!  Unfortunately I did not run into any Jon Snows, however I did see a Khaleesi from afar!  There were a ton of super heroes, lots of Orange is the New Black convicts, and more than one Mike Tyson.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Sansa Stark

The best part of my costume is that I will be wearing all of these pieces again!  That bodysuit, since is has underwire, is going to be a staple layering piece in my wardrobe.

Happy almost Halloween!  I'm loving all the submissions that keep coming in from you guys, so I'll post a few more before Thursday to give additional ideas for those last-minute costumers!!

Amy's NDAD Creation: Halloween Edition

Amy chose to dress up as a character from one of my FAVORITE movies, The Breakfast Club.  This is a genius group costume too, by the way.  I'd totally rock a wig and go as Judd Nelson :)  See how she put it together with thrifted goodies from Goodwill!

I wanted a Halloween costume I could wear to work, a "subversive" costume, so I went with the classic Claire (Molly Ringwald) from The Breakfast Club.  I had everything but the skirt, but then found something that would work perfectly at Goodwill!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Breakfast Club - Molly Ringwald

Can't wait to see what she put together for Saturday detention!

I found the perfect dark paisley wraparound skirt at GW and paired it with a pink T-shirt, just like Claire's costume!  The thrifted skirt was perfect as it was, and as a lifelong thrifter I had to put together a Halloween costume made up of these pieces!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Halloween Costume - Breakfast Club - Molly Ringwald

I love your blog.  It gives me such great ideas for when I find things that are amazing fabrics but insane styles!

You look so great, Amy!  What a perfect costume to wear, especially when you work at a school!  I want to borrow/steal this costume idea at some point.  I would have loved seeing my teachers in something like this.  Because it's stuck in my head, I can't resist sharing the theme song, "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.  Best. Ever.