Halloween Location Looks: Day 10 of 31 - Parks & Recreation

My month of DIY costumes shot in front of the actual shooting locations continues!! Day 10 is here and it’s from a show that I adore. Today’s costume comes from:

I love me some Ron Swanson...

...but I really love me some April Ludgate!! Her sarcasm kills me.

The fictional town of Pawnee, IN, where the Parks & Rec team works, uses the lovely Pasadena City Hall as their exterior shot.

Perfect place to shoot my April Ludgate costume! The key costume pieces that you’ll need, include:

1. Navy Skirt (I used a navy H&M dress as my base but a skirt like this is an easy Goodwill find or one picked up at a unform store.)

2. Saddle Bag (I didn't use one for my costume, but a vintage bag like this one works to carry all the necessities for the evening.)

3. Brown Wig (c/o Party City)

4. Mustard Yellow Cardigan (A vintage Polo sweater from my collection, but this is another easy find, whether you hit H&M or Salvation Army.)

I featured one of my favorite quotes from the show to tease today’s post on Instagram…

"Give me all the eggs and bacon that you have."

Hello Pawnee!!

I loved this ensemble of April's from Season 6's "Gin It Up" episode...

...so I recreated it in front of the Pawnee City Hall, doing my best "I'm over it" look.

This is actually something that I'd totally wear in real life - could be something easy to put together using things from your actual closet.

I brought out my best deadpan vibe to channel my inner April...

I only wish that Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) was my co-worker...

You can even craft this into a fab group costume...

...snag yourself an Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, Retta, or Ron Swanson lookalike and it's on.

Ten looks down, 21 to go!

TV Show Details:

Parks and Recreation (NBC)

Location: Pasadena City Hall, 111 N. Garfield Ave., Pasadena, CA

Halloween Location Looks: Day 9 of 31 - Beverly Hills, 90210

My month of DIY costumes shot in front of the actual shooting locations continues!! Day 9 is here and it’s from a show that I've started rewatching on Hulu again. Today’s costume comes from:

I'm humming the opening theme song now!! I felt super mature watching this when I was a kid. I always remembered wanting Donna and Kelly's wardrobes. Shocker? Absolutely not.

So, when I took a visit to the iconic Walsh household in Pasadena...

...it was like I was transported right into that TV show that I was so obsessed with as a kid.

I must say, the episode that always resonated with me was the one where Brenda and Kelly wore the same dress to the spring dance. Literal. Nightmare.

I had a similar issue in middle school, however I found out about it in advance. My mom and I nipped it in the bud by heading to another mall outside of our town and picking up a back-up. (I ended up loving the back-up more than the original!)

To create the perfect Brenda/Kelly look, the one main costume component you'll need is that 90s dress! Hit your local thrift stores and you're guaranteed to be sorting through tons of potentials.

The Instagram teaser I sent out to everyone in advance was this...

Oh, Donna...

After hitting a thrifty hunt, the dress that I found came pretty close...

To really get the same look, I could have removed the bow and replaced it with a white bow on top, so keep that in mind while perusing. If you have a black dress at home already, getting some thicker white ribbon will totally do the trick.

While I was shopping, so was Kelly...

...and Brenda...

...who found the same black and white dress at the same time at the boutique. I mean, it's a cute dress...

I actually really like my magenta, big, bowed option!

Just to not feel super out of the loop, I tied a white ribbon on top of my dress!

This smells like a fun group costume!!

Nine looks down, 22 to go!

TV Show Details:

Beverly Hills, 90210 (produced by Spelling Television)

Location: 1675 E. Altadena Dr., Altadena, CA

Birthday Cheers!!

Today's costume post is coming a bit later on in the day, because it was just my birthday (!!), so stay tuned because it comes from one of my favorite 90s TV shows. I had an Italian feast to celebrate and wore a dinosaur-covered Betsey Johnson dress (those are pterodactyls all over it!) like you do...

"Like a fine wine, we get better with age..." couldn't be truer! Just wanted to say how thankful I am for this lovely community of friends that NDAD has gathered. I'm a lucky girl to have you all in my life and I'm birthday cheersing to each and every one of you! xo