10 Sustainable DIY Halloween Costumes with Terrera

If you’re anything like us, you’ve gotten so busy with Thanksgiving this year that you’ve forgotten about Halloween! Or you’re way ahead of schedule and are already planning next year's costume! Whichever it is, you’re probably looking for a costume. 

This year we’re focusing on DIYing our costumes as a more sustainable option! Traditional store bought costumes are expensive and made of cheaper fabrics and harmful dyes. It’s fun to dress up, but do so with the Earth in mind! DIYing is a great sustainable and budget-friendly option - it’s also a great experience to make your own costumes as a family!

So now that you’ve decided to make your own costume, where to start? We’ve put together a list of 10 DIY options for Halloween 2022 to help you get past the first and last steps - what to be and how to make it!

1. Audrey Hepburn

A classic Hollywood star, Audrey Hepburn! We love her look, simple, but classy. Bonus: This one requires no crafting! 

What you’ll need:

• Black dress (If you’re looking for a warmer option, try our Joanna Mock Neck Dress with long sleeves!)
• Pearl necklace
• Black sunglasses
• Black tights

Instructions:

1. Since this one requires no crafting, just pair your items together and vola - Audrey!
2. Bonus: add a winged cat eyeliner and a top knot bun hairstyle to go for the complete Audrey look!

2. Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse is such a classic costume and it’s fun to make! It also opens the opportunity to do a family or friends themed group costume! 

What you’ll need:

• Red dress (We recommend our Mina Hoodie Dress in Cranberry for a warmer option!)
• OR Red shirt (like our Georgia Crew Long Sleeve) paired with a black skirt!
• Cardboard
• Black paint
• Paintbrush
• Hot glue gun
• Sharpie
• Old headband
• Bonus: white felt + safety pins

Instructions:

1. Begin crafting Minnie’s ears by first laying the headband down on the cardboard. Draw 2 circles for the ears around the headband to make sure they will sit nicely on the headband when glued.
2. Cut out the circles from the cardboard
3. Paint the 2 ears with black paint
4. Once dry, use the hot glue gun to glue the ears onto the headband.
5. Take your red hair bow and glue it in between the two ears.
6. Bonus: To really complete Minnie’s look, trace out some circles using a black marker and white felt.
7. Cut out the circles and attach to your dress or skirt - whether you’re going for a red dress and leggings, or a black skirt and red top.
8. This creates Minnie’s iconic look without ruining your dress or skirt!
9. Finally, piece the outfit together! Put on your dress or skirt and top, add the headband and your choice of shoe (either sneakers or heels!) and you’re set!

3. Deer

A classic, and perfect if you have a lot of brown neutral shades in your closet already! We recently released our new colour “Latte” and we immediately thought how great this would work for a deer halloween costume. 

What you’ll need:

• A light brown coloured hoodie (try our Silvia Hoodie in Latte)
• A matching jogger or sweatpant (Kora Jogger in Latte to match!)
• Brown felt / construction paper
• Hot glue gun
• Headband

Instructions:

1. Beginning with the ears, start by tracing out a deer ear shape onto the brown felt or construction paper. A quick google for a pattern would be useful here!
2. Cut out the ear shape.
3. Glue the ears onto the headband with your hot glue gun.
4. After assembling the ears, you’re ready to put on the outfit! Put on your matching brown tracksuit of choice and your new ears.
5. Top off the look with some makeup - we recommend colouring the end of your nose in a dark brown shade and doing a doe-eyed makeup look!

4. Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is another great character to portray on Halloween. Her costume requires minimal effort, as you probably already have the pieces!

What you’ll need:

• Black knee-length skirt (like our Ashton Denim Skirt)
• White shirt (try our Georgia Crew Long Sleeve!)
• Your go-to leggings (we love our Terry Leggings for their thicker fabric and waistband!) 
• Red bow 
• Black hat

Instructions:

1. This outfit is nice and easy - just piece the items together and bam! You’ve got your costume. Pin the hair bow to your shirt, or if you have one, use a red bowtie instead for easy assembly! Bonus, since this costume includes great wearable pieces, you can wear this outfit again either together or separately!

5. Starbucks Drink Cup

This one is so fun - dress as your go-to Starbucks order! This costume involves some creativity and crafting, so if you have a bit more time on your hands, it’s a great option!

What you’ll need:

• Brown or beige colour sweater / tunic / dress (we recommend our colour ‘Latte’ - it’s the perfect Starbuck coffee colour! Try it in the styles Lindsey Poncho or Bridget Dolman Top for this look!)
• Your favourite pair of leggings
• Safety pins
• Tape safe for fabric
• White infinity scarf
• Printer paper
• Computer and a printer to print out the Starbucks symbol OR if you’re an artist, a green and black marker to draw the logo yourself!
• Paper towel roll
• Green paint 
• Paint brushes
• Headband
• Hot glue

Instructions:

1. To make the drink cup, we need to start with the iconic logo. Start by laying out your beige/brown top/dress of choice on a surface
2. On your computer: print out the Starbucks green logo and cut it out OR if you are drawing it, grab your white printer paper and begin sketching out the logo. Colour it in green, and cut it out.
3.  **To make sure no damage is done to the garment, use safety pins to pin the logo into place on the garment.
4. To craft the straw, take the paper towel roll and paint it with green paint
5. When dry, glue the bottom of the paper towel roll to the side of the headband with your hot glue gun (the straw should be on a slight angle when you’re wearing it!)
6. Now it’s time to assemble the outfit! Put on the drink cup garment and your favourite black leggings, layer the white scarf on your neck, and top off the look by adding your straw headband!

**Note: it may be easier to attach the logo with safety pins while wearing the garment to avoid crumbling the paper when putting it on. Just be careful not to pin yourself!

6. Wednesday/Morticia Addams

With the new show coming out, now’s a great time to dress as Wednesday from the Addams Family! Wednesday is known for her iconic all-black outfits and braided pigtail hair style. Luckily, this is another minimal effort but cute costume! If you want to go for a more sophisticated look, dress as Wednesday’s mother, Morticia, instead!

What you’ll need:

• Hair ties 
• Black dress (we prefer a long sleeve dress, try our Joanna Mock Neck Dress!)
• White collared shirt
• Black nylons
• For added warmth, switch out the nylons for black leggings (like our customer favourite Suri Leggings!)

Instructions - Wednesday:

1. Another easy costume! Just assemble your outfit. Put on your nylons or leggings, white collared shirt, and layer the black dress of choice over the shirt. Pull out the white collared shirt so it is over top of the dress neckline
2. Braid your hair into two pigtail braids to complete the look!

Instructions - Morticia:

1. If you’re wanting to go as Morticia rather than Wednesday, assemble the same outfit without the collared shirt - a black dress paired with nylons or leggings
2. Morticia has long straight hair, so for this look, wear your hair straightened and parted in the center
3. Add a dark red lipstick and some black eye makeup to complete this look!

7. M&M

M&Ms aren’t only a delicious treat, they also make for a cute costume! The best thing about this idea is that it can be a great group costume - each of your friends or family can join by wearing a different colour to match the classic chocolate candy!

What you’ll need:

• A coloured t-shirt to match the colours of M&Ms (e.g., blue, green, red, yellow, brown)
• A white thermal long sleeve for warmth and layering (our Aurora Seamless Long Sleeve was made for this job!)
• Black leggings (we suggest one with a pocket, like our Viva Pocket Leggings)
• Felt or an old black shirt to cut into fabric
• Safety pins or fabric safe tape
• Chalk
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Begin by creating the letter ‘m’ on either the felt or old t-shirt. Use the chalk to draw onto the fabric of choice.
2. Cut out the ‘m’
3. Attach to the coloured shirt with the table, and reinforce with safety pins if needed (this way it saves the shirt to be worn again!)
4. Now you just need to put the thermo shirt on first, then layer the coloured t-shirt with the ‘m’ on it, and throw on your leggings!

8. Violet Beauregarde (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Violet Beauregarde was one of the Golden Ticket winners in Tim Burton’s iconic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film. When we came across makeup artist Ellie Addis’ look, we knew we had to recreate it with an outfit! Violet Beauregarde famously turns violet after trying one of Willy Wonka’s creations, a chewing gum meal. When she gets to the blueberry pie stage, she begins to turn blue! Since Violet wears a classic tracksuit, this costume is a great option for those who want to stay comfy!

What you’ll need:

• A blue matching tracksuit (we recommended our Arden Half-Zip sweater in Slate Blue paired with our Emory Pant in Anchor Blue)
• OR you can go for a cute unique look by wearing a hoodie dress! Pair our Mina Hoodie Dress in Slate Blue and our Suri Leggings in Ink to achieve this version!
• Blue eyeshadow palette

Instructions:

1. Simply choose your blue outfit, and put it on! (Go for a classic tracksuit like Violet wears in the movie or dress it up with a hoodie style dress paired with a blue legging!)
2. The way to really make this costume is the makeup. We were inspired by makeup artist Ellie Addis who created this iconic Violet Beauregarde makeup look.

9. Lady Bug

If you were looking for a reason to buy an adorable red poncho - this is your sign! Our Lindsey Poncho just came out and we love the outfit potential with this piece. Whether you’re going apple picking, viewing the Christmas lights, or going on a coffee run, this piece is a wardrobe staple. It also has great costume potential, the best one being a Lady Bug! With a few modifications, you’ll be flying away in no time!

What you need:

• 2 black pipe cleaners
• Red poncho - Our Lindsey Half-Zip Poncho in Cranberry is a great shade of lady bug red!
• Your favourite pair of black leggings (we love our Terry Leggings for a warmer option!)
• Chalk
• Safety pins
• Headband
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Old black t-shirt OR black felt

Instructions:

1. Start by preparing the spots for your poncho. Begin by drawing out some different sized circles on the fabric of your choice - either black felt or an old black t-shirt!
2. Cut out the circles
3. Use safety pins to attach the circles to the poncho without damaging the garment.
4. Take the pipe cleaners and roll the end up a little to make a tight spiral but still keep them fairly long.
5. Bend the other end about ½ inch to create a base to glue to the headband
6. Use your glue gun to glue the pipe cleaners to it - space them out a bit like antennas!
7. Now throw on a layering piece (like our Aurora Thermal Top), your leggings, and the spotted poncho! Top it off with the headband and you’re ready for the costume party!

10. Rosie the Riveter

Recognized by her red bandana, Rosie was a character of a campaign for recruiting female workers during World War II. She represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war. She wears a classic outfit that is fun to recreate!

What you’ll need:

• Denim shirt (we recommend our Tina Denim Tunic in blue denim for a more comfortable option - it’s made of bamboo stretch denim!)
• Blue jeans (our Cheri Denim Ankle Pants are made of the same bamboo stretch denim!)
• Red bandana 

Instructions: 

1. This costume is easy and so wearable after Halloween! Begin by pairing your blue denim jeans or leggings with a denim shirt 
2. Tie the red bandana on your head
3. Bonus: to really top off the look, side part your hair and pin curl it. 
4. Secure the curls with bobby pins against the head. Make sure to have one pin curl out in the front so you can see it from under the bandana - just like Rosie!
5. For her makeup look, Rosie wore a classic makeup look that included a pink blue, red-orange lipstick, penciled eyebrows, and winged eyeliner.