How to Make a Headless Marie Antoinette Costume

Marie Antoinette was one of the most famous queens of all time. Executed by guillotine during the French Revolution for the crime of treason, her decapitated body remains a popular Halloween costume.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Plaster of paris
• Sculpting clay
• Sealer
• Mold release agent
• Liquid urethane foam
• Acrylic paints
• Backpack
• Wooden dowels
• Oversized dress
• Fabric
• Cotton batting
• Wire
• Long gloves
• Sewing machine

1. Sculpt the headless bust out of clay. The bust should be a neck and shoulders and should stop just below the breasts. Add a neck bone to make the costume more scary. Make the bust skinny to make it more corpse-like. You can also carve the bust using blue sheet foam insulation.
2. Pour a two-part plaster mold over the carved bust. Remove the mold, and coat the interior of the mold with sealer and a release agent. Pour in a liquid urethane foam, and once the foam has cured, remove the plaster mold. Paint the foam bust with acrylic paint. Blue works best for the skin. Be sure to make it bloody.
3. Measure and cut the dowels. They should start at your lower back and extend just above your head. Drill holes in the bottom of the foam bust, and insert the wooden dowels. Use more foam in the hole to secure the dowels.
4. Cut everything off a backpack except for the very back panel and the straps. Sew two long thin pockets down the backpack. Place the dowels into the pockets. Use straps with buckles to strap across your chest. If possible, add a strap across your stomach to keep the bust stable.
5. Find a white dress at a thrift store. Put on the dress over the bust to find out where the holes for the head and arms should go. Make a top skirt out of white fabric. Your neck will be at the waist of the top skirt, and your head will go through both the top skirt and the dress. Your right arm will go through both as well, and the top skirt will be attached to the bottom of the right sleeve. Your left hand will be hidden underneath the top skirt so you can easily use it.
6. Create a fake left arm using a wire skeleton and cotton batting. Stuff the fake arm into a long glove. Sew the glove closed, and attach it to the end of the left sleeve. Fill out the shoulders of the costume with cotton.
7. Apply blue makeup to your face. Add blood around the head area and on the right and left gloves.