How to Make Fancy Dress Halloween Costumes on a Budget

Halloween is a great time to have fun with clothes and costumes you might not be able to wear otherwise during the year. Many times these costumes come with high price tags that can be hard on a tight budget. A fancy dress costume for Halloween can be very easy to put together if you just know where to look for items that will not only look wonderful but also keep your budget under control.

Things You'll Need

• Phone book
• Dress
• Jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and earrings
• High-heel shoes

Instructions

1. The first thing you need to do on your quest to make a smashing fancy dress costume for Halloween is to locate several secondhand stores or thrift shops. These places usually offer wonderful dresses for a fraction of the price you would pay for a brand new dress or the material to make a dress. Use either your phone book or the Internet to search out and find several shops to go to. You want to have a variety of places, so you can locate the perfect dress.

2. Once you find the perfect dress, don't hesitate to ask if the shop will take less than the marked price. Chances are they will bargain with you just to make a sale. If they won't lower the price, consider if the dress is worth the cost, or if you want to look elsewhere.

3. While you are thrift store shopping make sure to check out all of the costume jewelry they have. Remember it is Halloween so it's fine to go with the gaudy items that you would not normally wear. Anything that is sparkly will give your costume a wow factor.

4. Remember to see if any of the thrift stores carry shoes. You will be shocked to see an amazing silvery, glitter high heel on the rack, as many secondhand stores have fun and interesting items.

5. Now that you have all the items which include the dress, the jewelry and the shoes, all that is left is to put it all together. Don't forget to do your make-up and, of course, pay extra attention to your hair. If you find that you have too much jewelry for your costume, you can always find a way to weave it into your hair if you are doing an up-do.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are actually going trick or treating, you might want to change out the high-heels for a pair of tennis shoes. You can glue glitter on canvas shoes to make them sparkle.

• When shopping at a secondhand store, make sure to inspect the items carefully before you purchase them. Sometimes items will have tears or be broken beyond repair. If the item has a tear or something else that you can fix, then make sure to bargain the price so you still have money in your budget to fix it.