How to Make a Halloween Costume With a Little Black Dress

The little black dress, that conversation stopper that draws all eyes during events and social gatherings, also serves as the primary piece of clothing used as the foundation of many Halloween costume designs. With the right accessories and make-up, you can become anyone from a wicked witch to a ghoulish or horror-related character from television and film.

Things You'll Need

• A little black dress
• Clothing accessories
• Non-clothing accessories
• Costume makeup
• Hair spray
• Sculpting wax (optional)
• Sewing kit

Instructions

Wicked Witch

1. Modify your dress. Lightly stretch and tack sew, with black thread, artificial spider webbing (black or white) to the left or right side of the dress. Attach another piece of webbing across one shoulder or down the back.

2. Buy clothing and non-clothing accessories. For example, you could wear a witch's hat with solid black or fishnet stockings. For shoes, consider black high heels, square flats or heels with shiny silver buckles. Carry a broom or a fake black cat. Additionally, to look like an ugly wicked witch, buy a gray wig, artificial facial features such as a large nose or warts and a gnarled cane or old stick. To look like a beautiful wicked witch, buy metallic silver or glossy black or purple glitter and a black, glossy wand.

3. Put on your costume, apply make-up and any facial features and finish with a wig or hat. Make ugly witch features pronounced by adding dark shades of make-up (black and gray) to the hollows beneath your cheekbones or under your eyes. Apply deep, autumnal hues and dark shades (reds, browns, purple and black) to your cheeks, eyebrows and lips and accent with the glitter for a wicked yet beautiful look.

TV Character

1. Select a TV character who wears a black dress and look at every detail. For example, you might choose Wednesday Addams or a classic French maid. Wednesday wears a straight, little black or black-patterned dress with three-quarter length sleeves and a rounded neckline with white collars and cuffs, black stockings and black flats. A French maid wears a little black dress, a white apron, headband, black solid or fishnet stockings and black flats or heels.

2. Buy any necessary clothing or non-clothing accessories.

3. Alter your black dress (tack stitch a line of white or black buttons at the top or down the entire length of your dress).

4. Put on any under clothing pieces, and then over-pieces and arrange. For Wednesday Addams, this means stockings, collar and cuffs. For the French maid, this means stockings and an apron.

5. Style your hair using hairspray or sculpting wax to match the character's hair, or style a wig of matching hair color.

6. Apply white make-up, powder or artificial facial features. For pale or ghoulish characters like Wednesday, apply white to any exposed skin areas and finish off with black mascara, eyeliner and charcoal, black or red lipstick. The French maid costume skin tones can vary. Emphasize with sultry red lipstick and light blush or autumnal hues.

7. Create authenticity with accessories: a rope noose around a doll's neck or a headless doll for the Wednesday costume or a feather duster or short whip for the French maid.

Tips & Warnings

• To make your witch dress appear longer or torn, purchase black dress material, cut the fabric into non-uniform triangular strips and tack to the inside bottom of your dress.

• Always use a tack stitch when attaching accessories so that you can easily remove after Halloween without damaging the dress material.

References

• Iconographics