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How to Create a Dead Old Lady Costume

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(10 Ratings)

Think of a nice old lady's outfit: white gloves, pillbox hat... But now think of her back from the grave; same outfit, with a few important alterations.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Make a bun or an upsweep. Now streak it gray with temporary color, or if you're blond, try a nice blue wash? Old wigs and hairpieces are common thrift shop items.

  2. Step 2

    Select an old-fashioned hat from the attic, a garage sale, a rummage sale. Add a bit of netting for a veil, and now you have a place to hang plastic spiders, ants and other ghastly bugs.

  3. Step 3

    Raid your great-aunt's closet or the resale shops for a print dress, wool suit or appropriate skirt and shirt buttoned to the neck. Adorn it with beads, bangles and brooches.

  4. Step 4

    Put on a pair of little white gloves from the aforementioned rummage sale.

  5. Step 5

    Pull on the thickest, most bandage-like stockings you can find.

  6. Step 6

    Find any dark shoes that will fit. If you're lucky to be a woman's size, again raid the Salavation Army shoe racks.

  7. Step 7

    Powder face generously. No matter what your natural coloring, a dusting of white powder will add a nice deadly glow. Smudge gray eyeshadow around your eyes, especially where there are natural hollows. Spooky?

  8. Step 8

    Sparingly swoosh bluish highlights around your features.

  9. Step 9

    Add any plastic scars, gashes or red vampire marks, as you're visiting from "the other side." But do so sparingly - subtle is best.

  10. Step 10

    Glue thousands of plastic ants and spiders everywhere on your clothes, hair, face and body.

  11. Step 11

    Dab self with mud.

  12. Step 12

    Moan loudly.

Tips & Warnings
  • Use oversized tote or handbag for candy collection.
  • If Halloween is cold where you are, a big sweater with lots of moth holes would be perfect.
  • Watch heels, hems and anything else that might make you trip.

Comments  

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Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Belt your dress and place two water balloons inside...The more they shake and wiggle, the better!

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 If you want to make your hair look white for this costume, just put tons of flour in it.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Adding to the gray hair to make yourself look really old you can take a soft gray eyeliner pencil, and then wrinkel your face. Here's how: raise eyebrows and trace winkles on your forehead. Squint eyes and crinkle your nose and follow the lines.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Especially green - it will give that "mossy" effect, with a touch of mildew. Green is great with brown as well - it gives the "just out of the ground" look.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Use cocoa powder on your face or clothes instead of mud or dirt to achieve that graveyard look. This is not an original idea, but I don't remember where I learned it.

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