How to Create a Dead Old Lady Costume

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

• Plastic Spiders
• Spider Webbing
• Tons Of Plastic Ants
• Halloween Makeup Kits
• Dresses
• Old-fashioned Hats
• Recycled Wedding Veils
• White Gloves
• Face Powder
• Support Hosiery
• Face Paints
• Plastic spiders

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

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

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. 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. Sparingly swoosh bluish highlights around your features.

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

11. Dab self with mud.

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.