How to Create a Vampire Costume

There are a few different looks you can go for when making a vampire costume, the elegant vampire is one of them. Using elegant Count Dracula as your starting point, here's how to easily make a vampire costume that doesn't, well, suck. Sorry.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fangs
• Capes
• Formal Gowns
• Tuxedos
• Vampire Costume
• Face Powder
• Makeup Kits
• Spray-on Hair Colors
• Face Paints

1. Streak your hair with temporary spray-on color. White is traditional, but even vampires can think out of the box.

2. Tease your hair. If it's straight, gel it back; if it's curly, exaggerate that. Vampires are also glamorous, so upsweeps or chignons are all good 'dos.

3. Powder your face dead white. No matter your skin color, powder will make you look appropriately ghoulish.

4. Darken the shadows under your eyes with dark eye shadow. Rimming your eyelids in red or pink lip liner is a very effective dead look.

5. Darken your eyebrows and eyelashes with mascara. Drop-dead red lipstick is classic vampire, but white is deadly too and black would be scandalous!

6. Button a white dress shirt to your neck, guys. A tuxedo shirt is perfect, but any black suit and white dress shirt is effective.

7. Vamp up your evening glamor, gals. Black velvets, satins, lace or brocades are extra ghoul cool, but any dressy dress will do. A black tux? Excellent with low necklines or no shirt under your jacket. The look is elegant, and for grown-up ghouls, sexy is the last word in vampire wear.

8. Create a cape. A costume shop will have them as props around Halloween, but comb vintage and thrift shops, too. Making one is easy; just get a few yards of fabric and a neat old brooch and pin it across your shoulders. Think bats.

9. Slide in your vampire fangs. Available in costume shops all over, they come in plastic, wax or even edible candy. Make fangs with tooth black-out goo. Blacken the bottoms of your incisors to make your pointy canines look longer.

10. Add a few drops of red makeup at the corners of your mouth for authenticity.

11. Speaking with a Hungarian accent makes for a good vampire gag.

12. Nuzzle necks.

Tips & Warnings

• Carrying an IV bag is always fun when dressing up as a vampire - as is a shoulder button or badge that has a silver bullet with a red slash mark through it.

• Shop thrift stores starting in September. Comb through garage, jumble and tag sales, too.