Elf costume

After the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy came out, a lot of us that didn’t know about JRR Tolkien’s works, or fantasy literature in general were brought into the realm of men, monsters, trolls, dragons, hobbits, and elves. But we all know that elves were the ones that caught our attention the most, and being an elf for Halloween would be a fun way to put a little bit of yourself into a costume without being unrecognizable.

You don’t have to be any specific type of person in an elf costume, though there are plenty to choose from. (Christmas elves, keebler elves – you could hand out cookies! I‘m kidding, those options are kind of lame) Your best bet would be to simply get a decent pair of plastic ears (realistic looking ones are sold in various shapes, sizes and skin tones to match your own ears) and be your own elf.

You could choose to be something like one of Tolkien’s elves and wear an earth-toned tunic and let your hair down loose with maybe a few small braids or parts of it tied in interesting ways. Or you could construct your own costume. The key would be to ensure that it looks like something that would be in harmony with nature. If you go to stand near some trees while wearing this costume and find that you stick out like a sore thumb, you’ve probably chosen the wrong color palate or styles. Not to say that there’s any wrong or right way to make a costume when it’s left up to your own creativity, it’s just that some look more ‘authentic’ than others; like you could see this person running through the woods in a film and it wouldn’t look strange. That’s the key to perfecting your elf costume.

Geisha are entertainers, they are paid to attend parties and have casual conversation with the party goers. They dance, play shamisen, and have learned the arts of traditional dress and beautiful flawless makeup. They are considered to be the most elegant and beautiful women of Japan, and though they are not something all young girls aspire to be, there’s definitely a few that do.

Geisha

Imagine what it would be like to be one of these women, graceful and pristine. Well, you can be, just for a night this Halloween. Think of it like being Cinderella, you can have your night at the ball, but when the clock strikes midnight (or in this case, when Halloween is over) you have to go back to being yourself. But wouldn’t that one night be fantastic to have?

Purchasing a real kimono and learning the proper way to wear it, to tie the obi, and to move in it would be ideal; but kimonos can be very expensive and very complicated to put on/maneuver in. This is one of the reason why geisha are considered artists, it’s difficult to get the hang of it and do it perfectly. Fortunately for you, there are a lot of kimono/geisha inspired costumes available as well as wigs to imitate the intricate hair-dos that they wear around town. They are much easier to wear and a lot more simple to put on, often they feature shorter skirts and cute designs. But putting on the costume doesn’t mean your finished with the costume, there’s still the makeup to be concerned about. If you can/want to, the best thing to do in my opinion would be to attempt something similar to real geisha make up.

For this you would need to start with a white base that covered not only your face but neck as well, leaving blank space on the back of your neck in a ‘w’ shape just below the nape. Your lips should be ruby red, but the lipstick should not cover the entire lip, because with an all white face it would give the illusion that your lips were much too big. Some red should be added around the eye as well as heavy eyeliner to make your baby blues/browns/greens really pop. Look up photos on the internet to be sure if you want to get it just right, but if you don’t really care much about accuracy, just put on some red lipstick and powder and dash off to the party for a night of fun.