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.

Wether you’re a girl or a guy, chances are that there is at least one sport you enjoy watching or participating in. Or at the very least there’s a team that you support occasionally when they play. Show the love for these people/teams this Halloween by dressing accordingly. There are some really easy to find sports costumes all over the internet or in your local party supply/costume stores. Costumes for football, soccer, baseball, and hockey. Generally it would be easier to buy these costumes than to attempt to make them or piece them together yourself by shopping at a sporting goods store, but there are also some famous individuals that play a sport that doesn’t require a team, and for them you could make your own costume to fit perfectly.

Sports fan

You could choose to dress as Venus or Serena Williams and bring a tennis racket with you to the party as a prop, or if you were particularly daring; you could come dressed in a Speedo and swimmers cap, with metals draped around your neck and claim to be Michael Phelps all evening.

Or what if you’re one of those people that really loves a specific team but you don’t get the chance to go to the games or support them all that often. Dress like how you would if you got really close seats and were possibly drunk beforehand. You know exactly what I’m talking about; get one of those crazy poofy wigs, face paint, body paint, an appropriate t-shirt/jersey, and a big foam #1 finger all in your team’s colors. That would definitely get you some attention at a Halloween party, and some high fives (or at least nods of approval) from fellow fans of the same team. Unfortunately, it might also get you some disapproving glares from people who support rival teams. But maybe that’s part of the fun of it?

There is one group of people that society would miss if they all disappeared, and every group of people -no matter if the location is a busy bustling city, or a small unknown tribe- has at least one. I’m talking about doctors, medicine men, nurses, midwifes… those people that take care of us in our worst hours and make us well again. So who better to dress as this Halloween than a Doctor or Nurse?

Nurse

If you didn’t want to be a specific doctor or nurse from history and/or a film, there are basically two ways to do this type of costume; the ‘sexy’ way, and the ‘gory’ way. (Though if you’re into Silent Hill it applies to both!)

The sexy way is mainly for nurses, not doctors. These types of costumes range from outfits that are nearly lingerie to cute little dresses that still cover enough of you to be considered modest yet attractive. The gory way has nearly all the same options; but they come pre-splattered with blood in all the right places. That is the kind of outfit you might want to grab a prop syringe for and carry it around with you to threaten people with. There are also a very goth versions that include a lot of black pvc type fabrics and aprons to keep the ‘surgery splatter’ off you. If you saw a sexy nurse costume you liked though, it would be easy to turn gore it up with either red paint or fake blood. However heed this warning; fake blood is often made to stay wet looking, which means that it never fully dries and can easily rub off onto your friends, furniture, or yourself. It’s not the best thing to do if you’re going to be attending an indoor party and don’t want to have to pay for their sofa to be cleaned afterwards.

If you didn’t want to go any of those routes, and felt that you should portray nurses how they really are; a quick trip to your local uniform store could provide you with scrubs that would probably cost about as much as any of these costumes.