Sunday, November 07, 2010

Betty

Ok, it took me a while to get to talking about my costume, but I have a good excuse. I had bronchitis, so I spent most of Monday and Tuesday lying on my couch, and the rest of the week working.

My favorite part of the costume is how much of it I already had on hand.

Starting at the top: The wig. A few years ago my cousin Morgan went as a very convincing Marilyn Monroe, and this is the wig from that costume. The earrings and necklace are both pieces of costume jewelry from my grandmother, but they don't go to the same set. The necklace didn't have any earrings to match, and the necklace that actually goes with those earrings was too showy for a house dress. It is a fabulous necklace though, and I hope I have an excuse to wear it at some point in the future. My cousin Jaccie rescued both sets of jewelry from our garage sale over the summer, with the intention of being Wilma Flinstone for Halloween. She ended up being a crayon, which left the jewelry up for grabs.

The sweater is new, but it wasn't purchased specifically for this costume. I picked it up off the clearance rack at Target because my office at work is like the inside of an icebox year-round. The dress needed a sweater, because it's sleeveless and it was a bit chilly on Halloween, and that pink just matched the flowers on the dress so perfectly.

Speaking of the dress, my mom picked it up at a garage sale over the summer. My sister had expressed some interest in being Lucille Ball for Halloween, and my mom found a couple dresses at this old woman's sale. She bough a white dress with black polka dots, this brown and pink number, a pink stole, and a pink "pearl" necklace all for $5. I thought the stole was too dressy for this day dress, and we couldn't find the pink necklace. The dress could have used an underskirt to make it fluff out a little more to make it a little more period appropriate, but I came up with this costume just days before the party, so I didn't have time to find one.

The shoes are my own. They aren't really period appropriate, they're a style that's more reminiscent of the '40s than the '60s. I have some shoes that would have been more accurate, but these are much more comfortable.

And, finally, my favorite part of the costume, and also the only part I had to buy: the plastic wine glass. I picked it up at target for $3, and it really completed the look. I wanted to get a box of candy cigarettes, but the only store I know of that still sells them was sold out. Maybe there were a lot of Betty Drapers walking around on Halloween. And, in case you were wondering, the wine glass is both dishwasher and microwave safe. For all those times you need to heat up your wine.

All in all, best last-minute Halloween costume ever.