Evil Ex and Vegan Villain, Todd Ingram
This is a funny Halloween costume for your vegetable lovers – we like to call it the Evil Vegan. Based on one of the antagonists from the graphic novel series adapted into recent comedy flick, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” this humorous costume is great for a guy who wants an easy, no-fuss Halloween costume. As a nemesis of Scott Pilgrim, this narcissistic, arrogant character named Todd Ingram is played by actor Brandon Routh of “Superman” movie fame. Instead of donning the blue lycra superhero suit, Routh transforms into a vegan villain wearing pretty regular guy clothing.
The Todd Ingram villain costume consists of a pair of white jeans with a black belt and a white t-shirt marked with the number 3 – the number 3 represents the fact this herbivorous dude is the #3 evil ex boyfriend of Ramona, the love interest of Scott Pilgrim (played by perennial dork, Michael Cera). Of course, if you’ve seen the movie, you know that Ingram’s downfall and subsequent loss of this vegan superpowers was caused when the soy milk in his coffee was swapped out with real dairy – yuck, yuck, phewy!
To give a Todd Ingram teen costume those final, believable touches, pair your white jeans and shirt with a pair of Converse-like, black canvas sneakers black-and-white striped wrist bands. Add Hollywood makeup artist touches by spiking your platinum blonde hair up with gel and wearing white sclera contacts (special effects colored contacts that cover the entire iris and pupil. The character of Todd Ingram had all white eyes with no color at all that would glow and smoke when he was in full evil vegan villain form. Sources say that the effect was actually created with CGI technology in movie editing, but FX contacts can easily achieve the same look. Another costume idea -- you could also carry around a blow-up prop guitar because this character is a bass player for a band called Clash at Demonhead. Remember – don’t cheat on your diet and let the vegan police get you!
Indian Costumes for Native American Day
Today, September 24th is Native American Day, a fitting tribute to the indigenous population of the (now) United States. These people lived on the land for thousands of years before a white man ever stepped onto the terrain. Throughout the history books, these people have been erroneously called this native population “Indians” thanks to Spanish Explorer, Christopher Columbus, who severely underestimated the circumference of Earth and thought that he had landed in parts of Asia. During the 15th century, it was estimated that there were anywhere from 1 million to 18 million Native Americans in the region. With the bringing together of European and Native American cultures, there have been many high and low points as the two groups of polar opposites have struggled to understand each other – today there are almost 3 million modern-day Native Americans belonging to many tribes including Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux and others.
A great way to celebrate Native American Day is to dress up in a Halloween costume of your favorite real life character. Girls of all ages will love to dress up as the natural beauty Pocahontas who was made even more famous by becoming one of the beloved Disney princesses. Like many other Indian Princess costumes, a Pocahontas costume features a tan, suede-like dress with fringe at the neck, hem and arms. Often, the ladies costumes are embellished with elaborate beadwork or embroidery in the style of a specific Indian Tribe. Beaded moccasins, turquoise jewelry and a long braided wig with a single-feather on a headband make fitting touches to a Pocahontas Indian costume – and how!
With Thanksgiving just weeks away, Native American costumes can also become an integral part of a feast celebration. Reenactments of some of the first Thanksgivings in the early 1600s when Indian tribes and Pilgrims came together to break bread, share in the harvest and learn each others customs is another good reason to suit up in an Indian Halloween costumes. Some of the most popular looks for Native American costumes for men include long, fringed pants and a matching tunic made from a buck skin looking fabric. Great accessories for this Indian costume include a bow and arrow, a tomahawk and an elaborate Indian headdress filled ceremoniously with dozens of colorful flowers.
Have You Hugged An Elephant Today?
Today is Elephant Appreciation Day, a day to honor the largest land-dwelling mammals on Earth. Because elephants are so humongous, it seems perfectly fitting that the holiday be celebrated in a big, big way! Plus, if you’ve ever met an elephant, you probably have realized that they don’t have a peanut-sized brain. In fact, these mammals are extremely intelligent and have memories that can span across years. So, if you don’t remember to think about elephants at least once today, you may never be forgiven!
Dressing up in an elephant costume goes a long way in elephant appreciation. Often the only elephant costumes you’ll see are those of mascots for a handful of schools and colleges – such as the red elephant of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Of course, the Republican political party also uses an elephant mascot as well to symbolize strength and dignity. There is a herd of elephant characters found in children’s story books and movies that are beloved by young and old alike.
Perhaps one of the most famous fictional elephants is Babar, a young elephant who leaves the jungle to visit the big city and then returns with the newly discovered social graces learned on his adventure. So of course the elephant costume of Babar is that of a well-dressed gentleman of the early 20th century – that is until he becomes King of the Elephants and wears a red robe and bejeweled crown!
Dumbo is another make-believe elephant from the Disney animated classic of the same name. While taunted for his big, over-sized ears (big even for an elephant), Dumbo eventually figures out he can fly by flapping these audible appendages about! There are darling Dumbo costumes for little children that feature a grey jumpsuit with a red circus ruff collar and a pull-up hood that features the iconic jumbo-sized ears.
If you are creative, you can create an Elmer Halloween costume based on the storybook character who has a colorful body in a patchwork of yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, black and white. This cheerful and optimistic elephant shows everyone it doesn’t matter what you look like, but who you are. So, suit up in any elephant costume you who love to trade places with on this massive mammal honoring day -- your local elephants will remember the kind gesture.
Talk The Talk, Walk the Walk in Pirate Costumes
There are many ways to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day, an unofficial holiday that is celebrated each September 19th so that the inner pirate in all of us can have a chance to break out. Of course you can use “pirate-speak” in all your daily doings, from “wench, fetch me my daily grog, wench” to “arrrgh, those scurvy bilge rats down at the office . . .” But you’ll be taken much more seriously if you talk the talk, walk the walk and look the part! This is where pirate costumes come into play.
While you should spend some time brushing up on the salty, crusty lingo of pirates, you also need to pay attention to your mannerisms and clothing. A pirate costume is the quick way to create the sea-faring image of a pirate or female pirates. There is a treasure trove of pirate costumes to choose from; from the traditional pirate with striped pants and Jolly Rodger hat that you might have worn as a kid on Halloween to the dreadlock wearing Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Caribbean. Sparrow, the eccentric yet endearing captain of the Black Pearl, wears a pirate costume of dark, weather-worn breeches, a leather vest over a billowy linen pirate shirt. A leather tricorn hat or colorful scarf can be tied around a wig of dreadlocks just like Sparrow’s own ratty, tangle tresses filled with trinkets and charms from his travels.
Captain Hook from Peter Pan is another, although more villainous, fiction character to copy for International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hook’s pirate costume is a very dandy version of a 19th century corsair. While pirates may live in less than lush surroundings, they have been known to favor quite fancy attire – often stealing and looting fine fabrics, laces and embellishments from the ships they plundered. Hook’s look was that of King Charles II dandy, a rich velvet red frock coat, a frilly lace jabot hanging from the collar and an ornate hat with huge feather plume.
Whichever costume idea floats your fancy, you have to have all the moves to pull off a total pirate transformation on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Pirates walk with a pronounced swagger that announces it’s their way or the gangplank. Wearing a pair of leather boots that fold down and cuff at the knee make shiver-me-timbers, clickety-clack when you walk on deck. Pirates also do a lot of fist-pounding, swearing and threatening when they don’t get their way, so toss out your mild manners! Finally, just remember that pirates just want to have fun; this is why they aren’t tied down traditional 9-to-5 jobs.
Katy Perry’s Teen Choice Awards Costumes
At the 2010 Teen Choice Awards last month, pop star Katy Perry didn’t disappoint the audience with her visual hostessing skills. Changing into seven costumes in addition to her other stage wear, Perry made sure to mock every single high-school cliché with her getups. Her costume included rock-chick, geek, goth, hippie, cheerleader, prom queen and strapless strips. It’s hard to say which teen costume was the favorite of the night, they each were so hysterical and on target.
However, we did love it when she let loose with her inner geek in a denim jumpsuit, huge eyeglasses and hideous headgear. Oh how we felt her pain and awkwardness! On the other end of the social spectrum, Perry also named herself prom queen (that’s one way to win the title) and dressed up in a prom costume complete with frothy tea length dress, rhinestone tiara and Prom Queen sash. Perry’s Twighlight-inspired Goth costume with long rave black wig, leather dress, combat boots and pale makeup with red lips are sure to be a popular Halloween costume this year with all the vampire craziness going on in teen land.
Or, if none of Katy Perry’s Teen Choice costumes did much for you, dressing up as Katy Perry herself is a quite colorful costume idea. Katy Perry has done a great job marketing herself as a retro sex symbol, a mix of Betty Paige and other pin up girls. Go as a modern version of a 30s-style pin-up costume based one her short-shorts and vampy bra tops that she sports at her many singing performances. Perry also has a thing for adding sweet treat enhancements to her stage costumes – adding a pair of whip cream bottles, lollipops or cupcakes to her bra top. Throw on a neon colored wig and some stiletto platform sandals and you will be a pop princess deluxe.
Frankly, We Do Give A Damn About Scarlett’s Gowns
Holy yards of velvet, Miss Scarlett’s gorgeous gowns are crumbling apart right before our very eyes. Apparently, these famous costumes from the 1939 film epic Gone With The Wind may not live to see another day unless costume curators can raise enough money stop the fashion disaster from unraveling any further. Five of the dresses worn by Vivian Leigh during filming are all plagued by the normal signs of aging – weakened fibers, ripped seams, fading colors, lost embellishments, among other things. Adding to the fact that these southern costumes are falling apart fast is the conditions they were made under – typically fairly quickly and with just enough quality to last through the making of the movie, not for eternity.
So, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, is working on this fixer-up fashion project. With the $30,000 the center hopes to raise, this piece of cinematic history can be preserved for future generations to swoon over. Included in the Gone With The Wind costumes to be repaired are the very famous green curtain dress that Scarlett has made in a panic to catch Rhett’s eye and the wedding dress that she wears to regretfully marry Charles Hamilton. Also in the mending queue, the burgundy ball gown, a blue velvet peignoir, and ornate green dressing gown.
If you are a fan of this famous movie about a turbulent love affair during the Civil War south, a Gone With the Wind costume probably means something quite special to you. In honor of the movie and to express awareness for these gowns in distress, consider dressing up in a Southern Belle costume for Halloween. There are many fluffy and ultra feminine versions to choose from, all with big hoop skirts and floppy hats. Definitely, it’s one of the best Halloween costume ideas either side of the Mississippi!
Jersey Girls Go Sexy Costume Shopping
Looks like Halloween might have come early for MTV’s wildly popular reality show, Jersey Shore. Looks like Snooki put aside her partying ways for a few hours to take the other Guidettes for a shopping excursion at a kinky adult store in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The gals were spotted around the shop oohing and aahing over the hundreds of saucy, sexy costumes.
There choices in costumes confirmed a well-known fact in Jersey girl fashion; the more skin showing, the better. Jenny “Jwwow” Farley, the resident body, strutted her stuff around the X-rated boutique in a black leather dominatrix outfit which so fits her ready-to-rumble personality. Newest housemate, Deena Cortese, showed off her tummy tats in a pink Playboy bunny costume, showing she’s ready to keep up with the other girl’s antics. And, as for Snookie, she led the team in an ultra-mini baseball costume emblazoner with the name “Hustler.” Apparently, the pint-sized Snooki loved her new sexy costume so much that she decided to wear it back the party house – over-the-knee tube socks, high heels and all (we know the bump-it has to be hiding under the baseball cap).
If you are starting to think about what sexy costume you’d like to wear this year for Halloween, just keep watching the Jersey Shore girls for inspiration. Costume Machine can help you find thousands of sexy costumes to purchase on the Internet, from sexy brands like Leg Avenue, Playboy, and others. Be as naught or as nice as you’d like with a range of sexy costumes including French Maid costumes, Beer Girl costumes, sexy storybook characters, hospital hotties and more.
Cluck It Up During Chicken Month
September is National Chicken Month, a whole thirty days devoted to this under-appreciated and, in some opinions, overeaten bird! While we suspect National Chicken Month was conjured up by some corporate poultry producers and recipe developers to increase to consumption of “yard bird,” we’d like to suggest an alternative way of celebrating -- dressing up as some of the most famous chickens of all time and clucking it up!
The San Diego Famous Chicken is the larger-than-life, feathered friend for the Padres baseball team that helped make the profession of mascot the champion of cheer that it is today. Making more that 250 appearances per year across the country, this famous chicken and hall of fame mascot (really just a guy in a chicken suit) has been named on of the most powerful people in 20th century sports by The Sporting News.
Ernie the Giant Chicken from the animated series The Family Guy is the rowdy rooster who likes to show up in the middle of a scene and engage Peter in a cock fight. Random, weird, but sure to make you laugh! Foghorn from Looney Tunes is much more old-school cartoon character, a good ole boy rooster, who speaks in a signature deep southern drawl. Here are some other costume ideas, you could say nuggets of inspiration, for your transformation into a chicken – Chicken Little of the-sky-is-falling-fame, Camilla from the Muppet Show, the cast from Chicken Run and Alfred the Chicken among others.
When you’re suited up in your chicken costume in honor of National Chicken month, don’t forget to shake your tail feathers by boogying along the Chicken Dance. This fun group event is best danced to oomph-pa accordion music – get those wings flapping!
Make Waves at the Mermaid Parade
You’ll never feel like a fish out of water dressed up as a mermaid. Just ask the thousands of humans-turned-mermaids that appear each year for the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade. A landmark event each summer since 1983, this outrageous ocean-themed event draws in thousands of participants who are all dressed up as mermaids, mermen, sea creatures or other wild and wacky water-inspired things. Hundreds of thousands of folks line the streets of this nostalgic amusement destination to pay homage to these sexy sea sirens, underwater goddesses and their accompanying aquatic wildlife.
Capturing the spirit and artistry of other big parades like Mardi Gras, but on a smaller scale, this New York area celebration of the summer solstice is a quite a sight to behold. While marketed as a family event, you will see plenty of mermaid costumes with very little or nothing worn on the top (in New York state, it is legal for women to go topless). But there are also plenty of little aspiring Ariels marching right along – anything goes here!
You’ll see rainbow costumes in an iridescent rainbow array of colors, every neon hue you can possibly image under the sea as well as shimmering silvers and glittering golds. Many of the mermaid costumes are intricately handmade; you can tell the wearer has put some thought and time into the flip of her tail and the sheen of her scales. But don’t fret if you haven’t a crafty bone in your body, there are plenty of fabulous mermaid costumes that come preassembled and ready to wear. Just add body paint to these women’s costumes, a long cascading wig and ocean-inspired accessories such as shells, seaweed and such and you’ll be ready to make waves!
Miss Universe’s Spectacle of National Costumes
Miss Universe, she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. Just a week ago at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, on August 23rd, the Miss Universe Pageant crowned another lovely lady into this elite group of pageant royalty. While Jimena Naverrete, Miss Mexico, won the 2010 title and walked her victory walk down the stage and no doubt took home a ton of cash and fabulous prizes, some of the most memorable moments were from the parade of national costumes. The national costumes portion of the Miss Universe Pageant is not a judged event, but an much anticipated display of feathers, sequins and such that exemplifies each girl’s ability to capture the spirit of her home country.
The award for “Best National Costume” went to Miss Thailand, Fonthip Watcharatrakul who dazzled the audience with a Thai costume featuring leg bracelets and a huge golden staff shaped like a leaf. Of the remaining national country costumes on display there were the simply outrageous and then the shockingly outrageous. Miss Venezuela wore a space-age silver mosaic jumpsuit with a dramatic one-armed cape and Lady Gaga-esque headpiece. Miss USA wore a skimpy gold leotard backed with huge eagle wings and stars; quite a national treasure.
There were other silly and sensational show-stopping looks. The France costume, at first glance, appeared to be a lovely, white evening gown until the beauty pulled out the train behind her festoon with the French flag. Oh, and you couldn’t miss her hat – a typical French beret topped by a silver Eiffel tower! Miss Zambia showed off her country’s best assets with a national costume that featured gourds, a popular native plant, perched strategically over her chest.
A few of the national costumes were a bit lackluster, like a last-minute shopping trip down to the formal department of J.C. Pennys. And, of course, many were over-the-top showgirl costumes that any drag queen would die for. You don’t have to be entering a beauty pageant to dress up in a women’s costume that depicts your love for the motherland – try one on for size and you may realize you’ve found the perfect outfit for a Halloween costume, patriotic festival costume, or downtown parade.
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