Most geek girls reach the realization at some point between eighth grade and freshman year of college that Halloween costume options for women, in general, suck. As Mean Girls so cleverly pointed out, we're expected to put on a black leotard and a set of ears and be a "Sexy Cat," "Sexy Rabbit," or, of course, a Sexy Mouse. Don't even get me started on the Sexy Bumblebees. Every year, io9 rounds up the weirdest "Sexy" store-bought costumes of the year, and this year's round-up was juat as depressing as ever. For those of you still looking for an appropriately geeky, cute, and non-naked Halloween costume, I've got a few suggestions.
fairytale costumes
Whether you're in the mood to play the role of a fairytale princess or a villain, it's hard to find a truly beautiful costume in the sea of tiny tutus that usually represent women's fairy tale costumes. Of all places, Wal-Mart has one of the cutest fairytale costumes with this movie-inspired tea length Cinderella dress. At Spirit Halloween, which always pops up in a strip mall around here, there's a cool Queen of Hearts dress - it's the ruff that I'm really loving.
Perfect upgrades: Since butterflies were a huge motif in the live action Cinderella, a crown like this one from Delfina Crowns shown on @twintresses would be the perfect touch. For the Queen of Hearts, I'm obsessed with this DIY card ruff from The Joy of Fashion.
retro costumes
It seems like I consider a flapper costume every year - I love Chicago and The Great Gatsby, and while there are definitely some cheapo sequin monstrosities out there, there are always at least a few dresses that look like something a lady could actually do the Charleston in. I like this tiered lace and fringe flapper dress from Party City. Last year, I was Agent Peggy Carter for Halloween, and absolutely fell in love with 1940's makeup and hairstyles - this sailor dress from Buy Costumes looks like it could be a great modest option for vintage style lovers with a cami underneath that plunging neckline.
Upgrades: Learn to dance like Daisy Buchanan...
... or style your hair in victory rolls (this is my personal favorite tutorial!).
slightly spooky costumes
This spiderweb poncho from Spirit Halloween is adorable and would also be a really easy costume paired with a tank top and leggings - or, paired with a leotard and tights, you could totally go all-out Edwardian burlesque performer (it's a thing!). I also like this "Victorian Steampunk Lady" costume because it's really versatile - add some purple streaks to your hair and a pocket watch and it would be a great Miss Peregrine outfit, or throw on a cool witch hat and a faux-emerald choker for Zelena from Once Upon a Time.
Upgrades:
pop culture costumes.
As a huge Orange is the New Black fan, I think Alex Vause is a genius costume idea - the black glasses completely get the point across and the jumpsuit from Spirit Halloween would be a really comfy option! I also love this badass Wonder Woman costume from Buy Costumes- have you seen the trailer for the movie yet? It looks like it's going to be awesome.
Upgrades:
To go all out as Alex, Etsy is packed with sellers offering beautiful temporary tattoos, like these roses from TattooNBeyond. Wonder Woman's shield is only $10 at Target - (trick or) treat yo self!
Soundcloud's "Discover Weekly" playlist is one of my favorite things in the world - digging this track that popped up this week and it right up my musical alley.
As most of you know, I'm a sucker for Pantone's seasonal color reports. I love seeing which colors the experts predict will dominate the runways and how those trends manifest in my favorite stores. Autumn is my favorite season for fashion - I love, love, love sweaters, scarves, knit dresses, tights, books, and jackets. One of my favorite fashion colors this fall is the rich green Pantone calls Lush Meadow (LOFT calls it Ponderosa Pine, and at Old Navy it's Winter Spruce). Here's some of my current inspiration:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren are one of the cutest couples in country music. I love this song that he wrote after their wedding.
The New Basement Tapes, consisting of Marcus Mumford, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Elvis Costello, Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops' Rhiannon Giddens, works with song lyrics penned by Bob Dylan in 1967 to create magic. Despite the weird video (kind of reminds me of Gorillaz), I love this song. Hope this supergroup gets back together soon.
