Monday 12 October 2009

Emily: The Corpse Bride


Tim Burtons musical underworld is where Emily the corpse bride spends most of her time, intill she meets Victor, and then all sorts of drama ensues! I have planned a brilliant costume and although I'm not sure how many people will recognise me I am satisfied it will be accurate and realistic : ) I like to adjust costumes to fit in with real life, using real clothes and adapting make up etc to make things more realistic, after all I'm not a cartoon.

First I ordered a cheap Chinese lace corset that is very satisfactory, spray it with a fine layer of silver to give it a bit of sparkle and then aged the edges with dark blue, mostly around the top and bottom of the bodice. I took some time in constructing a trio of rib bones using ivory polyma clay and attached them to the bodice.

A silver dress bought on ebay will be adapted and made into a high waisted skirt with a knee high split slightly of centre to show a view of my shockingly bony leg : ) I will wear a white stocking with knee high blue sock rouched down round the ankle on my left leg. False lashes and bright blue eye shadow to the brow are a must, I have also bought 3 new shades of face paint to paint my body with. The veil I cut to a custom design, which I then hemmed, it is chapel length and falls to the floor. I soakd it in a tea bag/water/dye mix along with some ivory lace wedding gloves. I’ll also distressed them a little with velcro, and tears, both are made of cheap material and tarnished very well. I bought some wooden flowers in several colours which I aged with teabags and paint to make a fabulous bouquet and head piece, the latter of which I will attach the veil : )
On a side note David has a very acceptable hump made from a pair of pillows and some thick elastic straps. I was hoping to find some sort of plastic buckle (like you get on suitcases and the like) but for the moment bows and knots will suffice. I made a rough sack cloth type tunic in stone coloured cotton to go over the top. I had all the materials needed for this and my Emily costume cost £35, which I am so very proud of.

Saturday 3 October 2009

Bridal halloween costume

The party is pretty much planned and I have all the supplies I need, I have started David's costume and my own. I had planned to wear a charity bought bridal gown and put my hair up for Bride of Frankenstein but she actually only wears a sort of bed sheet bandage combo rather than a formal wedding gown. I'd love to do my hair up and I'm sure everyone will recognise me, it would be a very agreeable costume.

But I am tempted to modify the gown (it would look great) and tint my hair purple to become Tim Burtons corpse bride, Emily. This would be more authentic but I'm not sure I can ruin such a gown (even a bargain one) with good conscience.

I'd like some opinions please, do I modify the gown and paint myself as a zombie (I do love a good zombie!) or do I keep it decent and do a passable bride of Frankenstein? Decisions decisions! Please vote on the right hand side, opinions are greatly appreciated : )