Not only this, but the plastic polymer used in production of more than 63% of the Halloween costumes takes between 20-200 years for decomposing completely. That’s like watching a horror movie at midnight only to see the words “based on real story” at the end. Instantly fills you up with dread, right?
With the annual celebration of Halloween at every October 31st, the landfills are being filled with discarded costumes that are not worn more than once in their lifetime. In this blog, we will share the top 4 ways in which you can embrace both sustainable fashion and Halloween side by side. Let’s get started!
Attend or organise a Halloween costume swap
Gather your friends or family members for a quick Halloween costume swap party. It’s a fun and sustainable way to create your Halloween look without spending money or wasting resources on new costumes.
Ask everyone to bring their old costumes, jewelry, shoes, or anything else to the swap party so you can easily mix and match for creating something spooky. This method not only saves money but also gives costumes a second life.
Ditch ready-to-wear costumes
Instead of purchasing ready-to-wear costumes with new accessories, shoes, and makeup, try repurposing the Halloween costumes already hanging in your wardrobe. There are many ways to build a new costume just by changing the accessories and styling methods of your clothing items.
For example, if you have gloves in your wardrobe, quickly think what costumes can go with these like a magician, or a regency-inspired costume. Sometimes, slightly changing an outfit can also make it “brand-new”. One most common modification is wings. If you have a pair of fairy wings (even from your childhood), just put some feathers on them and there, you have your own set of angel wings.
If you are still not sure, here are some examples of top Halloween 2024 costumes that can be easily pulled together at home:
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Wednesday Addams
Inspired from the dark-minded series “Wednesday Addams”, this costume is the perfect blend of stylish and creepy. All you need is a black dress or a black skirt and top with a white-collar shirt underneath. Even the makeup and hairstyling are kinda minimal – dark lips, pale foundation, and two braids with a middle partition.
PRO TIP: If your black dress or skirt is made of cotton, chances are that it may have some lint or pilling on it, making it look dull and worn-out. To get rid of these, simply wash your clothing with a lint remover powder like BIORESTORE cotton. After only one wash, it will be like having a brand-new black dress at your hands.
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Sandy from Grease
A black leather jacket (that we all have in our wardrobe), black pants or leggings, red heels, and a black top! That’s all you need to become “Sandy” this Halloween. If, by some chance, you don’t have one of these items in your closet, simply raid your friends’ and families’ wardrobe and I am sure that you will get everything you need. To complete the look, wear a curly hair wig with red lipstick.
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Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)
From classic headbands to plaid skirts and tights, the iconic style of Blair Waldorf never goes out of style. If you are a fan of Upper East Siders, this is the perfect costume inspiration for you.
Instead of sticking to one specific look, go through different pictures from the series. I am 100% sure that after doing so, you’ll have at least one or two looks resembling closely to the fabrics already existing in your wardrobe.
Check out local secondhand clothing and thrift shops
For those who love pulling off elaborate costumes every Halloween, building a costume out of fabrics already existing in the wardrobe can be challenging or even impossible.
In that case, checking out secondhand clothing or thrifted clothing stores is a great and sustainable idea to create something versatile without contributing to additional textile waste.
Start with the blacks which are the foundation for so many costumes. If your everyday wardrobe doesn’t have black leggings, or other layering pieces like tees, turtlenecks, button downs, pants, skirts, tights, etc., pick these up whenever you visit a secondhand clothing store.
And if you feel that any of these fabrics (made of at least 70% cotton) is feeling a little too pre-loved, simply use BIORESTORE cotton to revive it at home. This lint remover powder not only targets lint and pilling in the washing machine, but also restores the texture and handfeel of your cotton clothing.
Also, look for “free-sized” items when you are shopping for Halloween. This way, you can get clothing pieces that can be worn for years to come. Some great examples are tunics, unfitted dresses, cloaks, and muumuus. You can even repurpose some extra sheets to be worn as togas, and capes. What a spooky way to embrace sustainable fashion right?
Go big on the makeup
Dressing up is not the only way to celebrate Halloween. If you can’t decide on what to wear this year, start drawing some whiskers on your ears and call yourself a cat… or try something even bolder and slay in a unicorn themed makeup.
Makeup not only helps you in standing out, but it also diverts the attention from your costume which is why it’s the perfect way to celebrate sustainable fashion.
Let’s say that you want to dress up as an evil clown. Use shades of deep pink and red to create a messy smokey eye. Then, using a face paint, draw two triangles just above your eyebrows and the lines that connect your eyes to your lips. Finally, finish the look with a bright red lip.
You can find hundreds of different Halloween makeup inspirations on the internet. From TikTok to Instagram to YouTube, every social media platform is full of easy tutorials that can be performed and perfected in a matter of minutes.
Here’s to the spooky season!
