By Ashley Schroer
Stores like Shein, Temu, and Forever21 are a lot of people’s go-to for Halloween costumes. They’re cheap and have everything you need for any costume you can think of. Most of the items that are bought for Halloween from these stores are only worn once then sit in the back of closets, get donated, or thrown out.
I came up with some ideas to help make this year’s Halloween (and all the Halloweens after this one) more sustainable. From DIY ideas to new items you’ll use again, CDR has all of your costume needs covered.
Duo DIYs
In anticipation of the movie version of Wicked coming out later this year, I think Glinda and Elphaba will be popular costumes. For Glinda, you can take any all-pink outfit you already have in your closet. If you don’t have anything pink, check out this dress from Target, it’s only
$22 and is available in sizes XS-3X, and you can re-wear it for other events! If you have a pink top, but nothing to go with it, check out this DIY no-sew tutu tutorial! You can buy the tulle and ribbon from any craft store, and they’re super quick and easy to make! For a Glinda wand, you can take any dowel rod, or just a stick, and glue a cardstock star to the end of it!
For Elphaba, you can wear any all-black outfit you already have in your closet, and if you are going with a Glinda who’s wearing a tutu, you can follow the tutorial above to make a matching black one! Avoid buying low-quality face paints for the green effect and opt for a green eyeshadow look using products from CDR Certified brands like ELF. You can also make your own witch hat by following this basic sewing tutorial!
Easy Group Costumes
This is a super easy costume to make if you’re going with a group of friends. Thrift stores always have solid color shirts for cheap, and you can make the headbands by taking an old headband then making your character’s respective shape with pipe cleaners and hot gluing it on! Solid color thrift store shirts can be used for a variety of group characters as well: print or write M’s on your shirts and your group can go as M&M’s; draw a sun, cloud, or flower on each of your shirts and you can be Care Bears!
Another easy way to get a group costume together (or any costume) is to go through what you already have in your closet. The group on the right used sweat sets and cheetah print to become The Cheetah Girls, but there are endless possibilities depending on your wardrobes. Get together with your friends and see if you can put together an all-blue, an all-red, and an all-green outfit by combing your wardrobes and you have the perfect Power Puff Girls costume! Strawberry Shortcake characters are also really easy to replicate because they are color based and there are a ton of characters to choose from!
Halloween can be sustainable, and it doesn’t have to be expensive either. Look into the wardrobe you currently have and see if there are any costume possibilities there, then check out thrift stores and get crafty with some DIYs to finish out your costume!
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