10 Halloween Costume Ideas For The Vintage Loving Gal!

As vintage loving gals we get asked whether we're in theatrical plays on an almost daily basis. Whilst walking down the street we might hear people yell in our direction "MAD MEN!" or "Dita Von Teese!" Halloween might be the only day of the year where we could get away with full-blown vintage attire without any rude or annoying comments. However, since we dress in 60s wiggle dresses, or 50s party dresses anyway, it would be boring to dress up as Joan from Mad Men, or Dita Von Teese. So here are some ideas for Halloween costumes that can probably be recreated from your very own closet. 

1. A pumpkin! This was my Halloween costume a couple years ago. The dress was something I had already in my closet. All I needed to do was make a headpiece in the shape of a stem using a couple pieces of green felt and black elastic, and pull on some green tights. This very dress is now up for sale in my shop. Add some face paint and you can be a creepy jack-o-lantern. But if orange is not your color, you can be other pieces of fruit or veggies too! Got a red dress? Be a tomato! Purple? Eggplant! You get the idea.

2. Silent Film Star  Grab that black vintage dress, white tights and get ready to paint your face gray. Add a little black board to show your 1920s era dialogue.

3. Roy Lichtenstein Girl Now granted this costume is more about the makeup than what you're wearing, but most vintage girls have polka dots and bright colors in her closet. Grab that polka dot dress, or classic 80s geometric print secretary dress and get ready for a good solid hour of makeup application. But oh is it worth it!

4. Miss Yvonne from Pee Wee's Playhouse This one might require some male arm candy in a grey suit and red bow tie on your arm, but 80s kids will undoubtedly recognize you if you wear a big poofy 50s style dress with your hair up in a massive beehive.

5. Alice Keiko Lynn dressed as Alice in Wonderland a couple years ago. It's not an uncommon costume in a mainstream sense. You can find a packaged, Made In China Alice Costume at your local Halloween shop, but vintage gals can give the character some vintage whimsy. Do you have a light blue vintage dress like I do? Maybe a vintage white pinafore apron like I do? BAM! I just figured out what I'll be this year. Also, you could easily be Dorothy from Wizard of Oz with just a change from black to red shoes.  

6. Mary Poppins Got a white blouse? Got a blazer and skirt? Got an UMBRELLA?!?! You could be Julie Andrews in a heartbeat.

7. Showgirl Harriett from Bright Young Twins rocked this authentic 30s showgirl outfit. Now I'm not expecting you gals to have such a rare piece in your closet, but if you do, ummm, DUH! If you don't, try wearing that dress with fringe you got, that big feather hat... get your glam on! Bedazzle your old black swimsuit, and step in some fishnets. This one can morph into a cigarette girl or circus performer... just depends on where you decide to take it.

8. French Clown Erin from Calivintage went as French clown a couple years ago. Some 60s dresses often have a Pierrot vibe to them. Maybe you have something similar in your closet. If not take that high neck 60s shift and add some ruffled white tulle, or a bold white collar. Paint your face the iconic white with a little black eye makeup and there you have it. Add some white gloves if you want to go for more of a mime look.

9. Favorite Film Character  Johanna went as Rachael from Blade Runner last year. A simple 40s style black dress would do for this look. Admittedly, this costume is all about the hair.

Sally Jane Vintage did Bonnie and Clyde a few years ago. Seen as Faye Dunaway in the 1967Bonnie and Clyde is such a style icon to so many of us vintage-loving gals, I'm sure a lot of you have a beret and scarf in your vintage arsenal. If you don't mind trashing some clothes add some blood from being sprayed with bullets, and voila, a creepy and stylish costume.

Andi B. Goode dressed up as a Rockford Peach from A League of Their Own. Possibly the cutest vintage girl costume ever! It'll take some effort to achieve this look, but it obviously can be done. A lazy girl's take on it would be to wear a simple white blouse and white tennis skirt with a red baseball cap and a bat in hand. 

10. Sea Nymph, Esther Williams or Drowning Victim from the 50s!  Now, I simply wore this outfit for an impromptu guerrilla style photo-shoot in an aquarium, but how cute would this outfit be to wear for Halloween? Put on your vintage 50s suit or repro swimsuit and sport a swim cap and be Esther Williams. Cover yourself in seaweed, smear gnarly black makeup under your eyes and blue on your face and lips and be a 1950s drowning victim! And now, no Top 10 list written by Mary Van Notewould be complete without some extras (i.e. I have a hard time editing myself).

11. Sexy Oompa Loompa Okay, okay, this one is clearly a sales pitch for this pair of rad 70s hot pants/shortalls just listed in my shop. But what better way to justify spending money on a vintage garment than Halloween? Especially if you know you would wear them a lot anyways. So take a look at your favorites on Etsy and go ahead and justify an awesome vintage purchase.

12. Girl Scout If you're anything like me, you have some vintage uniforms in your closet... and one of those uniforms would be a vintage girl scout uniform. I dressed as a vintage girl scout several years ago. You can go from cute girl scout to creepy zombie girl scout with just the swipe and smudge of some eyeliner. And that's it, ladies. These were some of my favorite Halloween costumes that can be done with vintage clothing and accessories. I'm all about making your own costumes from what you already have in your closet, and I hope I inspired you to look into yours and get creative this Halloween.