Best Blogs to Visit for Costume Design Inspiration

There are large numbers of blogs around the web related to costume design. Some provide only scant information limited to one or two pages, and others have a plethora of information and unique ideas. These top three blogs are authored by those who are non-professionals yet have put together blogs that are both interesting and useful when it comes to costume ideas. A common theme in all of them is costuming on a budget (sometimes a very tight one), reflecting the state of the economy; however, this does not have to detract at all from a great costume. All that is needed is some creativity and being open to new ideas.  

CostumeIdeas101.org

This blog is a collection of tips, images, links, and posts by readers about costume ideas for a wide variety of categories. These include costumes for kids and adults, advice for creating successful homemade costumes, and budget-friendly costume ideas. There is a section of printable simple instructions for costumes that can be put together from everyday materials found at discount or thrift stores or even around the house. The main theme behind this blog encourages readers to think outside the box and come up with unique ideas using items they can modify into costume pieces with a few easy steps. The authors also encourage donating and/or recycling costume pieces as both an economically, and environmentally, friendly practice.

Costumzee.com

This extensive blog focuses on what is popular this year that can translate into memorable costume ideas. It runs through the hit films of 2010 and the characters that are likely to be popular as costumes with different age groups. It also has some interesting segways into the history of certain characters, such as the story of the real-life pirate Blackbeard and how accurately it matches up to the costume craze resulting from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for the past few years. Readers are encouraged to post their own costume pictures and describe what materials they used to put it all together. There are also examples and images of accessories that can take a costume to the next level, such as special-effect colored contact lenses. The writers here state early on that it's about more than just dressing up; becoming a complete character and acting the part is just as important.

365Halloween.com

This blog is devoted to all things Halloween, and it has a homemade costume how-to section that is definitely worth a mention. It offers more original character ideas than are found elsewhere, such as "Snakeoil Salesman", "Crazy Cat Lady", and "Silent Film Star" (complete with full grey-shaded face make-up). Each one has its own tutorial page dedicated not only to how to put the costume together, but how to get into character as well. There are also plenty of pictures and suggestions for making your own props or accessories. Like other blogs, this one also suggests using materials that can easily be found around the house or very inexpensively at the nearby thrift store. The authors here encourage using a costume to bring out your unique personality, rather than emulating a character from the latest movies or TV shows. The results are almost always more of a conversation-starter and gain more props from fellow Halloween revelers.