Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Result

This is my Miss Havisham costume. I tried it on the night before the party and was satisfied. But I decided not to use the cobwebs since I couldn't find a way to attach them without sewing them onto the fabric, which I didn't want to do.

I wasn't barefoot at the party, though. I had no luck finding a pair of white slippers or ballet flats (winter is coming and shops are pretty low on these kind of shoes), so I ended up wearing a pair of white lace stockings. 

This was the final result

And here is a close-up of my makeup and hair.

  

        

I was trying to create a ringlet hairstyle similar to the one above, but my stubborn hair refused to stay curly. But, in the end, it worked well enough since Miss Havisham should have a general air of negligence about her. I've also applied some baby powder to my hair to make it look gray. It's a good trick, but you really need a lot of powder and even if you set it with hairspray it tends to slowly disappear. 

         

I loved putting together this costume and the evening was a great success. Though I was slightly annoyed that nobody recognized me. It may be due to the fact that no one at the party has ever read 'Great Expectations'. Can't wait to start working on my next year's costume. 

Happy Halloween!

Fancy Dress Ideas Victorian Style

Source: La Mode Illustree, France,1887 

A dragon fly, a little Japanese girl and different (board) games.  

Fancy Dress Ideas Victorian Style

Source: La Mode Illustree, France, 1888 

An Incroyable, a little gypsy girl and Empress Josephine (Regency lady).  

Great Halloween Ideas from Take Back Halloween

My Halloween costume was good and ready by Thursday night and, just when I was happy with what I was going to be, I came across this.

Ada Lovelace Costume from Take Back Halloween

I want it!

Not many people know who Ada Lovelace is, and that's a shame. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron. And she was the mother of programming. That's right, she was writing the first programs for the proto-computer created by Charles Babbage.

This costume is from an amazing website called Take Back Halloween: A Costume Guide for Women with Imagination. The idea behind the site is that it has become increasingly common for women to dress up in 'sexy something' costumes. While there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to look nice or sexy on Halloween, most of these ill-fitting polyester numbers are silly, demeaning or downright offensive. And some are just bizarre. So, the folks over at Take Back Halloween came up with this great costume resource  honoring some great women of history: activists, queens, heroines, goddesses and stars.    

I've already picked two costumes for next year's Halloween 

Persephone 

Emma Goldman 

A few other great Halloween costumes ideas: Jane Austen, Pele, Nzinga, Josephine Baker, Sappho.    

Miss Havisham Halloween Costume: The Makeup

The secret to a great Miss Havisham costume is, of course, the make up. Though she is often portrayed as an old hag, Dickens's notes suggest that she is only in her mid-fifties. However, living without active pursuits, sunlight or happiness can leave one looking much older than one's years.

There are many great 'aged' makeup tutorials online, so here are just a few of my favorite ones.

This is really great and easy to do.