This week’s blog post is a roundup of all the clothing I’ve DIYed from the past two October Outfits projects.
To be honest, I’ve been intentionally avoiding major sewing projects as much as possible because I don’t always have the patience for them. I have some ideas for future pieces though!
All of these pieces were created for my October Outfits projects. The patches have already been removed from the jumpsuit. The white lace has been unpinned. I have yet to alter May’s shirt, but I haven’t worn it again either. The Rubbish shirt will be put up for sale. Baby Firefly’s jeans are going into regular rotation though!
Created some pages from Cassie’s journal in one of my own with blue, black, and red pens to make the tally marks.
All of these crafts were created specifically for my October Outfits projects. Although, some of these props are just items that already existed altered to fit my purposes. Most of them I pulled together last minute because that’s just how it always ends up. 😇
Catch me back here next week for another post.
In the meantime, check out my Make This Craft board on Pinterest.
This week’s blog post is a roundup of all the jewelry I’ve DIYed from the past two October Outfits projects.
In full disclosure, I used to make a lot of (and sell a little) jewelry. I still have a ton of supplies, and I hope to incorporate it back into my life sooner rather than later.
A little silver coin charm and a silver cross charm put together on a silver chain.
Some of these were created prior to any of my movie character costume ideas. Others were made specifically for the October Outfits. Three-quarters of them are still in my personal collection currently.
Instead of writing the post I had planned to write today, I decided to organize the bulk of my necklaces.
Before
I’ve been using some tie racks and a diamond accordion peg rack to store the majority of my necklaces hanging on a wall in my bedroom. All the wall racks have been secondhand scores.
Necklaces
The bulk of my collection was inherited from both my grandmothers, my mother, and my spouse’s grandmother via my mother-in-law. The rest were gifts, pieces I’ve made, or baubles I’ve acquired over the years.
Where the boots were in the first pic.
Early on, I made the decision to move all the boots, so I wouldn’t have to deal with sheetrock dust getting on them. It was a double bonus because then I could use the top of the dressers for my tool bench.
I forgot to take a pic of them all empty, but I wasn’t going to take down the necklaces on the filled first rack just for a photo.
My spouse suggested I draw out a rough sketch before starting, and it was a very helpful recommendation! It turned out perfectly to put 2″ of space between each rack.
Look at that spacing.
The second diamond accordion peg rack (on the left) was something I got for free on the side of the road last summer. It has been thoroughly disinfected, washed, and dried in the months in between then and now.
My brain loves the symmetry of the racks now.
I’m happy with how this jewelry wall turned out, and I’m looking forward to wearing all these cherished necklaces in the future!
At the end of 2021, my mom’s spouse abruptly died. It was really tragic and spontaneous. Fortunately, my sibling and I were able to fly out to be with her after it happened. While we were there, I helped my mom go through her entire house top-to-bottom. We purged items that were no longer needed and organized the ones that remained. When we were going through clothes, I asked if I could have this black tee that was a few sizes larger than what I usually wear, cropped, and stained with bleach spots. My mom looked at me like I was crazy due to this ask, but I knew in that moment that I would turn this shirt into the RUBBISH shirt that Janis Ian wears in Mean Girls. RIP to Timothy. Thanks for the shirt! I’m thinking about posting it up in my eBay store so this can live on with another person too.
The shirt as I obtained it.
I’m kind of a lazy DIYer where I skip steps that others might think are necessary…like ironing this shirt. But I’m also pretty detail-oriented with other steps like trying to ensure the letters were straight and evenly spaced.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to cut the sleeves off or not, so I just tucked them under right away.
I tried to square up the shirt at an even number to help create a grid to chalk out the spacing for the letters.
The items I used to mark out the space between the letters.
Originally, I was trying to print a letter template off the internet, but I couldn’t figure out the right sizing for my shirt. I gave up and decided to wing it with some rulers, measuring tape, and tailor’s chalk.
I kind of intentionally made them different sizes so there wouldn’t be a weird gap around the letter I.
I’m glad I remembered to place this up high on the chest instead of centering it on the shirt.
I was really uncertain about the letter Bs when I saw this stage.
While I would have liked a more stencil-style look for this recreation, I just freehanded it in what I hoped would be a readable font.
Those Bs turned out ok though!
I used some “Daffodil” yellow multi-surface acrylic paint and a paintbrush I acquired at my last day job. I painted multiple coats until I was happy with it. Then, once the paint was completely dry, I washed and dried the shirt to remove the chalk lines.
The outfit for Janis Ian from Mean Girls.
I feel good about how this shirt turned out, and I think it read well for the photo shoot. I ultimately kept the sleeves tucked inside instead of cutting them, so now the next owner can decide whether to keep them or cut them.
When choosing characters to recreate for my October Outfits project, I noticed that Baby Firefly’s outfit in The Devil’s Rejects is pretty similar to Erin Hardesty’s outfit from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I didn’t want to do two posts of a white tank top, blue jeans, and a cowboy hat without at least attempting to distress the jeans for Baby Firefly. There are more film-accurate recreations for sale, but I’m not trying to own anything with a confederate flag on it, even if I’m dressing up as a character who does. I ultimately took a pair of stained jeans that I had dedicated to using for painting and yard work activities to alter for this look.
The jeans in their already stained state prior to alteration.
I took a piece of scrap wood that would fit inside the pant leg to ensure my cuts didn’t go through to both sides of the pants. Once the wood piece was inside, I used a box cutter-style knife with a razor blade to make some horizontal slices up and down the legs in the front. I tried to vary the lengths and space out the placement.
Some of the slices are visible on the top of the right leg as looking down at it.
Since this was the first time I have attempted to distress anything, I was more conservative with my cuts and placement than I would be now after finishing this project and seeing the result of this work. I spent time pulling out individual vertical threads to make some of the holes and rips larger with some horizontal threads staying in place.
Because these jeans had elastic in them to make them stretchy, the fraying near the cuts turned out differently than a more “denim” pair would.
In between the cutting and the bleaching, I washed and dried these jeans. For the bleaching process, I used this tutorial as a guide.
I knew my hoarded rubber band collection would come in handy someday!
I pulled out my stash of rubber bands and while I watched a movie, I pulled different parts of the jeans into different-sized lumps and bumps while putting rubber bands around them to hold them in place. This is similar to a tie-dye technique.
After the jeans were tied up, I gathered the supplies to bleach them.
In the gross metal tub sink in the creepy part of my basement, I filled an empty plastic popcorn bucket with the tied-up jeans and then two parts water to one part bleach. I used the fork to push all the parts under the liquid and then put the glass measuring cup on top to hold it down for the process.
I let it sit for an hour.
Once the hour was up, I removed all the rubber bands and then rinsed the jeans before putting them through the washer and dryer by themselves.
The jeans prior to going through the wash.
I really like how these jeans turned out, and the previous dirt and paint stains aren’t really visible with all the bleach spots and distressed holes now.
The outfit for Baby Firefly from The Devil’s Rejects.
In retrospect, I would have gone harder on the holes and made the distressed bits more of a destroyed vibe for Baby Firefly, but these are probably more wearable as day-to-day pants as they are now.
This is a recap of all the Movie Character Outfits I recreated in 2022. As this is the second year I completed this project, I can see the improvement in using a more standardized template in the posts, capturing an accurate pose, and editing the images into scenes. Hopefully, you enjoyed this series as much (or more!) than the last one.
I’m always curious if people have favorites or if anything in these posts has inspired you. Feel free to leave a comment if you want to share your thoughts or if you have suggestions for future characters who you would like to see. ✨
I think prior to this project I would have chosen Janis Ian as my favorite character from Mean Girls, but I’ll never think of her the same way since I read this piece on how she is the meanest girl of all.
Black and White Striped Tights that I ripped one knee open pulling on a thread right before this photo shoot. But, on the upside of things, that made it more authentic since Janis is actually wearing knee-high socks with bare knees in that outfit.
Outfit #2: Same as Outfit #1 with Chocolate Brown Apt. 9 Collared Button-up Shirt that I borrowed from my partner, but I might have just acquired forever after realizing he has not worn it since when it was…
I held the long ends up with two claw hair clips, put two glittery barrettes in the front to hold the bangs to the side, and added some twisty up-do gems in the beehive bit since I couldn’t find my baby butterfly clips. (I hope I didn’t get rid of them!) Sure, this wig is a bit large for Janis’ do, but it still tracks because even in the movie there are jokes about her wearing a wig.
Prop 1:Red Framed Chalkboard Easel with White Chalk (not pictured). I bought this on sale with the intention of using it for in-person shows where I sell my homemade jewelry, but now I don’t really do that anymore.
Prop 2: Small Piece of White Paper, Number 2 Pencil, Rolled Poster, and Wooden Back Scratcher (used as a pointer) that they handed out for free promos at the State Fair one year.
There’s a new girl named Cady at school. I introduce myself and my friend Damian who I refer to as “too gay to function.”
Cady says that Regina George wants to be friends with her and that she seems sweet. I tell her, “Regina George is not sweet! She’s a scum-sucking road whore, she ruined my life!”
I convince Cady that it would be fun to mess up Regina George’s life. So she pretends to be friends with Regina, and then she would come to my house after and we laugh about all the dumb stuff Regina said. And we gave these candy bar things to Regina that would make her gain weight, and then we turned her best friends against her. And then… Oh yeah, Cady – you know my friend Cady? She made out with her boyfriend, and we convinced him to break up with her. Oh, God, and we gave her foot cream instead of face wash.
But then I find out that Cady blew off my Art Show to host a party at her house, and she didn’t invite me or Damian. When we ride up to find it in full swing, I ask, “Did you have an awesome time? Did you drink awesome shooters, listen to awesome music, and just soak up each other’s awesomeness?” Then, I throw my drawing from the art show at her and say, “Here, you can have this, it won a prize.”
After the school riot, when we’re bonding during assembly, I get onstage to speak my truth and apologize. “God! I am so sorry Regina. Really, I don’t know why I did this. I guess it’s probably because I’ve got a big lesbian crush on you! Suck on that! AY-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI!”
I was very tempted to buy this full costume to be Cassandra “Cassie” Thomas from Promising Young Woman. Besides the fact that this price is a great deal to get all these items together (after I priced them individually too), I’ve had a nurse’s costume on my list for a while, and there is no doubt that I would rock that pastel wig again! However, in the spirit of this assignment (that I can gave myself) to use as much as I could from what I already owned prior to buying anything new, I decided to do a different Cassie outfit. Initially, I was only planning for the outfit with pants, but after rewatching the movie, I ended up pulling two more looks together for a total of three ‘fits for this character. #Overachiever
Hair #1:Ombre Blonde Long Curly Wig I wanted to put it up into a bun, but because this is a wig, it was obvious when I started styling it. As such, I just clipped up the majority in a claw and tried to twist the ends into some sort of baby bun to provide a similar vibe.
Nails: If you only get one detail to nail this character, it should be Cassie’s nails. There is a great write-up about it here. They are a pastel rainbow manicure. I wish I had more of a peach color for my pointer fingers, and in retrospect, I might have done a light pink instead of the orange. I have a better green too, but they all look the same in the bottles. All polishes are from the brand Zoya.
Accessories #1:Black Kenneth Cole Reaction Shoulder Bag I got this from my mother on my most recent trip out to visit. I carried all my stuff around her house in it. I love it.
I’m more of a silver person than a gold one, so I just changed up this look to match my metal tone.
Hair #2:Loose Curl TNAT/27613 Bobbi Boss Tress Up Ponytail I got this ponytail hairpiece and another in a darker color as part of that auction wig lot. They were still in the original packaging with the plastic bit attached. I don’t know that I would have ventured out of wigs into ponytail territory if they hadn’t come with other things I was more interested in (namely a blue wig for Coraline), but now that I’ve tried this one, it might become part of my regular wear.
I think my Party Grrrl™️ license is expired (if not revoked) because I am ashamed to admit that I do not own any silver arm cuffs currently. I will hang my head in shame until this is remedied.
Gray with Black Leather Trim Graff Suit Jacket This is part of a set I bought at a thrift store that came with the jacket, pants, and long skirt that match. An amazing find in my size!
Maleficent is the first villain I ever loved. Sleeping Beauty was a movie I watched repeatedly as a child, and Maleficent’s color palette (black, purple, lime green, and a pop of hot pink) might be my all-time favorite. I love her entire aesthetic.
While I appreciate that she got further screentime with Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, I’m not super into the backstory where her heart was broken by a man who betrayed her trust (it’s BEEN DONE) and she ended up loving Sleeping Beauty/Aurora like she was her own child. Like if one of my ex’s had a kid with someone else and I spent all my time watching that child, that would be stalking, not some wonderful Fairy Godmother relationship. When I root for villains, I’d prefer they not be child stalkers. Curse a MFer all you want, but don’t waste your time watching them and loving them. lol
This is probably the most costumey outfit that I’ve done. But sometimes instead of buying something new or repurposing things you already have, you could ask your mom (or friend or whoever) if you can borrow the awesome costume they wore a different year. My mother was Maleficent for a couple of different Halloweens, and I asked her earlier this year if she was going to be her again this season or if I could use the outfit. Of the items she sent me, I only ended up using the headpiece for this look. However, there are some simple tutorials on how to DIY horns that I would have turned to if I didn’t already have a sweet set.
Outfit:Black Voodoo Vixen High-Low Keyhole Dress I believe I inherited this from a friend. Am I going to let the fact that I can’t button the top button of the chest bit stop me from wearing this fabulous dress? Hell no! I just tucked that bit into my strapless bra and kept it moving.
Shoes:Black Faux Fur Lined Knee-High Boots that originally came with round laces wrapped around them, but I altered them years ago with some chain instead. (*Note to self: Take some links out to pull them tighter now that the chains have settled.)
Outfit #2: Last minute, I pulled out this black (unbranded, possibly homemade) cape (that I think was my sibling’s at one point in time), but if I had thought it through, I would have stitched up the edges and at least ironed it. 😬
Hair: Because this specific set of horns is a complete headpiece that straps underneath the chin, I just braided my hair into two braids and clipped them up on my head to hide underneath. The high neckline of the dress and the collar of the cape really helped ensure that no hair was showing.
Makeup: I kinda used this tutorial, but just did what I could with what I had.
Prop 1: A hand puppet that I inherited from someone. Unsure if it is supposed to be a Crow or a Raven, but it is definitely a corvid. This is my Diablo/Diaval. I had it clipped to my sleeve for a few photos, but when it didn’t stay on my shoulder, I just put it on my hand for some photos too.
Prop 2: So one or two nights before I was planning to do this photo shoot, I realized freaked out that I didn’t have a staff for Maleficent. I almost talked myself out of doing her entirely because I didn’t want to recreate someone so dear to me without such a crucial prop. In my brainstorming on how I could whip something together, I pulled a tiki torch out of my garage. I initially wanted a greener ball on top, but I couldn’t find one in my house. Then, my partner suggested a tennis ball. Depending on what version of Maleficent you are rocking, her staff has been represented in various shades of green and some even go as light as yellow especially when it is glowing. I was considering using some of my hemp to wrap up the staff, but once I saw that I had brown yarn, everything came together. I used some brown packing paper from one of my recent deliveries to put in the top bit of the torch part to keep the ball high enough to show instead of falling deeper down. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
“I must say, I really felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation.”
“The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. *But*… before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, she shall prick her finger – on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and fall into a sleep like death! A sleep from which she will never awaken! The princess *can* be woken from her death sleep, but only by…True Love’s Kiss! This curse will last till the end of time! No power on Earth can change it!”
“Pitchforks? Humans are hilarious.”
“Hmm. It’s so ugly, you could almost feel sorry for it.”
“Aurora, there is an evil in this world, hatred, and betrayal. And I cannot keep you from it.”
Catch me back here tomorrow for another post.
In the meantime, check out the Maleficent Vibes board on Pinterest.
Thrifty Subversion 