Halloween 2010: Lady Gaga Costume [DIY]

I'm completely obsessed with Halloween. It's by far my favorite time of the year [well.. it runs a close second to Christmas...] I love when the weather starts to change, the leaves turn colors and everything gets that "crisp" feeling. October means scary movies for the entire month and by the time the 1st rolls around, I am usually waist deep in our costume plan. This year is no different. I can't wait to share this year's selections with you guys but I normally never tell so that it won't ruin the element of surprise. So I thought I would share with you our 2010 outfits.

I started working on them around mid-August which may seem extreme, but allowed me to slowly get a fabulous finished product. I find that DIY Halloween costumes are always so much more fun than buying that generic one in a plastic bag. And I couldn't be more proud of what I created. Let's take a look:

DIY Lady Gaga Costume

I love dressing with the hubs in a matching or relating costume and this brilliant idea of Lady Gaga & Justin Bieber hit me in the middle of summer. My favorite part about wearing this costume is that I created half of it! Those crazy glittered crystals are actually 10+ mini crystals glued together. They took a bit of time and perfecting but the final product was amazing and I probably spent a total of $3.00 on them. The crystallized sunglasses were another DIY project. The glasses cost $2.00 on eBay and the crystals probably $3.00.

Lady Gaga Crystal Sunglasses

The only thing I actually did purchase specifically for the costume was the glitter bodysuit and the wig. Each were $14.00. I had just planned on wearing a plain dancer's leotard but I came across this bodysuit while shopping in Forever 21 one day and thought it was perfect. The rest of the items were straight from my closet. The bottoms were from another DIY Playboy Bunny costume as were the tights. Those shoes are one of my favorite pairs I have! Lastly I borrowed the bow from the amazing Pursuit Of Shoes who was Lady Gaga the year before that. Billy's costume is all completely borrowed with the exception of the sunglasses ($3.00), t-shirt & necklace (his own) and the wig ($8.00 on Amazon)

So all in all I saved so much money by completing these projects and scrounging around my closet. The total bill for me $36.00 (Just as an example the Lady Gaga costume at the store is $50.00 for the dress not including the $20 wig, $15 bow, $10 sunglasses, $10 accessories, shoes or whatever else you want to add) If you haven't thought of a costume yet - don't worry! You still have time and I'll give you some tips.

1. Hit up your local thrift stores and Goodwill. That's where we found a good amount of Bill's costume for this year and so many of my past costumes.

2. Ask friends! Chances are they might have that one item you've been looking for {a la Lady Gaga Hair Bow} that can save you some extra $$ and they'll feel good about their pieces being used more than once

3. Be creative! Do a bit of research. Check out blogs. I discovered how to create those glitter crystals by watching a 15 year old make them on YouTube!

4. Lastly, have fun!! Go crazy and enjoy yourself. It's the one time of the year you can dress up so take advantage!

What DIY costumes have you done? I want to know. Send me some photos and you could be featured! bedazzlesafterdark[at]gmail[dot]com. Happy weekend everyone!!

p.s. if you want to know how to make the above just comment below or email me and I can tell you!