This Halloween, take a plunge into the briny deep for your costume inspiration. No matter if you're trick-or-treating, heading to house parties, or putting together an office-appropriate ensemble, the ocean's most terrifying creature is sure to deliver thrills and chills to the gills.
If you're feeling crafty, gather a simple grey hoodie, some white felt, googly eyes, fabric glue and red fabric paint. Using your sharpest scissor, trim the felt into one-inch triangles. Glue them around the opening of the hood as teeth and dot with red paint for after-meal-appeal. Glue the googly eyes on either side of the hood, just above ear level. Let dry overnight and finis! Pair over dark jeans or a skirt for a functional, warm costume.
Want something a little more elegant? Scour thrift stores and second hand shops for a grey or silver gown. Add opera length gloves in a matching color as your flippers and construct a cardboard dorsal fin, liberally coated in silver paint and glitter, as a crown. Grab a half dozen rubber fish from a toy store, wrap them in newspaper and tie with a green "seaweed" ribbon as a finishing touch--who are you? Miss Chum-merica, of course.
Looking for a groan-worthy pun? Pick up some inexpensive scrubs at a big box store, a plastic stethoscope, and a pad. Construct a dorsal fin out of cardboard, apply a couple coats of grey craft paint, and hot glue it to a headband. Use eyeliner or face paint to draw gills on your neck and make the rounds as a Nurse Shark in comfort all night long.
If you're not into DIY, places like Amazon, Spirit, Etsy and Target have excellent pre-made costumes for all ages and budgets. The classic pull-on body suit, such as this, or this hammerhead version, are great choices for low effort/high impact fun. You can wear them over anything and even add accessories, like your favorite band t-shirt, to personalize the look.
Be your own Left Shark meme for a reasonable price with this party shark from Amazon. Turn it into a group costume by adding a Katy Perry, a couple of football players and a beach ball. Sounds like a costume contest winner to me!
Kids costumes are a breeze with sweet bunted onesies from Spirit. Older kids will get a laugh out of shark-attack suits, which will keep them warm as they patrol the neighborhood for candy.
Stand out from the crowd in this adorable, unique costume that combines the best parts of being a shark with the best parts of wearing a flirty dress. Bonus points for the functional hood and customizable sizing. If this is out of your budget, a quick Google search can pull up dozens of no-sew tutorials for similar outfits (some with pockets!)
Even pets can get in on the fun with this handmade shark hat from Etsy or this crochet pattern for crafty pet parents.
No matter which denizen of the deep you channel for the big night, have a great time and don't worry--if all that candy rots out your teeth, you've got three more rows!
