2018: How It Went (Halloween)

Halloween Pierrot 2.0

Hi! Firstly, I'd like to apologize. What kind of a costume/Halloween fanatic DOESN'T MAKE A NEW COSTUME EVERY YEAR??? Where have I been? Why didn't I post in March announcing this year's costume? Well, to tell you the truth, this past year has been pretty hectic for me. Primarily, I started college this fall, which at the beginning of the year made me think that I wouldn't really get a chance to dress up. But it turns out that my college has trick-or-treating on campus, and I really couldn't pass up the chance to get dressed up on Halloween! I mean, it's impossible for me not to.

A closeup of the makeup.

So. I decided to revisit my Halloween Pierrot, this time trying a more Pierrot-like face instead of a skeleton one, as I felt that the skull face had a sort of death metal vibe that I wasn't really going for.

I started this time with the same face painting kit I used last year, except this time I used regular old makeup for the eyes, to give it that smoky, subtle look that I could more easily articulate (the face-painting crayons that came with the Dia de los Muertos kit were very thick and it was hard to draw thin lines with them.)

I also pared down the accessories of the costume quite a bit this year. I ditched the boots for high tops, the wig for my own hair (which right now is about the length of the wig, anyway) and, sadly, the hat, because I forgot to bring pins to pin it to my head (it doesn't stay on very well otherwise.) It just so happens that I own a dark grey flat cap, though, and I feel that it didn't detract from the costume at all—just gave a different feeling to it. I'd say a dark-colored or red beret or flat cap works fine for this costume if you don't want to spend the time making the hat.

Anyway! To the review!

Recognition: 5/10

I mean, honestly, only one person actually guessed, but they guessed right! So that was fun, haha! But before Halloween, whenever anyone else asked me what I was going to be, and I told them "Pierrot," they didn't know what I meant and I had to amend that response with "a sad clown." So, 50/50?

Strength: 10/10

Without the hat to fall off, this costume had no problems construction-wise.

Comfort: 9/10

This was the first Halloween in a while where I wasn't freezing. The bagginess of the shirt and pants allowed me to wear lined jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt under the costume, making it very toasty! The only annoying this about this costume, I think, are the gloves, because I had to keep taking them off to take pictures and look up the trick-or-treating route with my phone. (Also the pants have no pockets, so I had to put my phone in my trick-or-treating basket.) Aside from those minor details, though, super comfy!

I promise that next Halloween I'll have a new costume, now that I know I'll have the time/opportunity to wear it! Stay tuned for updates, and

Happy Halloween!

2017: How It Went (Halloween)

Happy Halloween Pierrot!

Hi!

So, as I mentioned before, I didn't have a trick-or-treat-ing Halloween this year due to a course I'm taking, but I did get to wear my costume, so I still have pictures of the finished Pierrot!

The finishing touch of this costume is the makeup, which I winged last night without any practice, so it could be a lot more precise. Here is a closeup of the makeup:

The makeup.

I used a Dia de los Muertos makeup kit, which included white base color and three makeup crayons in red, green, and black (I only used the black, though I went over that later with a crayon eyeliner because it wasn't defined enough). 

The sponge brush that was included in the kit worked best if I patted instead of brushed it on, as that  blended the makeup better. I figured this out the hard way (when I brushed it on, the makeup was VERY blotchy; every time I applied more, the motion of brushing would rub the surrounding makeup off).

I tried to do the nose the way I had envisioned (click here to see my original design), but it didn't look very good, so I just left it blank.

I sort of like the costume without the full skeleton face, though, so maybe next time I'll try a more subtle Pierrot face instead, maybe with dots under the eyes instead of spikes.

Anyway, 'till next Halloween, and Happy November!

Pierrot: Designs and Shirt Pattern

Design 1

Design 2

Hello!

Above you will see the two designs I created while brainstorming what I want the costume to look like. The finished product will mostly be design 2, except for the shirt, which will be design 1 but with pompoms or red roses for buttons. The makeup in design 1 is basically what I'll be doing, but I won't be adding the tear in the final makeup because it conflicts with the spike accents on the eyes and makes it look too busy.
I'm also going to be wearing black gloves, and black pointed boots (the heeled Victorian kind that you can find in costume shops. ) I'm still deciding on the trousers, but it's between black leggings and the white scrub pants that I used for my Near cosplay.

We're just using a large white sheet for the fabric of the shirt. My father and I worked on the pattern for the shirt yesterday, which we based on this adorable child's smock pattern. (If the link doesn't work, look for a pattern for an art smock that has long raglan-style sleeves.) It's a really simple pattern, and since the final shirt will be so big and billowy, there is a lot of room to make mistakes!

That's all for today.

Happy trick-or-treating!