Cue up one of the quintessential songs of 2014, and get ready to ROCK this year’s Halloween. We’re here to show you how you can DIY every single Katy Perry costume from the “Dark Horse” music video, from crazy Cleopatra makeup to gold-dipped wings. For real.
Okay, okay — I guess we’ll let you take a break and actually watch the video ;)
Now, time to see these DIY costumes come to life!
What you need:
TECHNICOLOR CLEOPATRA
– hot glue gun
– strapless black dress (bonus points if it’s patterned)
– sheer black long sleeve
– long black sheer skirt
– fabric paint
– black cleopatra wig
– 2 gold collar-style necklaces
– headband
– card stock (various colors for the headpiece)
– blue pleather or foam sheet
To put this look together, we hit up stores like H&M and Forever21 to find affordable pieces to layer together. We started with an already-sequined strapless dress and added colorful accents using fabric paint. Create little blue decals out of blue pleather or foam to adorn the long sleeve at the chest and on the skirt right below the dress.
For the headpiece, we used a metal headband as the base. Then we cut out two pieces of card stock to create the sort of heart-like shape. Next, cut little pieces of blue, red and purple paper to create the mosaic-style pattern. Then glue or tape ’em on. Place on your wig and top the whole thing off with a necklace as a crown.
We didn’t quite make the glittery grill happen, but this costume is still smokin’!
What you need:
WINGED WARRIOR PRINCESS
– hot glue gun
– these blue fairy wings (three cheers for Amazon!)
– gold mini skirt
– yellow wig
– jewels (for the collar)
– bronze or gold pleather
– sequined crop top
– 2 gold collar-style necklaces
– gold, blue, yellow and orange vinyl (for the skirt)
– glitter foam sheets
To create this She-Ra inspired look, it’s all about layers, glittery jewels and a candy colored palette. This is the Katy Perry we all know and adore, and it’s this mix of playful childlike colors and shapes with fierce femininity that make her one of our imaginary BFFs.
We’ll start with the key piece — the collar. We cut a simply pull over collar out of faux leather. Then, cut out squares and triangles out of glittery foam. Adorn the whole thing with flat-backed gems, and you’re about down. Take one of your gold necklaces and add gems to it to extend the collar up towards your neck.
Next, the skirt. This is a labor of layering love, for sure. Cut about a million diamond shapes out of blue and gold vinyl and layer them on. Start from the bottom with two layers of gold, then alternate with blue going up to the top. Once you get to where your hits hip the skirt, create little squares out of orange, yellow, blue and gold vinyl and assemble like you see in the picture above.
Finally, those WINGS. We found these blue fairy wings on Amazon. They’re perfect! All we did to tailor them to this costume is bunch them up in the middle to create a shorter silhouette. Then we added gold vinyl trim. Voila!
What you need:
SILVER ANGEL
– hot glue gun
– white short dress (a toga could also work in a pinch)
– gold patterned trim
– white bob wig
– blue hair dye (the cheap spray kind is fine)
– gold bangles
– gold wire (to create a calf cuff)
This one is definitely the simplest of the looks, with elements that are easy to source at any time of year. We’ll start with the wig. We created a simple chevron stencil to spray onto the wig to mimic the look in the video.
Then use hot glue to add layers of gold patterned trim to the top of your dress, and you’re basically done. Add trim to the waistline and to the bottom, and that’s a wrap.
Pair with white heels to complete the look, and your angelic Cleopatra is ready to go.
What you need:
GOLD STUDDED HEROINE
– hot glue gun
– black bodycon dress
– gold tinsel
– gold pipe cleaners
– 2 gold collar-style necklaces
– gold bangles
– black or brown wig
It’s so hard to pick a favorite, but the gold sculptural form at the top of this one is pretty amazing.
To create this piece, get a friend of yours to wear the black dress — it’s best if she’s around the same size as you. Then, use hot glue to attach pipe cleaners in a sculptural fashion like you see here. Fill in with gold tinsel or wire as well, and then build the collar behind the head. Layer two gold necklaces to add structure to the top of the costume.
Boom. SO GOOD.
Catch yourself ogling the eye makeup in all of these sweet looks? Stay tuned for a Cleopatra-Inspired Cat Eye Tutorial in the next week or two! #welovehalloween
Why even think about other costume options? Even Turkey wanted in on the Dark Horse action…
What other Halloween costumes do you want us to hack? Share ideas with us in the comments below!
