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Many people say that they are just like their pet. (Remember that scene from 101 Dalmations with pets and owners that look alike? Yeah, it’s a real thing.) For this set of Halloween costumes, we decided to dress our Creative Director, Anj, in twinning costumes with her number one pooch Turkey Temple. From garden gnomes to a Bjork swan costume, we had a ball making each one of these looks. Take a break from couples’ costumes and group costumes, and twin with your pet this year! Just make sure they can be your +1 at that Halloween party you are attending.
How to Make a Teddy Bear Costume
Have your little pup stand on all four paws and use a tape measure to find her height from her paws to the top of her head. Turkey measured about 18 inches, so we ordered an 18-inch teddy bear. Cut the back side of the bear and remove all of the stuffing except in the arms. Next, cut the face out of the teddy bear, making sure the ears are still intact. Suit up your dog by putting her legs in the teddy bear’s legs and sliding his head through the missing section of the teddy bear’s face.
Two bears in the bed and the little one said… I’m going to bite your nose.
Pro tip: Our teddy bear had floppy arms. For a costume that looks more like Munchkin’s, we recommend buying a teddy bear with arms that are a little bit stiffer. We ended up pinning the teddy bear’s paws to the side of its head so they wouldn’t swing so much.
We will never forget when Bjork wore her swan dress to the Oscars in 2001. It will be 2111 and people will still be talking about this iconic tulle, feather and swan combination. So of course we had to create a Bjork swan costume for you and your pup.
How to Make a Bjork Costume
For Anj’s costume we sewed a long tube out of white fabric, stuffed it with fiberfill and used black and orange felt to create a swan face. We attached this piece to a feather boa that wrapped around her waist. We made her skirt from eight yards of tulle cut into strips and tied onto an elastic waistband. Underneath she wore a nude tank top and white shorts. For Turkey, we ordered a swan stuffed animal, cut off the neck and glued it to a small feathered boa. We wrapped this in his harness so it would stay put while he ran around.
That said, Turkey’s swan costume didn’t stay in place for long because he happens to be OBSESSED with feathers. As soon as he saw one little feather, he was going bonkers trying to catch it in his mouth. Oh, Turkey…
This look is one of the easiest to achieve. For Anj, we grabbed a men’s large blue button-down and stuffed it with pillow filling to give her a big belly. We cinched the shirt with a belt and topped it off with a red beanie. Don’t forget a white beard and white eyebrows! (We used two white self-adhesive mustaches.)
How to Make a Gnome Costume
Do you see that look in Turkey’s eyes? It’s the look of a crazy man who sees leftover feathers on the floor that he is just DYING to eat!
For Turkey’s costume, we put him in a blue tee and created a belt out of felt and One-Wrap Velcro. His hat was made out of felt and cardboard and attached under his chin using One-Wrap Velcro. Try creating a white beard out of felt and connecting it under your pup’s chin. This was pretty much a no-go at this point since feathers were on his mind.
Costumes don’t get much better than this. Dress your dog up like you and dress yourself up like your dog. We couldn’t believe how amazing this shoot turned out. To turn Anj into Turkey, we found the perfect caramel outfit at the thrift store and glued white fur down the center to mimic Turkey’s white belly. We added some more white fur around Anj’s wrists to give her white paws and a set of dog ears to complete the look.
How to Make a Trading Places Costume
Two turkeys are better than one.
Turkey liked this costume best.
