Phillidia's Cats Costume
Welp, it seems everyone on the web has made a cats costume and I’m no exception. The one difference is that I probably have the cheapest one out there. Was that a spark of curiosity I saw? And it’s all done in three easy steps. Well then, I hope you enjoy my newest feature. Phillidia’s Cats Costume!
More pictures comming!!
Step One: Go Shopping
Who would want to go out and spend upwards of $40 on a unitard and risk ruining it because you don’t know what you’re doing? Well, do what I did. I went to Goodwill and bought a turtle neck and stretch pants. Buy whatever color you need. Make sure they’re tight on you so it looks like a cat costume. The shirt was around $5 and the pants were $6.
Now head on over to your local Wal*Mart, K-mart or Target store(s). Buy a package of tube socks in whatever color you need. Get the biggest size possible as thick as possible. Men’s thermal socks work well too. 2 pairs is around $6 and 4 pairs is around $10. Next pounce on over to the little girls section. Ya know where everything is pink and purple? Find a white boa. It’s usually from $6 to $10. You can also find boas in Claire’s. There, they are $14. Finally, see if there is a white or blonde ‘Flapper’ wig. You usually find these around Halloween, but some stores carry them year round. Cost, $10-$20. And try to find ballet shoes. Some carry them, some don’t. If you can’t find any, you can order them over the Internet.
Next stop, the craft store. There, buy fabric markers, which range from $1 to $5 each. And craft paint 59 cents each. Also grab a sponge. They are 50 cents to $2.
Step Two: Decorate
We’ll start with the arm and leg warmers. A.k.a. the socks. Turn them inside out. Instant fuzz! Now just cut the toe off and color them with the markers and let dry. Cut the boa in half. Color the feathers on one half with the fabric markers and let dry. Now color some the feathers on the other side. You can use these to glue on the shirt to make the shoulder fluffs. I recommend flexible fabric glue. The pants and shirt take the most time. Cut the sponge up into various sized squares. Then in a bowl add 2 parts paint to one part water. You’ll see why in a second. When you put the paint on the shirt, the pores absorb it better because of the water. This gives it a tie-dyed or fuzzy effect. Instant fur! But use little amounts at a time. If too much paint is on the sponge it will bleed more than you want it too. I haven’t actually attempted the wig yet, but I’ll get that up when I do. And then paint the shoes the color(s) you want them.
Step Three: Wear
So you let everything dry for one day or over night. I would suggest running the pants and shirt through the washer and drier so the paint isn’t too stiff. Now put it all on.
Next is the make-up.
I just used the cheap face paint that you buy at K-Mart around Halloween. I bought one tube of white face paint and one of black. $1.29 each. Then I got the make-up crayon things. They come in red, black, yellow, white and blue. I mixed the red and yellow to make orange. It worked really well. First I applied the white, and then the red and yellow to make orange. Now you hear everyone whine about this kind of paint, but I know a secret. Take baby powder and on a powder puff, put it everywhere you put the make-up. That keeps it from cracking and from sweating off. Now with an eyeliner pencil, go around your eyes and do the nose. Next, I took a thin paintbrush and used the tube of black to make the freckles, eyebrows, whiskers and every fine line. If you don’t have thin paintbrush you can cut one down to size. And you’re done!!
I did a little reaserch to see the price difference between my costume and others. Hree is what I found.
At the very MOST my costume will cost you about $75. At least $45.
If you go the whole 9 yards and get the unitard, Japanese beast wig, jazz shoes, etc. You can pay a MAXUMUM of $208. And that DOESN'T include shipping and handling.MINUMUM would be $117.
That is a savings from $133 to $72. Sounds pretty good huh?
