The Disney-ist Halloween Ever

I've always liked Disney's Sleeping Beauty, because it was made before kids' movies had to be "kid-friendly" and is genuinely a bit dark and creepy. (And obviously as a Kindergarten teacher I approve of kids' movies that leave the children just that little bit traumatized after-- it builds character.) Another thing that makes Sleeping Beauty a classic to me is Maleficent, the evil witch who is one of Disney's more memorable villains.

I've had the idea for my own version of a Maleficent costume in the back of my head for awhile, so that was my choice for this year's Halloween. I was pretty excited about the chance to celebrate here in Tokyo, and the weekend definitely lived up to expectations.

Here's a quick break-down of how I made Maleficent. The skirt and bodice are pretty simple, I think you can see how I drafted the patterns for them and pieced them together. The magic staff was made using some plumbing materials (pipe, connecter, cap), clay, and the round plastic ball from a toilet-bowl scent thing. (Which just shows what a resourceful cosplayer can do with weird household items.) Inside the pipe I hid a small flashlight, so the "crystal" on top would glow.

The most challenging part of the costume was the wig. While in the original design Maleficent wore a skull-cap with horns, I had the idea that it'd be cool if the whole thing was just her hair. So I got a long black wig, cut off the lower portions and styled the top. Using the long pieces I cut off, I made wefts. Next I made the horns using expanding plumbing foam which I attached to pieces of black fabric, carved and then covered in a layer of clay to smooth it out and form the tip of the horns. When this was finished I wrapped the wefts around the horns using hot glue and hair spray. It was a very tedious process (no doubt because I should've been using more hair spray), taking about 3 hours per horn. Finally I sewed the horns onto the wig.

Green stuff = expanding foam, adhered to black fabric, carved into a horn (left is finished)

The foam was covered in light Hearty clay and the point was formed

Attaching the wefts via hot glue. You need: glue, wefts, hair spray, patience and lots of beer.

Success!

Saturday night we went out to Roppongi, which is famous for its (sketchy) foreign clubs and was absolutely crawling with costumed Halloween club-goers. I normally avoid clubbing in Roppongi due to the inherent sleaziness, but it's the perfect place to go on Halloween. Just wandering the streets, taking in the crazy costumes and atmosphere was fun in itself.

The next day we got a half-day pass to Disneyland (3pm to 10pm, ~4,000 yen). Everyone was allowed to come in costume for Halloween, so the park was full of a wide variety Disney characters. The decorations were awesome and despite the rainy weather we had a great time! 

See the rest of my Halloween photos here!