Handmade Halloween: Belle and Gaston

Happy Halloween! Halloween is my favorite holiday and I love making costumes, as evident by October's most popular blog posts, (Rainbow Fish and Dumbo). I've had this costume planned for over a year now and I'm calling this one a huge success! And I think I finally got Drew on board with costumes! In the beginning of our relationship, I couldn't get Drew in a costume; he hated dressing up but I was determined. After easing him in with a simple costume like Dumbo and Timothy, where all he had to wear was a t-shirt and ears, I thought I would take my chances and go big the next year. He finally agreed to a full on costume, it just had to be good.

I really liked the idea of Belle and Gaston because it reminds me of how Drew and I met. I didn't like Drew back in college, and thought he was cocky- but VERY persistent much like Gaston. Belle is also one of my favorite Disney Princesses, so it felt like a great fit.

For my costume, I didn't want to go full handmade and opted to refashion some thrift store finds. I got super lucky on my trip to Salvation Army (the same one where I found the printed jeans for my bomber jacket) and found the perfect dress. Alterations to the dress were simple, remove the sleeves and collar, and cut into the bodice to create the square. I needed to remove some length but wanted to keep the detail in the hem. To do this, I removed the bodice from the skirt and took length from there. After reattaching, the dress was done!

I also found the white top at Salvation Army and only had to add a little elastic to the sleeves for them to stay on my arms. Interesting story, the top is clearly handmade, no tags, unfinished inside, and small threads not cut off. So even though I didn't hand-make it, it's kind of cool that it went into a handmade costume!

To complete my look, I made a white apron and a book clutch! The book clutch is my favorite part of the costume, I modge podged rose fabric (Beauty and the Beast reference!) onto a book and hollowed out the interior to hold my phone and money. It worked so well!

For Drew's costume, we bought a colonial wig, a muscle suit, belt and boot covers to bring Gaston together. I made yellow gloves (not pictured), and Drew wore a yellow button up under a red top. I couldn't believe how well his costume came together, and it wasn't completed until minutes before we went out so it was a total surprise seeing it all.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!