TBT to Cruella DeVille and Thrifted Halloween perfection

The beauty in being an eccentric thrift-a-holic clothing collector, stylist and costume designer- is that come halloween- it’s usually pretty easy to create an amazing costume without spending too much money. Last year, as usual, I was busy at all get out during this holiest of holidays- (for those of you who don’t know, I do an insane amount of non-profit work which keeps me grounded and on my toes all at the same time.) so I didn’t even know what I was going to be until about 1a the night before the main event when I decided to google “Halloween Costume Ideas” online and see what I could come up with. Somehow I came across a photo of a retro looking Iggy Azalea as Cruella DeVil- and, as I had just purchased a badass pair of houndstooth slacks- I was in love with the whole idea.

Character Actress that I am- I wanted to get a bit more gritty and real with the concept and create a make-up look that was super garish and decadent. I pulled some photos off the web to get a grip on the Cruella make-up vibes (especially those brows!) and then I added my own spin onto things.

I used a really light foundation- Wet N Wild lip-liner and black eyeliner pencil to draw n the brows- then sealed it all down with Kaolin Clay powder (my DIY beauty and powder secret) I happened to have some dark green glitter and green eyeshadow hanging around from god knows when (I know you should throw make-up away, but…costumes!) Then I added some fake lashes. Finally, I picked up a bottle of black and white spray-on hair color at the store and went to town(after ratting and spraying the living sh-t! out of my then short hair)

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset — “I live for fur, I worship fur. After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn’t? “

Processed with VSCOcam with g3 preset — “We lose more women to marriage than war, famine, and disease.”

Outfit Deets: Pants: $5 Goodwill, Leopard Print belt: $2 Goodwill, Gloves: $2 Goodwill, Shirt: Gifted from my sister, Coat: literally 12 years old from some trap shop in Korea Town, Shoes: (you can’t see them- but they were just simple black heels from a friend) Cigarette Holder: Some cheap piece of costumery that I’ve been hanging onto for years, Earings, clock necklace: Vintage from my grandmother. Broach and necklace: Gifts from a dear friend. Purse: $4 find in San Francisco’s Thrift Town circa 1999. Glasses: $4 from the hair store down the street from my house. The entire costume was put together from things I had on hand already- I spent about $15 on hair color spray and make-up.

“Any way you want. Poison them, drown them, bash them on the head. Got any chloroform? I don’t care how you kill the little beasts, just do it, and do it now!”

My dear friend Chris Daniels loved the costume so much that we ended up doing an incredible Cruella photo shoot a few months later. More on that tomorrow at ElisabethDonaldson.com