An Updated Take on one of Halloween’s Most Basic Costumes

By Megan Mahoney

For some, Halloween is an opportunity to embrace a new personality, for many, it’s an excuse to hang out with friends and for others, like myself, it is an opportunity to set high expectations for a DIY creation. I have never been one to opt for store-bought costumes, (no shade to anyone who does). For one thing, living in rural Vermont, I don’t have a costume store nearby. But more importantly, I have always wanted to sport something unique, and crafting something from your own hands is perhaps the simplest way to ensure that. In a sense, it takes me back to my childhood days when my mom would sew my costume - creating a homemade outfit makes the holiday feel just a little more special. Typically, my mission results in late nights on the 29th and 30th where I live up to my complicated vision, and this year proved to be no different. This year, after a few late nights and thrift store digs, I accomplished the small win of assembling two costumes (okay, one and a half) without purchasing anything from Amazon.

This year, I decided to create two cowboy costumes. To reduce the amount of sewing I had to do, I incorporated thrifting and modified old creations. At several thrift stores in Burlington, I found a good amount of items: two cowboy hats, a graphic ‘rodeo’ tee, and an oversized leather jacket/vest. Both the vest and tee went toward one costume, leaving the entire other costume left to create, thus the late night grinds. Below, I’ve documented my process in creating my own, more eco-friendly, costumes.

I begun, as I usually do when sewing, by browsing Pinterest and compiling a mood board and sketches. Mood boards are really a tried and true way to develop the general vibe you are going for and give yourself some direction. From mine, I decided to create monochrome black outfits with lots of fringe. After making two runs to the local JoAnn’s, (in an attempt to avoid Amazon), I purchased several yards of black 4inch and 6inch fringe to play around with.

With my newly purchased fringe, I added embellishments to the thrifted leather vest and suede jacket I already had in my closet. For the suede jacket, I attached the fringe to the sleeves with a wide top stitch so that I could easily remove it after and have my jacket back to normal. I dug out a fringe tank top that I had sewn for New Years in an ode to Great Gatsby, but decided to make a more weather appropriate, long sleeve top instead. 

My indecisiveness meant that I created a skirt as well as pants, (can’t blame a girl for wanting options). I deconstructed an old long black skirt and used the fabric to put together bottoms, and lengthened a pair of cropped black pants I already had. In the end, I decided against the simple skirt given that the late October weather in Vermont has already turned toward winter.

In the end, after several alterations to make the outfits more weather appropriate and to accommodate for my lack of time, I was able to have two complete looks by Halloween. Arguably, the costumes were not super obviously ‘cowboys’ due to the limited amount of denim and lack of flannel - often the key components of typical cowboy costumes - but the hats, suede, fringe got the message across. And, I had the simple pleasure of knowing I would be the only one wearing my costume.