Two-Face Costume

We've talked a little bit about cheap options for robots and superheroes, but what if you want to go a little further? This year I was interested in a costume that involved some sewing and a decent makeup project, on a somewhat more limited budget than most years. From there, I started brainstorming a concept and made my way over to Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop or Two-Face from Batman's rogues gallery. I decided the choice would be made based on finding a light colored suit vs. a blue jumpsuit. One light gray suit later, there we have it. That's practically a coin toss, right?

You'll Need (for the Suit):

• Light colored or white suit, natural fiber (wool, cotton, linen)
• Two dress shirts, contrasting colors. Both should fit you.
• 2 bottles of Rit Die for color of choice (in this case, Scarlett)
• Thread and buttons for matching the new suit color
• Sewing machine, scissors, usual sewing stuff
• (Optional) Serger

...and for the Makeup:

• Liquid Latex
• Facial Tissue or other thin paper
• Makeup in your skin tone, plus highlight and shadow a few shades up and down from there
• Baby powder (not makeup powder, you'll need lots)
• Hairspray
• (Optional) Hair color, spray or bottled

Budget Superhero Cowl

A few years ago, I was invited to a themed costume party, "Favorite Fictional Character." I was out of town, living out of a suitcase for three months, and the expectation was I would arrive to the party as Batman. This would have been impossible if I held to any reasonable standard of construction, so I built the entire outfit from a store-bought black t-shirt, a roll of black duct tape, electrical tape, and the cardboard from a Diet Coke box. The only tools used were a Sharpie and my Leatherman. The night before the party.

To make your own superhero/luchador cowl on the cheap, you'll need:

• Trash bag
• Duct tape: Cheapest silver you can find and the main color or colors of your character
• Electrical tape for details (Optional)
• Shoelaces, at least 45"
• Pair of scissors
• Permanent marker
• A trustworthy assistant

Budget Robot Costume

"The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day..."

You may have heard that I (J) was out of town for a few weeks. One highlight from that adventure was my brother asking me if I was interested in serving as a robot back-up dancer for a show he was doing while I was in town. "Sure!" says I, because it sounds like fun. "Cool! You won't mind building the robot suits while I'm at work, will you?" "Sure..." says I, because a show with robots > show without robots. Who am I to deny him that happiness? With a budget of under $30, here's how you make two or three robots of your own.

You'll Need:

• Cardboard boxes, two per robot. Our heads were about a foot square on the ends, and around 16" wide. Bodies were bigger, but make sure that it fits over your torso.
• Roll of aluminum foil. We used the 12" kind, but if you want to drop hella coin on the 18" stuff, you could probably get away from seams.
• Scotch tape
• Duct tape (silver, natch)
• Dryer vent hose
• Zip ties, 6 per robot. We used white, they blend in pretty well.
• Bike helmets, one per robot. You can substitute dollar store helmets here, but my hosts had bike helmets, and the chin strap is vital to having a working robot head.
• Assorted tools: Cutting implements, measuring stuff, wire cutters. I did these without rulers or measurements of any kind, and my main cutting tool was a bread knife. Feel free to substitute better implements, but necessity is the mother of invention.