Dress Like a YA Character for Halloween 2014

ByJen
12 Comments

Want my ideas of how to Dress Like a YA Character for Halloween? Here are my best ideas from your favorite 2000s YA books!

Dress Like a YA Character for Halloween. Four 2000s YA book covers (Hunger Games, Divergent, Anna Dressed in Blood and The Golden Lily) on a pink background

Dress Like a YA Character for Halloween

Yay — Halloween is tomorrow 🙂  

Every year for the past two years, I’ve offered up a last-minute, scrounge-around-the-house plans for how to Dress as a YA Character for Halloween.

If you are scrambling for a last-minute costume, check out my ideas from the last two years:

Costume for Tris from Divergent (Katherine Tegen)

Dressing like Tris is easy: dress all in black, and put some faux bird tattoos on your collarbone. Done.

Photo from http://thedivergenttrilogy.com

Just don’t tell anyone how the trilogy ends!

Part I of the Mockingjay movie comes out in November, so what better time to dress as:

Costume for Katniss from Catching Fire (Scholastic)

Option one: girl on fire jumpsuit. Dress in black fitted clothing and use fabric paint to make it look glowing orange and red.

Option two: wedding dress. Head to the thrift shop or borrow an old wedding gown or white prom dress from a friend. Pile on the pearls. If you’re really ambitious, you can make the white gown breakaway like in the book and have a slinky black one underneath….

Did you see the dress from the movie?

My 2012 Costume Ideas:

Costume for Sydney Sage from the Bloodlines series (Razorbill)

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

1. Throw on khaki pants or skirt with a plain white blouse. Sydney’s known for being an understated dresser.

2. Use gold face paint and a brush…

…to paint this design on your cheek:

Golden lily tattoo

Tattoo pattern from VA Wikia

Then carry a can of Diet Coke or a Starbucks cup around. Done!  Optional but highly recommended: blond wig and a hot, dark-haired guy with green eyes to follow you around and make snarky comments.

Costume for Anna from Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (Tor)

Find a long white (or light colored) dress that you don’t mind splattering with red paint or fake blood 

Use purple eyeliner to make “purply veins” all over your face, neck and arms. Then put on some black lipstick. 

Buy fake blood to splatter the dress with or make your own here with corn syrup, food coloring, and chocolate syrup. Yum!

Don’t forget those crazy eyes!

Costume for Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Little, Brown BYR)

Buy a blue wig or use temporary blue hair paint. Once your hair’s all blue, you can twist it up and stick a paintbrush into it. Or make a braid. 

Tie a wishbone on a cord around your neck. Eat the chicken first, or make your own wishbone out of Model Magic.

Make yourself some hamsa tattoos. You can find a temporary tattoo tutorial here.

Carry around a sketchpad and pencil. You can also tote around a little bag of teeth. Raid your kids’ tooth fairy pillow, or get out that Model Magic!

Sexy Steampunk Costume from the Infernal Devices series:

Dress in Victorian-inspired clothing — think high heeled lace-up boots paired with a black skirt, plus a corset or a lacy blouse or cami. Don’t sweat the outfit, because we’ll dazzle them with gadgetry!

Raid your junk drawer, craft drawer, jewelry box, toolbox, and garage. (Or just hit the hardware store.) Here’s what you’re looking for: gears, washers, brooches and pins — any old costume jewelry you can take apart, fake gems, metallic buttons — any interesting little bits of shiny stuff. Think like a magpie!

Superglue all your finds into a fabulous necklace and spray the whole thing with gold or silver spray paint.  You’ll get something like this:

There are some great tutorials online.

Warning: it is entirely possible that people won’t “get” who you’re dressed as.  Just see it as a chance to talk up your favorite book.

Have fun, don’t take candy from strangers and don’t forget to email me a picture!

Jen has been blogging about books since 2011. In that time, she has read and reviewed over 1500 books. She loves helping readers find their perfect next read and helping books find their audience.

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12 Comments

  5. I would love to be Tris, or a Dauntless in general. Most people won't get what you're dressed as, no, but say you encounter a fellow book lover and they're excited that you're dressed as a literary character. BOOM, instant friends 😀

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  6. Okay that clockwork necklace is SO cool! I love Katniss' hunting outfit from the beginning of Catching Fire though. XD I would totally wear that…probably not the dress. Unless it really turned into black feathered mockingjay when I turned, because, I won't lie, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.

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  8. These are great ideas! I didn't know how easy it would be to go as Tris. I have plenty of black in my wardrobe, since it's one of my favorite colors to wear.

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  10. This is so great! I haven't done anything for Halloween in years but when I eventually decide to go out and associate with others for Halloween again, I'm definitely pulling this up 😉 Love how last minute they can be while still looking well put together. The Tris idea is absolutely genius, I totally should have done that. I even had the tattoos because they came with my copy of Allegiant, gah! "Then carry a can of Diet Coke or a Starbucks cup around" DYING. Oh my gosh, that's gold.

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  11. Such a fun post. Halloween kind of sucked for me this year. My two daughters got sick. In fact the little one is still sick. I was so looking forward to reading some spooky reads on Halloween but I had to go to the hospital with the little one instead.

    Well, at least I finally managed to overcome my reading slump last week.

    Andreea

    Awesome giveaway, Jen!

    Andreea

    http://toallthebooksivelovedbefore.wordpress.com/

    Reply