Costume Construction

I was trying to think of what I could be for Halloween this year and like the majority of women I wanted to go with the sexy-wouldn't-wear-this-on-a-normal-day costume (aka excuse to dress slutty). I first thought I'd be a pimptress again because no one really saw the costume, I have zero pictures of the costume and I wouldn't have to spend any money on it because I still had everything I would need. After dabbling over this idea I decided I wanted to be a hooker, cause I have these really awesome boots I wanted to wear. Not your traditional hooker though - Pretty Woman was the thought. They don't sell her hookin' outfit in stores though so I had to make it!

I started in my closet. I had this hanes undershirt that was a bit aged and I didn't care about chopping up for my costume. It retails for about $5 at walmart if you wanted to go buy one.

I then went to a thrift store to find something to use as the skirt portion of the costume. I found this women's size medium stretchy tank top that was the perfect color and would fit around my hips nicely ($3). I of course intended on chopping this up too. I turned both the white tank and blue tanks inside out and very carefully marked with a sharpie where I was going to cut out the sides of the dress. Careful not to push too hard with the sharpie cause I didn't want the ink to seep through. I also left an extra 1/4 inch for seam allowance.

I found an old t-shirt clip from the 80's in my Moms sewing supplies. It normally has a bar through the middle but you can see where I cut it out so it'd work with the costume. I only found one so I decided to use it on the front and just sew the back.

With my Moms assistance I hemmed each piece and sewed it all together. I had to put everything on every so often to make sure things were lining up properly and I wasn't showing my undergarments to everyone while wearing it.

The finished product turned out pretty well. My only issue is that I have a sway back and it's really obvious in a tight outfit. There wasn't any way to fix or disguise this in the outfit. I might wear a mens white dress shirt over this though, cause it'll get cold.


Total cost of the outfit was $3 (about $10 if you don't have a tank and t-clip). I just need to get a wig now. I'll add pictures of me in the costume to this post after Halloween.

Update 01/01/09: I went to buy the perfect wig only to find out it was $40. No way. So I went without and it worked out fine (I am so glad Vivian's wig comes off in the movie!!) Here is the result: