We spent a number of Halloween’s outfitting ourselves in improvised costumes, usually at the last minute, and LOVED suddenly taking on a whole other persona for one magic night. If you haven’t gotten your Halloween act together yet, and want some inspiration, here’s a compendium of  forage-able ideas from artists and designers…Salvador Dali offers loads of inspiration…a clock face perhaps? Stenciled grease paint numbers would do the trick (stencils are buyable at an art or crafts store).

Philippe Halsman
Philippe Halsman

Here’s an extraordinary costume Dali designed for Charles Henri Ford…doable with a black leotard, a lot of little gloves and a couple of big ones, found at an art supply or Halloween store.

Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton

Daniel Zendor’s No Bad Feelings Baby I’m into Good Ones Now, at top, offers the start of fine, rather spooky mask, perhaps in league with a black leotard striped with white tape…a hybrid of ideas…

Daniel Zendor
Daniel Zendor

The Bauhaus REALLY went in for costumes. Our favorites were designed by Oskar Schlemmer for ballet in the twenties. He LOVED stripes, which can be made with plumbers or day-glo gaffer’s tape on whatever you have at on hand…

bauhaus oskar schlemmer costume Bauhaus_ballet_costumes_from_1921

…A head-to-toe black body leotard with cut out white canvas or muslin glued to it and then painted could create some nice illusions…

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Saul Steinberg was famously brilliant with cardboard…

Inge Morath
Inge Morath

…and paper bags

Inge Morath
Inge Morath

Walter van Beirendonck, a truly out-there designer in the fashion world shows particular brilliance when it comes to face makeup…

Ronald Stoops
Ronald Stoops

wallpaper.com
wallpaper.com

…,

Walter Van Beirendonck face painted

We wish you the joy of transforming yourselves into something totally other on Halloween.

(Send pix…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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