Yzma from Emperor's New Groove
For my "real world" job I work in a retail store. Around
the time a convention starts or Halloween is coming, I get asked a lot for a
specific piece of clothing to match a costume. This always leads me to talking
to them for a few minutes about their costume. The most common thing that they
tell me is that they don't have a ton of money to spend but they want an
awesome costume. I totally get this because I am on a tight costume budget as
well.
But working on my
Yzma costume, it made me realize that it is possible to make a great costume
for under $50. With a little planning, couponing, and saving a little money
here and there, it is totally achievable. So I thought I would start a series
on making costumes for under $50.
For my
last convention I needed a “walk around costume”. This is a basic costume that
I can walk around the convention in that I don't have to worry about tripping
in and is comfortable. That is where Yzma came into play. She was perfect and
fun to walk around in (I may have had fun yelling at my Kronk pillow prop). I
made everything myself for this costume with the exception of the dress which
saved a ton of money.
Here
is the rundown on what I spent on my Yzma costume. Most of the stuff like,
like the wire and tape, I bought once and used it on the whole costume.
Dress:
$10
Black
maxi dress is from H&M that was on sale online.
Hat:
$10
Hand
made from wire, electrical tape, duct tape, fabric, and paint.
Necklace:
$10
Hand
made from feathers, wire, electrical tape, duct tape, and hot glue.
Shoes:
$0
I
had black flip flops on hand. But you can find cheap flip flops from anywhere.
Earrings:
$4
Handmade
from fabric, paint, and modge podge
Eyelashes:
$10
Made
from H&M eyelashes, feathers, and E-6000 glue.
See
the tutorial here.
Earrings:$0
I had all of the items that I needed to make these. See how I made them here.
Total:
$45!
There
are a few options that you can add to you cosplay if you have a little extra
money hanging around.
Potion
bottle Prop: $3
I
found a really cheap bottle at my local craft store and filled it with clearance
purple glitter.
Kronk
pillow prop: $6
I
had most of the items on hand to make this pillow. The only thing that I bought
was the stuffing. See how I made this pillow here.
Purple
Make-Up: $25/$9
I
did by make-up for this costume but ran out of time to put it on for the
convention. There are two kinds of purple face paint that I bought. The first
was Kryolan, the make-up of the professionals (heh). I did love this and it was
the perfect color for my costume. The second makeup that I tried was Mehron,
it is a little cheaper but just as good. The only complaint with this was it
was splotchy. With some time and a helper, you can make this work.
Pro
Tip: Planning is Key!
I
didn’t come up with this idea overnight. If I did, it would have cost a ton
more than it did. When you have an idea of what costume you want to make, you
can dissect it and figure out what is going to cost you the most, by doing that
you have a goal of how much to save. I knew going into this that my hat and
necklace was going to be costly. So I saved my money in a jar and when the
moment came when I had a great coupon, I got all of the stuff I needed.
Just
remember, you can make a great outfit! Just believe in yourself!
Xo Amanda
