Halloween costume: Black Swan

Here is my Halloween outfit for the party I went to last night. For me the essence of a good Halloween costume is the makeup, and my idea for this Black Swan costume was inspired by Eye Rock’s lace eye tattoos (which I already owned)…

The components of my Black Swan costume (in case you want to do the same) were as follows, and you could certainly make a far more elaborate effort if you’re not on a budget:

• Black tutu. Mine was a tutu skirt which I got off ebay, and there are plenty about. I coupled mine with a black vest, but if you can spare the expense you could get your hands on a full tutu dress (which is more accurate). You could also go to town on decorating your top with embellishments, as the dress in the film is adorned with feathers.
• Ballet shoes and tights. Mine are actual ballet dance shoes, as it was a house party. If I was going to be travelling about outside I would go for proper ballet style flats, or maybe even round toe heels for a fashion twist. In the film (and in the ballet Swan Lake) she wears white ballet tights and white ballet shoes, but as it’s Halloween AND October, I went for all black.
• Black tiara. Another ebay purchase – it’s a plastic evil fairy one.
• Black ballet cardigan. For warmth, not for photos. This was just a cardigan I already owned tied in front in a ballet style.
• Ballet hair. A neat bun, created using a doughnut ring.
• Black Swan makeup. Pale base with sallow cheeks created with a grey eyeshadow, dark lips, and Black Swan eye makeup. Rather than copy the film makeup exactly I used the Eye Rock eye transfers as the basis of my design, and black liquid eyeliner to create the rest of the shape.