How To Series

how to dress for Halloween more simply & sustainably

Dressing for Halloween doesn't have to be complicated. We've had some thoughts around a more sustainable way to dress for Halloween, meaning you use what you have, spend less and waste less.

When I was little, I had a small dressing up box that we'd chose a costume from every year for Halloween. The box was a random selection of things we'd collected over the years - a cape, a net skirt (which my mum had made for me) and so on. Most years I wanted to be a witch - so I'd wear the net skirt, with any old black t-shirt and tights, a witches hat and an old broom. To make it different each year, I'd accessorise - one year we cut out gold paper stars and stuck them all over it, the next I sewed decorative bows to the net skirt and hat. We'd buy the odd new thing (long plastic slip on witch finger nails were a favourite memory and exciting addition) but generally our outfits were always simple and usually made or decorated by me. I loved planning my outfit every year, and loved the process of sitting down with my mum to make it. Whilst time and practicality-wise, home crafting a Halloween masterpiece every year isn't always doable and with limited time to plan comes the temptation to order an easy pre-made outfit online. But it's important to consider the environmental impact of those purchases - often worn once, made from something synthetic and subsequently sent to spend a lifetime in landfill. It's amazing how simple it can be to make an outfit and surprising how many things you can use that are lying around the house to do so.

We've created a super simple, non-spooky costume idea from old & current NQ pieces to show you. It's always worth rummaging through your wardrobe before you make that purchase!

"Use what you have, spend less and waste less."

Creating a Dorothy Wizard of Oz costume

1. We paired last summer's NQ blue checked linen pinafore with this seasons Duck, Duck Goose Blouse (although any white blouse would have worked).

2. We tend to save the gift wrapping when we're given a gift so we can reuse them for the next birthday, so had some velvet ribbon in our draw we were able to use as hair bows for the plaits. Actual hair bow clips would have worked too.

3. For the accessories, we used an old pair of Young Soles, Mary-Jane type shoes (red sparkle shoes would have been a good edition but not essential) and then added a pair of blue ribbed ankle socks. 

4. Finally we added a little basket for collecting sweeties (we've had this Olli Ella one for a while, but charity shops are also a great place to find things like this). You can even add a stuffed toy dog if you have one so Dorothy has her companion Toto!

A super simple way to use an existing wardrobe outfit to create a costume.

Lola (@pocketfullofbuttercups) inspired us with her simple witch look from last year. Using a darker coloured dress (our Marlow Pinafore from last winter) and adding a hat and homemade broom to created the perfect simple costume.

For those of you who make a costume with NQ pieces - make sure to tag us so we can see your creations (however simple!) 
Happy Halloween for this weekend! x

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