I'ma-say-one thing:
BORK BORK BORK.
Here's my journey to make the costume:
First, I went to King Fabrics, where I found a beautiful white faux fur. I thought it would be a good idea to attempt to dye it. After consulting several costume and design expert friends of mine, I went ahead with this little experiment.
I bought a tub to dye the fabric in, and I dyed it out on my front lawn in near freezing conditions.
This was the type of dye I used. It looked really good in the water, like it would take to the right colour. However, this was the end result:
I learned, after consulting several comment sections on professional dye websites, that non-natural fabrics will not hold dyes properly. Which turns out to be true! When I applied even a little bit of water to the fabric, it turned right back to white. You can see a bit of it on the edge to the right. there. What I learned from this: Don't dye anything other than cottons and simple tshirts, etc.
The Real Deal
Costume-the baking equipment: I went and got a baker's apron, and a back up paper chef hat, if I couldn't source a proper hat, at an asian restaurant wholesaler near my workplace. They had the right hats there, but not in the right colour. There was also Malabar costumes, which had the right hat, but it was $22! What! I ended up travelling to Amazing costumes, which is in the middle of nowhere Etobicoke, and managed to get it for $6.00 or so, though it was an hr long ride to go to amazing costumes, or whatever it's called. (Which I will go next year, to get my costume, because they have pretty much everything.) I bought the utensils at walmart.
Costume-The shirt and tie: Thankfully, I own a blue striped shirt, just the right kind! The bow tie, I bought a back up for $10 at Winners, but it wasn't the right colour. I posted on Facebook to source out winners to get a red bow tie, but it was several days later, and my friend Dez posted on my Facebook on how to turn a full tie into a respectable bow tie, WHICH WAS PERFECT, since I owned a shiny red full tie! DONE. (That being said, I had to apply tape in certain placed to get it to stay.
The Facial Hair (FROM THE BEYOOOOOND):
I went down on Queen street west, and found a 'back up fabric', that I thought was passable, for $5. However, the colour was too dark, and not red enough, so I wasn't happy with it. The next store I walked into, BAM! They had the exact colour I needed! However, I was forced to buy a yard of it, which meant it cost me about $12. (In other news, if anyone wants to make a faux fur hat....)
The moustache: Was actually much smaller than I expected. You can see the final result here. I made the mistake (several times) of making the 'stache so big it almost looked like a beard. And I also made the both similar shapes, which meant I had to be creative how I placed it on my face, or it would look off.
Eyebrows: The eyebrows were easy. Two pieces of square fabric, which I teased the hair up and outwards to make it look 'Swedish.'
Applying to the Face: I had considered creating a foam head, but I thought it would be too much work, and also, I suck at that kind of stuff. (Not to mention it would be too hot, and I wouldn't be able to really enjoy myself.)
As you can see, taping it to your face doesn't really work very well.
The final product looked good even with tape. I, in the end, used spirit gum, which is like a people friendly glue. I would say that you need to do a 'base coat and wear it for a bit, and then reapply. Half my stache fell off after a couple hours. (Because I only reapplied one side.) You really need to factor in sweat. Here's the final product with me with my friends out at DA CLUB. ^_^
And yes, that's a cop with a prisoner, and a chef with a hot dog. =)
All and all, this costume idea took me almost exactly 30 days. Not an easy task. Next year, it'll be something even better, I hope! =)
