Walk Like an Egyptian

Okay, I didn't actually walk like an Egyptian, but I did dress like one. The cool library where I work hosted Rick Riordan, and I got to help out with the event...which required being in costume. Normally I'm not a big fan of costumes (or even a small fan of costumes), but in this case, it was probably worth it. And since Adam helped me make my costume, that helped cut down on expenses and made it a little easier for the tightwad in me to just enjoy the costume. So, what did we do to make my costume?

Well, first Adam sewed me a dress. I'd watched a few videos online about making a simple dress my just sewing folding some material in half, sewing a seam, and then putting elastic in at the top...which might work if your bust is larger than your hips, but it doesn't work so well if you are pear-shaped. So, we had to cut out an a-line dress, sew the seams, and put the elastic in at the top. Not too bad...and since I used an old sheet and some thread I already had, the only thing I had to pay for was the elastic.

Next up, Adam had suggested adding a little color. Well, Egyptians apparently liked a blue-green stone, so we made a cape-type thing out of some blue material we already had lying around the house and fancied it up by adding some gold rickrack. We also made a "belt" by sewing some decorative ribbon onto another ribbon and tying that around the dress.

I'd contemplated buying shoes but then thought maybe we could make some instead; we took an old pair of flip flops and attached some shiny ribbon with hot glue, and then I wrapped the ribbon around my ankles. Maybe not the cutest shoes I saw all night but they were cute enough...and cheap :)

For a headpiece, I just used the same ribbon I used on my shoes and sewed a little rickrack on to make it a little fancier. Then I strung some beads, attached those to the ribbon, and called it good.

The jewelry part was probably the most fun. I bought some gold bangles and some earrings, but I also made some of my jewelry, too.











I found this snake and knew I had to make it part of my costume; I had originally thought maybe I would buy a belt and attach it to that, but when I decided to make my belt instead, that option was out. I tried making it into a pin, but it was too heavy to stay on the pin backing, so I ended up just attaching it to some chain.

I wanted a pretty eye-catching necklace, but I didn't find anything at the store that I liked...but I did find these HUGE, way-too-heavy-to-actually-wear-in-your-ears earrings and decided that they would become my necklace.

I disconnected the bottom half of each earring (I still have a now-wearable pair of earrings left, since I didn't dismantle everything) and attached the pieces to a chain. Voila! My necklace was born, and I even had enough left to make a little bracelet, too.

After that, I just added some makeup...and oh, yeah, I dyed my hair (and scared myself with how dark it turned out), and while I didn't have the best costume at the event or anything, I'm pretty satisfied with the costume...and the price.

Here's the finished product: