It’s finally October which means Halloween is coming! I love Halloween for many reasons (Haunted houses and being scared not two of them) but one of my favorite is because you can dress up in strange looking clothes and it’s not weird. In my opinion, some of the weirdest clothes come from haute couture, but some of the most beautiful as well. In light of this, I decided to share some looks from haute couture houses that I believe would also work for costume ideas.

Before I go into my ideas for costumes, some of the ideas are not readily available as-is and will require creativity and sewing to create. Also, I know full well that 2020 is a year when Halloween may not be as fun as previous years or allow for dressing up. I wrote this post in October 2019 and didn’t get around to publishing it until this year.

Chanel Suit for a Clueless Costume

Clueless is such a well known teen movie from the 1990’s not only for it’s story line but for it’s fashion. Out of all the fashion in the movie is the Chanel suit the main female characters wore. Although Chanel does make shorter skirts, the ones used as costumes for the movie is shorter than most of the skirts Chanel normally sells. Because of this, try looking for a look-a-like Chanel suit for a fraction of the cost. The best place to look for blazers and skirts similar to Chanel suits is Karl Lagarfield’s fashion line. Karl Lagarfield, Chanel’s former head designer, often designed clothes for his personal fashion house similar to the clothing designs for Chanel. Even though Karl passed away in 2019, the fashion line is still available including Karl Lagarfield Paris, a less costly version of his main line available at department stores and sometimes on sale. Both the main fashion line and Karl Lagarfield Paris have influences of Karl’s designs for Chanel to this day.

 

Haley Berry’s Elie Saab dress for the 2001 Oscars

For the 2001 Oscars, Haley Berry wore an Elie Saab dress that made headlines and caused a lot of controversy because of it’s very risque bodice. Despite this, it is a high recognizable dress and was copied throughout the 2000’s for less costly prices and with more modest bodices. Although the dress may not be appropriate for all Halloween parties, it could be a great option for someone who wants to wear a fancy dress but doesn’t want to wear a stereotypical princess or formal dress for Halloween. Just make sure the bodice of the dress is appropriate for the occasion!

 

Lady Gaga’s Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen’s United Kingdom Premiere Dress for A Star is Born

For the United Kingdom premiere of the movie A Star is Born, Lady Gaga wore a dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. The dress, from the fall 2013 runway collection, has an Elizabethan influence that would be great for a Halloween costume. Although it’s not historically accurate, it has enough nods to the fashions of the time period for people to recognize it as Elizabethan.

 

Audrey Hepburn’s Gevenchy Wedding Dress from Funny Face

Audrey Hepburn wore many designs by Hubert de Gevenchy on screen and off. The first Gevenchy dresses she wore on screen by Gevenchy was a white wedding dress at the end of the musical movie Funny Face. The dress, if in a color other than white, would be a beautiful dress for the spring time or a wedding dress if it’s white, but if someone needs an excuse to wear it more times, it can be used as a Halloween costume that not many people will copy but, no matter if they watched Funny Face or not, they will recognize as a beautiful, classy, formal dress.

 

Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy Breakfast at Tiffany’s Black Dress

Although Audrey Hepburn’s wedding dress from Funny Face may not be recognized or associated with a specific movie, Audrey’s Givenchy black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s will. It is very recognizable and comes with a back story: Givenchy’s original design had a shorter skirt and the movie studio deemed it too short. So, legendary costume designer Edith Head was tasked to redesigned the lower half of the dress to have a longer skirt. (Links to the back story here and here) No matter if the skirt is short or long, it is a recognizable and classy Halloween costume

 

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!