My interpretation of a Native American/Indian costume

2 months and a day since my last post, aka the day after the doomsday is over, I finally get to update this blog.

Last week was our company's Christmas party, and the theme was Wild Wild West. I had two choices: to either dress up as an Indian (Native American, to make it politically correct), or come in as a cowgirl.

I initially wanted to do cowgirl because it was easy and we have cowboy hats here at home. But the same reason made me switch to dress up as an Indian. Not that I don't want something easy, it's just that predicting most would go as cowgirls, I prefer to be a little more different.

What I wore then:

 with my friend Josie. 

This is the closest to an ~outfit shot that I have. Solos make me uncomfortable. HAHA.

The back story:

Looked for a lot of inspirations online, but we all know that we always have to work with what we have. So I went to the best place to look for costumes and other one-time-only-i-can-totally-alter/destroy-this types of clothes - ukay.

Got 2 items, in intentionally both colors, because I knew they'd go well with my nude shoes.

My officemate: "Saan ka nakakita ng Indian na naka-heels? Wala! Si Ghoent lang!"

OF COURSE. Haha.

Buying a new pair was not an option. Okay yes it crossed my mind. But my budget didn't allow so, again, work with what we have.

P85 - Suede-ish, fringe top. Jackpot piece.

P105 - Embroidered, stretch skirt.

You can pretty much see the changes I did. After playing with the top (and doing some research, of course), it turned out to be this:

Cut the bottom part, shaped the hem into a curve, and "fringed" it.

The skirt had more work done. It was originally an A-line long skirt (below the knees!), and it was obvious that with the kind of top I had, the A-line won't work. Hand-stitched it into a pencil skirt, then!

Cut cut cut, fold, back-stitch, fit, adjust adjust. Way more difficult than how the previous 8 words sound, but finishing it felt sooooo good I ate 2 cupcakes in one go!

Accessories:

The long beaded necklace I'm wearing has been with me for at least 4 years, I think. I bought it for 20 pesos at divisoria way back, but never actually wore it out. Finally, I can say that my 20pesos was not put to waste. T'was in fact super sulit!

My headband is something I made using crochet threads. I have plenty of crochet balls here at home because I once dived into the handmade notebooks business, and I used these threads to bind them up.

From my previous Ghoent Junior Cardstock Set.

Anyway, I braided a loooong piece and then connected it to form the ring, taking care that it has a snug fit on my forehead. I wanted it secure but not too tight to cause some headache or any form of marks.

The thread color is a gradient of brown, nude, brick red, and brown-black, which was perfect for my outfit's palette.

I did my bracelet from another item that I bought but never actually wore out. My 50-peso arm band that I got from St. Francis Square from maybe 2-3 years ago served as the base for the bracelet. I like that the color matches the skirt perfectly, plus it has that suede-ish touch in texture. My wrist was however itching and forming rashes everytime I tried the bracelet on. So I used the original hem of the top I got as a ~shield for my wrist from the feathers. It's made of thick soft stretch cotton so it solved my problem easily.

So not an elegant way of attaching the feathers. I just taped them inside! 

My other bracelet is just again a braided piece using the plenty retaso from my A-line skirt. "Locked" the bracelet by tying it across my wrist with a knot.

Very imperfect and unrefined = = perfect.

Makeup:

Sister: "Bakit one side lang? Mukha kang Bonakid!"

Officemate: "I am a betawoman." (referring to the Betadine commercial).

A lot of love!! Hahahaha.

Took this mirrorshot when I got home, approximately 8 hours after application. I had different inspirations for this, and since I didn't go for the authentic Native American but more of the modern authentic (if there is such a term), I didn't want to overdo the makeup. Googled for videos to help me with dark eyes, etc. All the help are always welcome, aka research.

Aaaaand that's it! The anatomy of my costume. 

What I spent:

P85 (top) + P105 (skirt) = P190.

If we include the red eyeliner that I bought, that would be an additional of P100.

P290 for the entire look, not bad. :)

I started scouting for pieces and researching for inspirations approximately 2 and a half weeks before the party. We can't really beat preparation.

Some party pictures below:

Don't you just love my co-MT AA's cactus costume? I helped him finish it by putting the cactus spines!

Oh and yes. We danced. Such bibo kids we are. Hahahaha.

Our friends Julius and Clang won best in costume!!! Totally deserved it. Clang gave me her extra feathers which I used for the bracelet, and headpiece accent. She made that headpiece she's wearing and whole costume from scratch! If I told you her costume's back story, it'll probably merit 2 blog entries.

I enjoy the challenge of making costumes, especially if I am in the mood. Looking forward to next year's Christmas party!

3 days til Christmas, have a good one everyone! :)

*Christmas party photos from Sir Alvin, Sir Archie and Eah