Create a Gypsy Halloween Costume for Either a Woman or a Man

One of the most recognizable of all Halloween costumes is that of the gypsy. It is also one of the easiest and most inexpensive to put together. Plus, it is a costume that can generally be thrown together easily on short notice. A lot of times you may even already have the necessary clothing items you will need in your closet.

For the basic female gypsy Halloween costume, you will need a skirt, blouse, headband/scarf, gold jewelry, belt or shawl, and shoes. For the basic male gypsy Halloween costume, you will need pants, shirt, vest, bandanna, belt, gold jewelry and boots or shoes. Now let's put together your gypsy costume and add the details.

Create Your Own Gypsy Halloween Costume for Women

First let's start with the skirt for your gypsy costume. You can use almost any skirt if you have to but the best skirt to use for a gypsy costume is a full skirt that is about mid-calf length. It will look the best to use a bright color, either a solid color or a pattern, the more color the better. If you do not already own a skirt, you can visit your local thrift stores and look for one there. It will probably cost you around $5.00 to find one that is right for your gypsy costume.

Next, you will need a blouse. You can use any blouse in any bold color. The blouse does not need to match the skirt, in fact, it is even better if it does not. Traditionally, a gypsy blouse is a long-sleeved, loose-fitting, peasant-style but this is not necessary. When I dressed as a gypsy for Halloween some years ago, I used a sleeveless red camisole top with a black lace under tee. I still had the gypsy feel and I was instantly recognizable as a gypsy as comments at the time proved.

To add around your waist, you can either use a wide width belt or a strip of fabric. I prefer a dark color for the belt, just to ground the blouse and the skirt but you can use any color you choose. If you will be using a strip of fabric, it will look good if you tear the fabric instead of cutting it so you will have a ragged edge. To tear fabric, just snip the end with scissors, and then tear the rest of the way. Usually it will tear fairly easily and straight across. Once you have your strip of fabric, tie it around your waist. If you want just a belt look, then make your strip of fabric about four inches wide and long enough to tie around your waist. If you have a shawl, you can tie it around your waist in a sideways manner in place of a belt or in addition to the belt. If your shawl or ripped fabric is in a contrasting color to your skirt, this will look even better. Fringed shawls are perfect for this use. If you don't have a fringed shawl, then use the ripped fabric tied sideways around your waist. You will need to rip the fabric in a giant triangular piece that will go around your waist. If you have a gold chain belt, you can add it on top of the ripped fabric belt or shawl.

Gypsy hair should be long and flowing and preferably a dark color. If you have long hair, no matter what color, that is perfect. Just add a headband/scarf in a bright color or create a headband with ripped fabric to tie in your hair. If you need help finding a wig for your gypsy Halloween costume, you can check out this article on finding Halloween costume wigs.

Plenty of gold jewelry is a must for a gypsy Halloween costume. You will need large gold hoop earrings, gold necklaces, bracelets, anklets and jeweled rings. None of your jewelry needs to be real; in fact it's better if it is all costume jewelry or even plastic children's' jewelry. You can find plenty of cheap gold jewelry for sale at your local department store. To save a few dollars, ask around and see what gold jewelry your family and friends may be able to loan you for Halloween.

Make-up for your gypsy Halloween costume can be as bold or as understated as you like. Bright bold colors will work wonderfully for your lips, eye shadow and fingernails. You can add a pair of slip-on, ballet-style shoes or even go barefooted (toe nails painted of course!) and your costume is complete and you are ready for the Halloween party.

Create Your Own Gypsy Halloween Costume for Men

A gypsy Halloween costume for men is also a relatively easy costume to pull together. First, pick a pair of pants, any pants, any color. They can be a bold color or plain black. If you choose a pair of black pants, then the shirt and vest you choose will each need to be in different and bold colors. The shirt you choose should be long-sleeved and loose-fitting. If you are unable to find an appropriate men's shirt, you can look elsewhere, perhaps even a women's' shirt as long as it is loose-fitting and long-sleeved. A vest goes over the shirt and is left unbuttoned. The vest should also be loose-fitting. Both the shirt and the vest should be in a bold color that is NOT white. A bandanna can be worn loosely around your neck. If you do not have a bandanna, try a ripped piece of fabric with a jagged edge. You can also wear a piece of ripped fabric around your waist as a belt. Then add heavy gold jewelry to your wrists, along with a few large rings, and add a pair of black boots with the pants tucked inside them or just black shoes and you are finished with your gypsy man Halloween costume.

Each gypsy Halloween costume will be different because everyone has different fabrics and colors so even if there are other gypsies at the Halloween party, there won't be any duplicates and you will still be dressed as uniquely you.

If you are unable to bear the thought of creating your own gypsy Halloween costume, there may still be time to order a costume from a Halloween store. There are several different gypsy Halloween costumes available at BuyCostumes.com for you to choose from here.