Marie Antoinette: Classic 18th Century Halloween Costume Ideas

MarieAntoinette is one of the most well known people from the 18^th Century. She was born the Archduchess of Austria and was very beautiful. After marrying Louis Auguste at age 14, he soon became King Louis XVI making her the Queen of France and Navarre. During the height of the French Revolution, her husband was deposed and the royal family imprisoned. Marie Antoinette was tried, convicted of treason and executed by guillotine on October 16^th, 1793.

In modern day, she has become the most classic character to celebrate from her era. She dressed controversial for her own time. Her beauty and style made her most famous and to this day, her look has become one of the most popular costumes for Halloween. And whether the costume is done classically or more sexy, it's sure to be a show stopper if done right.

The dress should be a beautifully done brocade with a square neckline if going classic. The skirt should be full and big complete with petticoat. The materials should be Satin, lace, or tulle. Marie Antoinette was portrayed as young and free spirited so the colors should be light or even pastel. If going for a sexier look, the dress should be short in length but still full with petticoat, and a corset can be used instead. The entire ensemble should have ruffle trim, bow embellishments to make for an extremely feminine and girly costume. A Cameo necklace and earrings or pearls are great accessories and classic to this particular costume. The shoes will finish the look. They should be 18^th century style buckled pumps. This type of shoe can be found at costume retailers and buckle attachments can also be purchased to clip onto your own shoes.

For the hair, a wig may be used or you can also use baby powder to your own hair. This is very effective for lighter shades of hair. The style should be mostly an "up-do" and can have longer flowing tendrils of hair dangling to the neckline. Flowers such as roses are a great addition to place in your hair or a hat to match your beautiful dress.

Marie Antonette was very young in some of her classic portraits and make-up wasn't used at it is in modern day. Her skin was fair and further powdered for a very pale complexion. Her cheeks were blushed prominently in pink. Her lips were natural or pink so a pink gloss would work best. Her eyebrows were light and she wore little to no eye make-up. For a modern day look, I would recommend the same but add a little bit of dark liner and full lashes or even fake lashes to amp up the look, but overall keep it simple for the best effect.

One of my favorite photos is from the movie by Soffia Coppola.(Click Here)

A basic generic version of the costume is available at many local and online costume retailers like www.BuyCostumes.com or Shopzilla. For a sexy but very detailed Marie Antoinette costume, www.trashy.com will do you right.