Saloon Girl Halloween Costume Ideas

Dance hall girls and saloon girls are the bawdy, colorful sweethearts of the Old West. All throughout the history of cinema, these lovely lassies have been portrayed as beautiful, fun and flirty, with a zest for life and wild excitement, which logically make for extremely fun Halloween costumes! While the line between history and fantasy often gets blurred when it comes to movie westerns, particularly when it comes to the costumes, I am going to give you a brief run down on some tips to create a fun, historically accurate dance hall girl outfit that Miss Kitty herself would envy ;)

First of all, you need the most crucial part of your costume: a corset. As painful as they look, you must take the plunge and invest in one. Saloon entertainers back in the late 1800s wore these over their dresses, cinched ALL the way. Now, you can break the rules here and sacrifice pain for comfort (which I do) and simply lace it up to where it fits snug, but not to the point where you are suffocating. A basic black one would be best and will go with any color dress you decide to wear. You can find corsets for sale online at www.absolutecorsets.com or if you just want a cheapo, off the rack one, Frederick's of Hollywood carries all sorts in spicy colors!

Now, as for a correct saloon girl dress, do not, and I repeat DO NOT wear a shiny 1980s style prom dress with big fluffy sleeves. Metallic fabrics such as taffeta weren't invented yet in the 1800s, so stick with all lace or a simple satin gown. You can almost ALWAYS find a used dress made of the aforementioned fabrics at any thrift store for very cheap and reasonable prices. Pin the front of the skirt WAY up, as saloon entertainers showed off their assets this way. Trim the dress with tons and tons of ribbons, bows, and flowers and make sure you have some sort of petticoat on underneath your scandalous skirt ;)

As for your undergarments, contrary to popular belief, saloon girls did NOT wear fishnet stockings back in the day. They weren't invented yet. Wear solid white or black stockings, as these were the main colors that the girls wore, and make sure you have bloomers on! Your skirt and petticoat will be pinned up VERY high, so you must have the proper undergarments! Even though you aren't a 'real' lady, you must have a sense of decency! You can find any of these frilly unmentionables at costume shops or you could be creative and buy a pair of satiny sleep shorts and sew on some lace trim! Also, make sure you have a garter on one of your stockinged legs ;)

For accessories, a black velvet choker necklace is the epitome of a dance hall girl's look. These pretty necklaces were all the rage in the late 1800s and early 1900s and you can find some very pretty ones for sale online or at a nice jewelry store such as Francesca's. Sparkly chandelier earrings in assorted colors are also very nice and accurate, as are pearls. Your shoes must be lace-up boots. Some of you may have a few pairs hiding in your closet leftover from the early 1990s, but again you can usually find these at second hand stores. DON'T wear stiletto pumps. For a finishing touch, add a pair of black lace, fingerless gloves (yes, these are period correct believe it or not) and a fluffy feather boa!

Getting a period correct hairstyle is really quite easy, as it is actually all about your feather hairpiece. Simply take your hair and pull it back into a simple bun. Go to a craft store and buy some fluffy ostridge plumes in the same colors as your outfit to stick in your 'do. Tie a couple of ribbons around your bun and voila! You are ready to entertain a crowd of rough and rowdy cowboys!

I dressed up as a saloon girl for Halloween two years in a row, and loved it SO much that I decided to take the plunge and join an Old West re-enacting group, specializing as a saloon entertainer! In the very beginning, I made the same mistakes and wore an off the rack prom dress, but the other gals in my group were quick to give me a thorough history lesson in proper attire. I have enclosed a picture of myself in one of my ensembles to give you all an example to go by!

So ladies, cinch up your waist, pin up your skirts and fluff up your boa, and create a look that will make every lovesick cowboy take back things he never regretted!

Happy Trails!