DIY Space Ghost costume

Image from here. Although how did they get it? I must learn these things.

For the longest time I didn't really get costumes. Some people seemed to put a lot of work into them. Costume parties and even the annual arrival of Halloween would cause me anxiety instead of excitement. What would be interesting, easy, fun, and not over-done? What can I put together kinda quickly using what I already have while not spending too much money on the things I'd need? 

The "easy" and "kinda quickly" in that thought process are the problem. With good planning, the execution of a decent costume isn't that hard. I should know! I've currently outfitted Space Ghost, The Queen of Hearts, and two other characters with back-slapping success.

Here I present to you my DIY Space Ghost:

The plan - I planned on wearing a white t-shirt, white jeans, white shoes, a basic black eye mask, and everything you see above. I was skipping the black hood. I'd have to buy a lot, but the items didn't seem tricky and the DIY accessories seemed easily doable.

The purchases - I bought the yellow kid's superhero cape and the long white gloves at a party store. Once I found the yellow cape, the Space Ghost costume was a full-on GO. At Michael's I bought red and black felt, a basic black eye mask, yellow foam paper, and sticking Velcro tape. At Target I bought a white V-neck T-shirt and white jeans. I looked around for white Converse-like high-top sneakers but when I stumbled upon gold sparkly platform slip-on sneakers on clearance, I stopped looking (this is called costume personalization).

What I had at home - white felt for the eyes, black vinyl fabric for belt, safety pins, scissors, hot glue gun, two space-related fake tattoos (the inspiration for my Space Ghost costume in the first place)

DIY entailed - (belt) hot gluing red rectangle to black rectangle and using sticky Velcro when it's time to secure it around your waist; (power bands) cutting red felt into arm bands, cutting yellow foam into rectangles, gluing yellow to the red, drawing lines on yellow with a marker, and using sticky Velcro when time to secure them around your arms; (chest piece) cutting red felt triangle for the chest piece, cutting black felt for the chest piece, hot gluing black to red, cutting white shapes from sticky-backed white felt, sticking white eyes onto black felt, securing chest piece to cape with safety pins

Deviations from the plan - I hated the white jeans so I wore my black skinny jeans. Gold sneakers instead of white shoes. Didn't wear the black face mask cause didn't feel like it.

The outcome - Excellent! People all around recognized me as Space Ghost. When probed, they said the colors and details gave it away very clearly. The new shoes gave me lots of extra kick. Space Ghost was channeled. Fuck yeah.

What I'd do differently - Not rely on sticky Velcro closures. The sticky kind will work for one event, so it was good enough for this day. But a simple upgrade for my future Space Ghost outings will be to secure the Velcro with some needle and thread. Also, fabric glue might be preferred to hot glue for a lot of this sticking, but I have yet to try.

So there you have it. I think this Space Ghost will serve me well for years to come. 

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What's my next DIY costume you (don't) ask? Inspired by recent news articles, reading The Lacuna, and my desire for new red boots, I'm thinking Frida Kahlo:

Frida Kahlo's personal wardrobe, red boots