celebrating halloween with value village

halloween is just around the corner;

it seemingly sneaks up on me each year.

costume planning (and shopping) is one 

of my favorite fall traditions. 

i may or may not want to admit how 

much time i recently spent browsing 'costume ideas' 

on pinterest during the month of october 

(my halloween board can be found here). 

blogs provide a great deal of inspiration, too.

 between pre-packaged and DIY costumes, 

a girl has a lot of options. 

disclosure: value village graciously provided me with a gift card

to purchase my costume. as per usual, all opinions are my own!

as september came to an end (and the weather

changed (or drastically cooled off)), pumpkins,

apple cider, and halloween costumes

were on my mind. i began asking friends and coworkers

for costume suggestions, but struggled to come

up with something original. i dressed as wendy darling

from the disney movie, peter pan, 

last year. my costume was entirely thrifted!

this year, i was eager to visit my local 

value village for a bit of halloween prep.

i had a few costume ideas in mind, 

but i find it helpful to begin your halloween thrifting

adventure with an open mind. after all, you 

never know what your local thrift store will have

in stock. additionally, i take a cursory

glance at my closet: do i have accessories

or a specific item i can style as part of a costume?

ears, a new makeup tutorial, or wig

are potential examples.

i tend to avoid the ready-made,

packaged costumes, as they lack originality. 

the costume 'section' can be helpful when thrift 

shopping, but can appear picked over. 

my strategy? walk the store. 

look at everything. consult pinterest as 

you find clothing, shoes, or accessories that 

can be used to create a costume. and

 most of all, have fun!

halloween is an wonderful holiday. 

celebrating all things spooky + costumes and 

candy galore?! that requires fun, laughter, and creativity.

can you guess my costume? sandy from

'grease' meets 1950s pinup girl. a bandana, 

high-waisted bottoms, and a glass bottle of coke

were essential. i had so much fun putting

this look together!

when browsing the racks at value village,

i was hoping to find high-waisted 

shorts and a gingham or polka dot shirt. 

unfortunately, i was unable to find shorts

but fell in love with this polka dot top. i also

stumbled upon this gem of a jacket on

my way to the shoe section. i purchased it

to wear IRL (in real life), but it seemingly goes

well with my costume, too! 

the finishing touches were a sleek pair of

heels, a bracelet, bandana, and loose curls.

photos by karya schanilec photography

t-shirt, bracelet, heels, and faux fur jacket: c/o value village.

leggings: american apparel, bandana: fred meyer

you can see previous halloween posts on my

blog here and here. i absolutely love celebrating

halloween (any excuse to dress up and eat chocolate, 

right?). do you have any fun plans this year?

what is your costume? if you haven't begun

planning, make sure to visit your neighborhood 

value village for costume ideas and essentials!

xoxo.