Hallowe'en Costumes: Betty Draper

Today I do my second Hallowe'en costume idea. Tomorrow I am going to take a break from costumes and discuss hosting a vintage Hallowe'en party!

Our costume for today is an easy one, well, less complicated than the Monkees, but probably more pieces to get together. Betty Draper/Francis dresses as the iconic 50's housewife with a bit of edge. I will discuss how to get the Betty Draper in Rome and Betty Draper at home costumes.

Betty at Home:

This look is pretty easy to achieve. You need a shirt dress with a circle skirt. Here is a pattern from Etsy, it costs 14.50. You can find some already made dresses on Etsy as well. You can try thrifting or do what I did and ask your grandmother!

Underneath this dress you need a crinoline. The crinoline will make the skirt full, giving that distinct Betty look. You should wear stockings too, but these are not necessary for a Hallowe'en costume.

Next, you need a strand of pearls, simple stud earrings, and a classic sliver watch (remember when Don tried to bribe her to stay out of therapy?) For shoes pick a pair of simple kitten heels that match.

Alright, now that you have gotten your costume together, it is time for hair and makeup. She always sports the cat-eye makeup. For this is pretty simple:

Step 1: Cover your face in powder, eyelids and all.
Step 2: Paint on liquid eyeliner across the lash line and give it a little flick on the outer edge, and let dry.

Step 3: Put on mascara on the top lashes only, making it heavier on the outer edges.

Step 4: Use a pale eyeshadow, champagne, pale pink, or white will do.

Step 5: Lastly, put on pink blush on your cheekbones, concentrating at the apples of your cheeks.

Voila! Betty Draper makeup!

For hair, she typically wore it down with a little curl. I can get a look similar by parting my hair to the side, and using a curling iron to curl in all of the ends of my hair. On the right side (the longer side of the part, that could be different on you) I use the curling iron to make a curl that will frame the face.

After this, you have your Betty Draper costume!

Betty in Rome:

Everyone remembers Betty's Rome costume:

Last year I went to the opera and I channeled this costume! For this let's start with hair and makeup.

Her beehive is to die for in this episode, however, it is pretty difficult to achieve. I found this hair tutorial on the Glamorous Housewife blog that gives a classic Betty updo:

This is not too hard. I edit these directions by either using a bump-it to make the beehive taller, or tease it extra to make it as big as you can. Next, I take a brooch and pin it in the middle of the hive in the front:

(That is my roommate with me in blue) It is hard to see in this picture, but I did make my hair very tall that night. Also, I have bangs, so I curled them in and on the end I added a little extra curl.

For makeup I would start with the makeup steps I listed earlier. I would add:
Lengthen the wings a little longer, and line the outer edge on your lower lash line.
Dark eyeshadow across the lid extending to the tips of the wings.
Use a lighter eyeshadow (in the same color) across the top, leaving a little room between the eyebrow and the shadow.
Use white or pale gold shadow just under the brow and in the tear ducts.
Put on a neutral lipstick.

For the dress you need a knee length black dress. I have a dress that is black sequins on the top half, velvet on the bottom, and bead fringe between. Something like this, on Etsy:



She pairs this with black stockings; a long bead necklace with pearls, black beads, and gold beads; long earrings with gold beads at the bottom; and black heels (strappy sandals, stilettos, etc).

I am hoping to be able to make a picture tutorial for the makeup and hair for her at home wear tomorrow.