If you're anything like me, Halloween is your favorite time of year! Which means...costumes!
This year, I'm hoping to be able to finish up a Corazon Marikit costume, though...I haven't quite started (oops!)
Anyway, here's some costume ideas inspired by our mythology:
Manananggal
Manananggal sounds like a difficult costume, but you can copy the Monster High doll like I hope to do. Obviously, you can make it gory by focusing on the classic torso split. Drag Race Philippines Season 1 had a whole runway theme called Shake, Rattle, and Runway. You can snag plenty of ideas from the episode, but the manananggal costume is at 1:11. The ...backend (NSFW) shows how the "split" of the costume works.
Dwende
With Renn Faire's popularity growing, dwende may be one of the easier costumes to create. If you choose to go for the "old man of the mound" type of dwende, grab yourself a faux beard, dirty up some clothes to make it "peasant-like" and accessorize!
Here's some ideas for accessories:
- Enlarged "found" items like a giant button on a backpack or belt; a large leaf or flower bag; or even a giant soda cap hat
- Nature-inspired headwear like a mushroom cap or leaf hat
- An upo/tabungaw/gourd hat
Tikbalang
Horse head masks aren't hard to find, so a Tikbalang may be an easy costume...assuming people don't mistake you for BoJack Horseman.
So, to keep people from mistaking you for BoJack - put on your best Filipino traditional wear! Wear a bahag, sablay, or even a malong...just...maybe don't wear a barong, some people may just think you're a Filipino BoJack.
Tiyanak...climbing out of a dead woman
This costume speaks for itself. Focus on the makeup: pale, grey or green-ish skin, sunken eyes, etc. On a baby doll, do the same thing - make it look pale, angry, and...maybe a bit bloody.
Then, grab a large shirt, cut a hole on it, and place the baby doll through the hole. At this point, put the shirt and doll on and decide if you need to...amputate. Do you want pieces of the arm to come out the side, out another hole? Do you want/need the legs of the baby, or do you want it to look like it's only partially out of the body? Once you've made those changes, take off the shirt and doll, and splatter red-brown paint on and around the doll.
You can even add some mud/dirt on the clothes to make it look like you were buried.
The White Lady
The White Lady may be the easiest costume to do. Grab a long, white dress and, like the other costume ideas, make it weathered. Rip it, make it dirty, bloody, etc.
Hair and makeup will sell it. Dishevel your hair and wear pale makeup to appear ghostly. Add some streaky mascara, and voila! Haunt the local street as the local white lady.