So, I said I would start talking about theme parties. Here’s the first. I actually did get started on my NaNo story, so yay for me. I basically have a couple of days to make up a week up not getting on that? I think I’m fully capable without work, but we’ll see.
Anyway, onward and forward through DIY costumes.
I’m starting with the iconic toga because inevitably you’ll end up wearing one at some point if you’re Greek. Your Homecoming float may even be Animal House themed, so just prepare yourself for that.
THE TOGA
You have a couple of options for Togas, so I’ll go through each of them.
Here it is.
1. Buy a costume
There’s some ridiculous toga costume with John Belushi’s face on the front, don’t buy that. But it is only a week after Halloween, so some stores may still be open. Get on that. There are sales galore. I’m actually in need of a gangster costume, so I need to make my way out to one in the near future. Probably tomorrow. Anyway, sales are amazing, especially if you’re buying a theme party piece, as it’s likely to get repeated at least once a year, if not more, thus resulting in huge savings for you in the long run. I can best attribute this to a pair of lame tights I once bought at American Apparel. They do have a forty dollar price tag, but I ended up wearing them to practically every football game for the next two years (and still wear them as an alumna) as well as wearing them off and on just because I felt like it. Seriously, absolutely worth the purchase price. So if you’re a freshman going to toga parties now, get on this. You’ll like the savings later. And really, you will look fairly awesome compared to your friends in sheets.
In addition to Halloween shops, there are also likely costume shops open year round in your town or state, whether they are vintage, rental/purchase, or otherwise. I can think of five off the top of my head (mixed locations include: suburbia, alma mater, and downtown), so there’s that. While these shops will not have the blowout prices of a seasonal costume shop in November, they are around past the beginning of November, so if you end up reading this in March, for instance, you’re not out of luck. Also, it’s likely that the costumes will be of a bit higher quality, so that’s something to look into too. Just down be afraid of the inevitability that they will get dirty. They will. Find a cheap dry cleaner. The one I went to at alma mater did one piece for $10-13 depending on what it was (I got a wool coat dry cleaned for $13, so you can definitely find something for cheap). Even if you buy a costume at a blowout post-Halloween sale, you should probably still invest in a good dry cleaner.
2. Borrow or Hand-me-downs
Don’t rely on this as much, especially if you happened upon a fifteen dollar toga costume at a Halloween blow out, but it is likely that your sisters before you (possibly your brothers) do own a toga costume they are trying to get rid of upon graduation. Unless they collect costumes, like me. If you and your Big Sis are the same size, this is definitely the way to go. I did almost come into my Big Sis’s toga (a really nice quality costume, sateen, gold ties, the whole shebang), but she is about five inches taller than me, so while a great costume on her, it would have been impractical for me to wear it and it looked really odd on me. But, if you and your Big Sis or Grand Big or whoever are similarly sized, jump on that hand-me-down. There is the unlikely event that they will not be able to attend said toga party, and therefore, will not be wearing it, leaving it free for you to borrow. However, this isn’t a frequent occurrence, so you should really work on getting your own.
3. Buy a dress
And it's on sale now, oh my goodness.
To any of the guys trying to get advice on acquiring togas, you’re welcome to read through this section, but I don’t know how many of you plan on going out and buying a dress to suit your needs. Actually, most of the guys I know aren’t big
on the costume thing at all, so it’s likely all guys will skip down to the fourth option. But like I said, feel free to keep reading. Anyway, so in the inevitable wake of Erika’s toga not fitting me, I went out and bought a dress. There are
plenty of companies that do, in fact, make dresses that resemble any number of costumes you may want to own. And, more often than not, they are really easy to get stains out of because they usually come in washable fabrics.
I will take this time now, though I’ve already hinted at it, to state my love of American Apparel. If you want a costume, but you also want new clothes, the chances are high that you can find something of use there. If I continue to go through these, maybe I’ll eventually end up compiling a post of all my American Apparel costumes that I started cycling into my wardrobe. There’s a lot of them. But anyway, back to the toga. For a toga dress, I highly recommend the Le Sac dress by American Apparel. It comes in any variety of colors with black ties (you can buy different colored ones) and with a little bit of work, you can make this dress do pretty much anything. I’ve been a rock star, a Grecian Goddess, a cowgirl, a princess, a girl on a night out on the town in a sexy dress, and a girl going to class in a classy summer dress. Really, the possibilities are endless. It does take a bit of time to practice, but within two months of owning the dress, you will totally be a pro. Plus, the variety of colors means that you can let your personality shine through more than the other options here. I own the fuchsia colored one, if anyone was wondering. I just saw that it was on sale too, for about half price, so I’m tempted to buy another color. I’ll think about it.
4. The Bed Sheet Toga/Fabric Toga
If all else fails, yes, there is the bed sheet toga. The problem with them, of course, is that they are prone to falling apart after short periods of time, so if you want your toga to last longer than an hour and you are doing more than sitting in it, you’re going to need extra supplies including, but not necessarily limited to, safety pins (bobby pins work in a pinch), a belt, and some stronger ribbon (graduation chords would also work pretty nicely) or detail ribbon. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about how to make a toga, but I think that this one best captures why you need safety pins instead of just simply making knots.
You do not necessarily need to use a bed sheet, and I would actually recommend getting fabric for a more permanent costume. Any of the videos on YouTube are fine for togas as long as you remember to reinforce your knots with safety pins and always wear a belt whether to stabilize or decorate at your waist or as hidden stability at your chest, but it may still fall down in that case.
Most importantly, though, the key to making a good toga, sheet or whatever, is to make it individual. Don’t use all the repetitive tying techniques you can find on the internet. Experiment! It’s like the Le Sac dress, but with fabric. So just have fun, but definitely reinforce your knots.
With that, I leave you all to your toga parties. Enjoy!
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