Author Gonzalo / Posts / Published: 25/11/2019
Reuse Your Gogo Boots! 7 Halloween Costumes For Music Festivals
Are you heading off to a music festival anytime soon? Have you thought about your outfit? There are lots of different options you can choose from, but one of the quirkiest is to repurpose Halloween costumes for music festivals, by adding a different spin to them. It’s very trendy right now to design a festival themed party costume around 70s clothes, so why not combine your Halloween costume with a 70s vibe and create a one-of-a-kind festival costume?
The 70s were a time of glittering discos, flared trousers, Atari video games and one telephone per household (no mobile phones or the internet!). We had Steve Austin the Six Million Dollar Man, polaroid photos, family road trips, Saturday morning cartoons on the black and white TV, and kids playing in the street without worrying about strangers. Hitchhiking was popular, sunscreen wasn’t an issue, and every kid had a pencil case for school. The TV reception was changeable, the Bee Gees were Stayin’ Alive, cassette players were the height of technology, and we all loved Charlie’s Angels!
There was no Star Wars, video games, smartphones, microwaves, computers, internet, selfie sticks, iPods, iPads or digital anything! What we did have, however, was a fabulous sense of fashion and the freedom to wear some crazy psychedelic colours! So grab your GoGo boots and body glitter and let’s put together seven Halloween costumes for music festivals that are inspired by the fabulous 70s!
How to create a festival costume for female hipsters:
In the 60s we had the famous Hippie look, which by the early 70s was replaced by a more androgynous look where both men and women wore really wide collars, flared trousers that morphed into bell bottoms, and lots and lots of long hair! Pantsuits made their mark, t-shirts were born and platform shoes were the height of fashion. In essence, there were no rules, but looking back, we can see that there were definite trends.
So let’s take our inspiration from flared trousers, big collars, jumpsuits, maxi dresses, t-shirts, platform shoes, Farrah Fawcett hair-dos, suede boots and headbands! Let’s create seven vintage Halloween costumes for music festivals with a 70s twist!
1. GoGo Boots Costume:
GoGo Dancers were very popular in the 60s, but they still danced their way into the 70s! To put this festival costume together you will need to dig out your mother’s old GoGo boots from the attic or head to a vintage shop because the original and authentic boots can still be found if you look hard enough! The easiest option, however, is to head to CostumeBox who have a wide range of GoGo boots in lots of fabulous colours to match your outfit (they even have platform boots).
Once you have your boots to hand (no pun intended), you need to focus on your outfit, which should be a psychedelic short mini-dress with low neck and flared sleeves. Add some body glitter, a Farrah Fawcett wig and you are ready to hit the music festival of your choice! To transform your GoGo dancer costume into a fantastic throw-back to the 70s zombie costume, cover your face in white makeup and add some black eyeshadow around your eyes to make you look undead! For a vintage vampire, add fake blood so that it looks like it’s dripping from the sides of your mouth and even wear some contact lenses and vampire teeth!
2. Disco Dancer Festival Costume:
This is where the flared pantsuits or jumpsuits come into play because they were all the rage in the 70s! You can choose a block colour or go for psychedelic patterns, whatever suits your taste. You can even take it one step further and create an ABBA Dancing Queen outfit and long blonde wig, with flared trousers and huge flared sleeves starting at your elbows. Select one of the classic metallic colours of silver, blue or bright pink and don’t forget your body glitter! Mama Mia! This will make an awesome costume for any music festival! To transform this fabulous 70s costume into a Halloween special.
3. Fishnets and Platforms:
Fishnets were very popular in the 70s and often worn by Goths, although to give them their own twist, they wore them ripped and torn. If you want to create your own 70s version of a Gothic costume, then you need to focus on black! You want anything that’s black, so look for black flares, t-shirts, short skirts and mini-dresses, and a black floppy hat.
You can also opt for a blood-red velvet dress that’s ultra-short, matched with a long black shawl and black knee-length platform boots. A lot of 70s fashion style was about different textures and layering, so any mix of black clothing should be suitable. For your Goth makeup, you want a pale face, black or grey eye makeup, and black or very dark red lipstick. Let’s be honest here, if you use the 70s Goths as your festival themed party costume, you won’t need to change anything to wear it for Halloween!
4. Roll Out the 70's Maxi Dress:
The maxi dress was one of the 70s iconic styles – floor-length dresses with puffy sleeves and a high waist. Mainly seen in pretty pastel colours (flowers were a big thing!), these Maxi dresses could take you anywhere. You could wear them to dinner, to a show, to the shops, anywhere day or night was a good occasion for a maxi dress. To give your maxi dress a Halloween spin you can go one of two ways. One option is to wear a pretty pastel maxi dress to the music festival and then using makeup and fake blood, turn it into a zombie or ghoulish costume. Your other option is to wear a black or dark red maxi dress to the festival, turning it into a witch’s costume for Halloween. In fact, you could purchase a witch’s costume for Halloween with a long dress, witch’s hat and broom, just wearing the dress to the festival – they make a fabulous festival themed party costume. No-one would know!
5. 70's Crop Tops and Denim:
In the 70s, the humble crop top came into its own, morphing from the fringed tops of the 60s to the much shorter crop tops we are more familiar with today. Matched with very short shorts or denim jeans, the crop top became one of the sex symbols of the 70s (remember Cher?), and they are perfect for hot summer music festivals. Wear them covered in sequins or sheer fabrics and add some body glitter because you can never go wrong with a cute crop top and shorts or jeans at a music festival. Turn yourself into a zombie for Halloween with some judicious makeup, and your 70s inspired outfit is good to go!
6. Boho Inspired Festival Costume:
Whilst Boho has been around for centuries, this Bohemian inspired fashion style was still going strong in the 70s, and is still well-loved today. Originating in France after the French Revolution, Boho was the style worn by writers, artists and intellectuals, and consists of loose, colourful clothing, representing an indifference to traditional social structures. Each individual’s style was considered a work of art and this individualism continues right up to the present day. The Boho style makes the perfect festival costume for female attendees, so look for loose flowing, peasant-style clothing in natural fibres with colourful scarves. Colours and patterns can be mixed and matched, broad-brimmed floppy hats are common, and lots of beads, necklaces and bangles are popular. For a Halloween costume, just add the makeup for a ghoulish transformation!
7. 70's Funky Playsuit Costume:
Playsuits or romper suits are a matched set of shorts or trousers with a crop top, whether really short or reaching the waist. The essential point about this 70s fashion trend is that it’s all made from the same colour and material. They tended to be worn in casual surroundings (hence the name ‘playsuit’) and the tops were often called ‘tube tops’; it wasn’t until the 80s that these playsuits entered the arena of evening wear, being made in more silky fabrics. Denim is also a fabric that was popular with these two-piece romper suits and they are ideal for the hustle and bustle of a music festival. To wear it to your Halloween party, simply add makeup and fake blood, as mentioned, above.
Using these seven examples, you should have enough inspiration to create your own 70s inspired Halloween costumes that are perfect for music festivals! If you need more inspiration, check out CostumeBox who have vaults full of awesome Halloween costumes and retro 70s costumes.
Author Gonzalo / Gifts / Published: 2 December 2019