Wacky Wednesday #13: Orange!

This week’s inspiration is a little less obvious than some of my costumes. Kids won’t get it. But that’s okay. My costume really isn’t intended to be an homage to a certain award-winning TV show. (What is its name? Something about the color orange…? Hmmm…). I haven’t watched more than a few minutes of that show (no offense to the show—I really don’t watch much TV lately). But its title is so catchy and it planted an idea in my brain. So I decided I’d go with it.  

This idea formed on a Saturday when I was at a giant garage sale and happened to find a few things in orange. Here are the items I found that have joined together to make this week’s costume:

·         2 orange shirts (garage sale)                                                      $2

·         I orange vinyl construction vest (garage sale)                         $1

·         Orange toys (garage sale)                                                           $1

·         Orange fabric iPad case (garage sale)                                       $1

·         Fabric and thread (fabric store)                                                 $3

·         Fabric already in my sewing stash                                             $0

Total spent on this outfit                                                             $8

Sometimes I like including the cost of my costume because I love showing that you don’t need a ton of money to create something memorable and fabulous. Just a few days ago someone commented that it must cost a lot to make these costumes. I told him it costs not much at all because I love garage sales, thrift stores, sales and recycled materials. Part of the fun of creating these costumes is seeing how much fabulousness I can create for not much money. (You could make a terrific costume if you had an unlimited amount to spend, yes, but you use your imagination more when you make something amazing for less.)

So today I am dressed head to toe in orange, with a few black accents because this actually enhances the orange-ness by providing contrast. If orange is the new black, sign me up. Black clothing really doesn’t do much for me—I need bright colors.

My hat is full of charmingly weird items. I love the idea of everyday items making surprise appearances as wearable art. This hat includes plastic fasteners, a rubber toy, recycled materials, part of a plastic bag of oranges, buttons, a broken slinky and so much more. Their common denominator is their color, and the variety in the objects just delights me.
 

The dress is made of a clear vinyl construction vest that I cut up, two orange shirts cut up to make a dress, scraps of fabric I’ve had for ages, buttons and felt.

 

 

My necklace is, of course, also a playful mix of everyday items.
 

These shoes I’ve had forever. They’ve been painted various colors, depending on the color of my costume. Who knows what color they’ll be next? (Stay tuned and you may find out.)

 

The purse I made from a padded iPad case I bought at a garage sale and reconfigured.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this week's wacky fun. Now, embrace the orange-ness of today and go have some Vitamin C!