The Dia de Muertos – Day of the Dead – is a Mexican celebration to remember the dead. It is celebrated on October 31st and November 1st.
If you want to celebrate it with a costume, beware of store-bought costumes. A lot of them are very patchy in quality and some are downright awful, like this one:
[image: Dia de los Muertos Costume]
Dia de Muertos is just around the corner and many people around the world have started to dress up as Calaveras – skulls and skeletons – all ready to celebrate Mexican traditional culture. A lot of people seem to be wearing some very patchy looking costumes that may look pretty, but they got them from some online shop that sells costumes – often for Halloween. So these “Day of the Dead” costumes are not authentic at all.
So before you go out there and celebrate with a costume that does not represent anything of Day of the Dead, read this and learn how to get an authentic Calavera costume.
For our first family Halloween in the USA, I was trying to find a Day of the Dead costume for my daughter.
I expected this task to be easy, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I had imagined. I found a lot of poor quality and patchy “dia de los muertos” costumes around the Web. I was trying to avoid having my kid wear a costume that looked like a bad joke, or one that was just plain wrong.
My wife and I were reflecting on how difficult it had been to find a costume when we realized that these days there is so much about dia de los muertos around us: from sugar skulls (calaveras) in coffeeshops’ menus, to party decor, to movies and cartoons – many of them are not really respectful of the original meaning of the tradition.
But then again we wondered if we were being too sensitive about this. Was it really important for our daughter’s costume to be accurate? Wasn’t it ok for her to wear something that looked like a generic “sugar skull”? Shouldn’t we be more relaxed about this? After all, at least she would look cute!
Halloween is here, and with it comes the Dia de Muertos celebrations. But, if you’re thinking of joining in, you’d better think again about buying those tacky store-bought costumes.
This article will go into detail on why you should avoid them and what you can do instead to make your own authentic costume.
If you buy a costume online or from a store, there’s a very good chance that it’s going to be at best mediocre and at worst outright offensive. The vast majority of costumes out there are of poor quality and get the details wrong.
The trouble is that the vast majority of these are made in China where they just don’t have a clue about the cultural significance or historical accuracy of their products.
It can be an expensive business too: I’ve seen some companies charging up to $200 for a costume that isn’t even made from real sugar skulls!
I was excited to see that the Mexican holiday of Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) was becoming more popular in the United States. I love the bright colors and whimsical nature of the holiday and it is always a great excuse to wear a costume.
When I went to Halloween stores and online retailers, however, I was dismayed at what they are selling as “Dia de Muertos” costumes. A lot of them are just plain incorrect and some of them are downright offensive.
We are in the Halloween month, and this is a perfect time to think of our Day of the Dead costume. In some parts of the world, it is possible to find stores selling ready-made costumes for celebrating Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). However, if you live in a country where these costumes are not available or where the quality of these store-bought costumes leave much to be desired, you can make your own beautiful calavera costume.
One option is to sew your own dress and make your own skull mask. This is a fun project that you can do with children. You don’t need to be an expert sewer as there are many easy-to-follow patterns online that you can purchase and download.
Alternatively, you can paint your face using white face paint and create a very simple skull-like design using black face paint. To make this look more authentic, you can use glitter and false eyelashes. Alternatively, you can create a more elaborate makeup design by drawing flowers or other designs around your eyes, lips and cheeks.
For all options, it is recommended to have a black dress, preferably one that has lace details around the neckline
Day of the Dead Costume – How to look your best on November 2nd.
The Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and around the world. The celebration centers around food, friends, drinks, music and dancing. Celebrants gather around their tables and altars and celebrate their dead.
There are many elements that come together for the holiday, one of which is costume. Traditional costumes are made using sugar skulls, feathers, mirrors and beads. Being a theatre designer I know a little about costume construction and I would like to share some information with you so that you can make informed choices when buying Day of the Dead costumes online or at local stores.
I was recently sent this image by a friend who found it while shopping online.