DIY costumes have you covered

By Lauren Iverson

Overly sexualized costumes are on their way out and funny costumes are making their way in.

Here are some do-it-yourself costume ideas that look fantastic without baring too much skin.

Gumball Machine

What you need:

• Red pants or skirt

• White shirt

• Glue

• Multi-colored fuzzy pompoms

• Construction paper

What you do:

Arrange pompoms on the front of the shirt so they’re touching but not overlapping and glue them to the shirt. Give the glue a few hours to dry to prevent losing gumballs throughout the night.

Cut a piece of construction paper into a small rectangle and draw a gumball machine lever on it. Write “25 cents” on it and tape it to the top of the red pants or skirt or right below the pompoms.

Holy Cow

What you need:

• Black leggings or jeans

• White shirt

• Black permanent marker

• Wings

• Halo

What you do:

Draw cow print on a shirt with permanent marker. Be sure to do this a few hours before actually wearing the shirt, otherwise the heavy scent of marker will follow you everywhere.

Put on the shirt and accessorize with a halo and wings.

Wilson from “Home Improvement”

What you need:

• Brown or green flannel shirt

• Khakis

• Fishing hat

• 15 Popsicle sticks

What you do:

To make a fence, take about 10 large Popsicle sticks and glue them side by side. Glue two to the back horizontally — one on top and one on bottom — to make sure the sticks don’t come apart. Glue one stick to the just below the center of the fence to make a handle.

Hold this simple, makeshift fence so it covers your face most of the night. Once people realize what the costume is, it will be the hit of the party.

1940s Actress

What you need:

• Formal dress

• Basic black heels

• Long black gloves

• Black hat

What you do:

We all have one: a formal dress we spent a small fortune on only to never wear it again. Put on the dress and accessorize with long black gloves, a pair of black heels and a vintage black hat.

Barrel-curl your hair and run your fingers through it for vintage wave.

Top off the look with a red lipstick or dramatic eye makeup.