Rapunzel Halloween Costume?

[Quixii]

I wasn't sure where the best place for this thread was, so feel free to move it accordingly. :)

So, Halloween's coming up in a few months, so if I'm going to make a costume, I need to make it soon.
In high school, people kept telling me I should be Rapunzel for Halloween, because my hair was so long. I'd laugh and say, "Maybe next year! My hair will be longer then!" Finally last year I'd already planned on being Supergirl, but I told someone, "My hair is finally at my goal length. I think I really will be Rapunzel next year." Even though my hair still feels too short for me to really be Rapunzel. ;)
Anyway, so I'm trying to plan what's the best way to do the costume. I don't want it to necessarily have to be Rapunzel from Tangled (even though I love her too), because I don't want to worry about not looking like her. But I also want it to be clear that I'm Rapunzel and not some other random princess. I'm not sure how to balance those desires.
So I thought I'd come to you and see if anyone has suggestions!

[Entangled]

Yessssss! Quixii, that's perfect for you. If you're going for princess, include a crown so people realize. If you're not going specifically for th Disney look, I would pick a time period or style and just go full out. It's the little details that make a costume pop. I'm assuming you would go with natural curls and down? If it's Halloween, barefoot might not be so safe (I always associate Rapunzel with no shoes, as she wouldn't need them in a tower.) So I guess my advice is pick a distinct princessy look, then let your hair down.

[Imalath]

For a non-Disney Princess, my mind always goes straight to all of those gorgeous Waterhouse paintings; I kept a few on my walls in college as inspiration. For Rapunzel...I would recommend wearing wearing a simple dress, a circlet, and let your hair do the talking!

[Seeshami]

I would let you borrow my Rapunzel costume but it's super Disney inspired and I don't think our dress and corset sizes are close enough.

[Quixii]

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

I guess my main problem is that I've done "generic princess" a couple times in the past, so I'm not sure if there's a way to make it clear that "no, this time it's actually Rapunzel and not generic-princess-that-you-guessed-was-Rapunzel-just-because-I-also-wore-my-hair-down-then."

[Seeshami]

You have to go with something recognizable an iconic I would think.

[neko_kawaii]

Carry lettuce?

[Entangled]

^That would do the trick for the informed.

[Nedertane]

Like others have mentioned, I'd start with a "generic princess" look (you pick your color and era :) ). Probably leave your hair down, or do a fancy braid. In addition to that though, see if you can't attach some small combs or brushes to a belt or sash on your dress. I can't remember for the life of me where, but I recall having seen a depiction of Rapunzel where she had this sort of "utility belt" of hair tools. That would probably be the most distinguishing thing.

[DollyDagger]

hi there..love your hair! Youll make a wonderful Rapunzel.
when i think of her i think of her in the tower. How about if you would incorporate the gray tower in the design of your dress by making it greyish in color and maybe painting a grey brick pattern on it..you can add silver sparkles here and there too ..and maybe some green glittery vines and also artificial ivy going up the gown. You could even somehow design a collar that goes up behind your head and acts as a window. I can just picture it..wish i could draw it for you. :) hope that made some kinda sense if only as a jumping off point perhaps. good luck...keep us posted on the design.

[Jo Ann]

Carol Lynley played "Rapunzel" on an episode of "Shirley Temple's Storybook" back in the late 1950s. Maybe her costume could help you?

http://is.gd/rzdroZ

With hair as long, thick and pretty as yours, maybe the braid (and a circlet) could work to get the impression across?

[missrandie]

I know that you aren't in a wheelchair, but a lovely little girl in my hometown who is decided to be Rapunzel for Halloween a few years ago.. So her folks turned her chair into a tower!

Worse comes to worse, you can carry a small ish cardboard tower prop :) then you can hang your hair out of the "tower" window when somebody asks!

[MoreAutumnForMe]

My mental image has one of those Elizabethan dresses (I don't know if I got the period of dress right) and the front hair twisted into a very small half-updo. I think most of the hair down would be a huge giveaway!

[Nique1202]

As for the barefoot, if you wanted to incorporate that, find a cheap pair of flat shoes (check thrift stores maybe, but often big-box stores like Walmart have flats on sale now to clear summer stock) in a fabric you figure can paint, pick up some acrylic paint that's near enough to your skin tone, paint the shoes, then draw toe and toenail shapes on the toe ends of the shoes.

I also think the cardboard tower prop missrandie suggested would be the easiest way to say that you're Rapunzel specifically. Find a box maybe 2-3 feet tall, cut a hole out of one side like a window opening, and paint it grey with brick outlines. Something like this (http://www.costumepop.com/rapunzel-costume/)but standalone, without the tiny body, and with a slightly taller hole. I'd probably go with a braid if you do this, just to make it easier to get it in and out of the display at need.

[Anje]

I was also thinking you could have a tower. Perhaps wear it like a barrel (http://brooklynbrewery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Karl-in-Barrel.jpg), with your hair hanging over the edge? ;)

[Entangled]

I like the tool belt idea. Then you get a super princess look, but have clues. The tower idea is also cool.

[ghanima]

You have really beautiful hair, and very long already, to make the Rapunzel concept more clear I would braid your hair on one side adding new length with fake hair or wool (kind of hand spinned looking yarn) of your same color, so let's say your braid becomes much longer than feet length, so long that you have to hold it in your hand let's say at 2/3 length not to step on it, and it still would go down to the knees - am I making any sense?... it would look astonishing.
And yes of course various embellishments would also pull focus on it too, so lord of the ring-style accent braids, fairy-talish decorations, using a very nice ribbon at the end, etc.

[woodswanderer]

I love the Rapunzel idea. I always used to try to incorporate my hair into my Halloween costumes. My best costume was probably Medusa. I don't really think of Rapunzel as barefoot, but I do like the wearable tower idea.

[MoreAutumnForMe]

The wool would bind to your hair :/

Acrylic won't, though :knit:

[missrandie]

Building on the roving/yarn idea, a massive Paranda to add to your already epic length? like, several feet of Paranda goodness?

[ravenheather]

The wool would bind to your hair :/

Acrylic won't, though :knit:

I use wool parandas. No binding to my hair even with damp hair.

[Nadine <3]

I like the super long paranda idea! Ifyou'redoing disney inspired,a few flowers braided in would be nice :)

[spirals]

I love the idea of wearing a tower. I must incorporate that idea into a tornado costume. I can picture it in my head, but the logistics.... Hair figures in; it would be all wild with debris.

Anyway, I think you would want some kind of lightweight frame and light fabric. Maybe a couple of hula hoops with brick-patterned fabric stapled around? Or have the skirt of your dress be made of brick-patterned fabric? You'd be surprised what you can find at the fabric store. Oh, but I don't know if you sew.

[Quixii]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I particularly like the idea of a brick pattern dress and a tool belt.
One suggestion a friend had was to have a Barbie or smaller sized male doll attached to the end of my hair braided, so it was like he was climbing my hair. I think that would look extra great with the tower ideas.

I'm hoping to avoid trying to extend my hair via fake hair and whatnot. If I wanted to dive into that, I think I would go full Disney cosplay.

If I'm being completely honest, I think I want to wear a pretty dress. I'm half tempted to do a princess-y dress in a colour scheme inspired by Tangled's Rapunzel, so that it evokes thoughts of the movie without being completely tied to the movie. I love the idea of adding a tool belt with a hair brush and a frying pan, and maybe a couple other things Rapunzel mentions having.

[Waffle]

It should be recognizable so people know you're Rapunzel.

[DollyDagger]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I particularly like the idea of a brick pattern dress and a tool belt.
One suggestion a friend had was to have a Barbie or smaller sized male doll attached to the end of my hair braided, so it was like he was climbing my hair. I think that would look extra great with the tower ideas.

I'm hoping to avoid trying to extend my hair via fake hair and whatnot. If I wanted to dive into that, I think I would go full Disney cosplay.

If I'm being completely honest, I think I want to wear a pretty dress. I'm half tempted to do a princess-y dress in a colour scheme inspired by Tangled's Rapunzel, so that it evokes thoughts of the movie without being completely tied to the movie. I love the idea of adding a tool belt with a hair brush and a frying pan, and maybe a couple other things Rapunzel mentions having.

whatever you do ..keep us posted ..and get started soon! dont be like me waiting till the last minute and then going bananas staying up for days trying to get it done :) <--me turning in design projects) good luck!..and yeah your hairs pretty rapunzelish sans enhancements..

[Bill D.]

One suggestion a friend had was to have a Barbie or smaller sized male doll attached to the end of my hair braided, so it was like he was climbing my hair. I think that would look extra great with the tower ideas.

Elizabeth did just that many years ago- tower plus doll in braid!

[Nebulae]

Anyway, I think you would want some kind of lightweight frame and light fabric. Maybe a couple of hula hoops with brick-patterned fabric stapled around? Or have the skirt of your dress be made of brick-patterned fabric? You'd be surprised what you can find at the fabric store. Oh, but I don't know if you sew.

Love the hula hoop idea! How about making a collapsible tower attached to the bottom of the dress, so if somebody asks you can pull up a tower around you? That would be so cool! Also that means you can have your pretty dress, and you have a transfoming trick to turn into a tower :D

[Bill D.]

Elizabeth did just that many years ago- tower plus doll in braid!

With Elizabeth's permission, here she is as Rapunzel:

http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL437/1642984/24174024/411617617.jpg

The male figure was a prince puppet from Folkmanis. She wore this costume at school as a teacher. Anybody who wants to try this kind of costume may find her story below useful. Here are her words from an email to me in 2002 (with her permission):


Everybody thought my costume was great. As a morning only class my kids get the chance to show off their dress up clothes by parading into all the other classes. It was a good thing, though unplanned on my part, that the tower fit through the doorways. I had not stopped to consider that very important requirement when constructing it inside my classroom.

There were audible gasps from the students of each room as I maneuvered through the doorframe with a slight tilt and careful step to slide past any hanging decorations draping the entryway. I spend the time waving to former students by name and also listen to the upper graders ooh and aah as they identify the characters portrayed by the kindergarteners. A few were stumped by me. Guesses included being a rocket, a castle for its own sake, and a mushroom. Handily enough, another student would point out the prince on my hair and announce my identity. Then we moved on with another contortion at the door to repeat the performance in the next classroom.

The afternoon parade was even better. There were no students to be responsible for so I really could relax and enjoy the walk. With the limited vision it was a good thing I was on my own. That parade goes out into the neighborhood and I would have left the tower behind and walked in the dress and prince alone to kid wrangle if this had been a year with an afternoon class. Next time I know to make any construction as light as possible. The umbrella holding up everything rested the weight on my shoulder at times and left a bruise that is still a bit tender.

I put the tower on one last time for the night when some of my favorite neighborhood kids came to the door. The bonus was the attention from the teenage girls who swooned over my hair ("I can't believe it is real! Oh my God!"- you know how teenagers can sound, say it overly dramatic) as they followed the youngsters to my door.

Bill D.

[Lunnafindel]

I know I'm a bit late to this, but I just met a woman with knee-length hair and we bonded over having BOTH decided to go, not as Rapunzel, but as Rapunzel's tower. Our reasoning was that no tower that could be gotten into with our hair would be tall enough to keep us from getting out on our own ;) So apparently we both had the same idea of dressing up with brickwork/stone on our bodies and a small doll on our shoulders whose braid was then braided into our hair so the proportions were actually right. I'm now wondering how many long hairs are out there who did exactly the same thing...

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8137/29934119782_e5b1eb6c02_z.jpg

Of course if you want to wear a pretty princess dress that's fine - looks like Disneyland Rapunzel (http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/characters/images/8/8a/2_13_DL_004089-577x800.jpg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141231004501) doesn't actually have that long hair, so you could get away with it. (I actually tried on a kid's rapunzel wig and my hair was longer - I bet yours would be too!)

[Entangled]

That's awesome!