Cautionary Women

It's hard to believe it, but Oscar-winning actor Octavia Spencer did not have her first lead role until 2019's Ma. While the movie, also directed by The Help's Tate Taylor, was no critical darling, it wasn't a waste of her phenomenal talents altogether.  The overwhelming consensus was that Octavia gave a solid performance as Sue Ann Ellington, a role that would have gone to a white actor.  Sue Ann is a twisted version of the Cool Mom, a larger-than-life parental figure with a hidden, murderous agenda. Here's how you can look like the meme-tastic, vengeful villainess for Halloween. How to get Octavia Spencer's Ma look  Octavia's Ma costume is easy enough to pull off. A veterinary technician, Sue Ann is seen in  floral scrubs  that she covers with a  purple knit cardigan . She pairs them with a pair of pink pants.  In one famous scene, Sue Ann is the life of the party with her newsboy cap and matchy-matchy maroon pants and blouse, with huge bangles...

Nurse Mildred Ratched is one of cinema's most famous characters, and deservedly so.  The big baddie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has been ranked the second-greatest villainess of all time by the American Film Institute, the character even netting Louise Fletcher a Best Actress Oscar.  Let's just say this costume guide has been a long time coming.  How to make a Nurse Ratched costume The story of the Mildred Ratched costume is the also the story of the nurse uniform. It has evolved a lot since the 1975 movie, so much so that hospitals and healthcare institutions have abandoned the iconic  white cap-and-coat combo seen on Louise. Most have traded it for medical scrubs since the 90s.  Nevertheless, the nurse cap endures today as a Halloween costume staple . You can easily make DIY nurse caps with nothing but paper. Here's how.  If you want to copy the Sarah Paulson version of the villain, as seen on 2020's Ratched, get crafty with  blue-green ...

Do you want to be a Disney villainess for Halloween but not one of the thousands of Maleficents, Cruella de Vils, and Ursulas on the streets? Helga Sinclair has you covered.  The bad girl of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) has one of the easiest villain costumes you can gun for (no pun intended) this season.   How to make a Helga Sinclair costume All you need to cosplay Helga is a white tank top , paired with olive-green military or cargo pants . Or a dark turtleneck , paired with tight-fitting tan pants . Earlier in the movie, she also wears a military-green coat. To complete Helga's femme fatale look, wear a buscadero or Western holster that will not look out of place in 1914.  You can also accessorize with brown or black gloves and knee-high boots .  How to do Helga Sinclair hair and makeup Helga has blond locks that she French-braids to the side, just like another strong female character who came out in theaters in 2001: Lara Croft.  Helga als...

There have now been 14 actresses who played Wednesday Addams, the notoriously stoic, helplessly truth-telling daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams.  Little more than an editorial cartoon character on The New Yorker in the 1930s, Charles Addams' creation has taken on a life of her own and become a style icon over the years. With her bewitchingly funereal looks, Wednesday has inspired generations to wear their gothic fits with pride, on and beyond Halloween.    The Gen-Z Wednesday Addams, Jenna Ortega, has only added to the character's diversifying legacy of fashion statements. Let's see how the 2020s Wednesday differs from her predecessors.  How to make Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Addams costume Lisa Loring and Christina Ricci are tough acts to follow as Wednesday, but Jenna still made the character her own. Costume designer Colleen Atwood went beyond the cartoon's famed peter pan collars and dressed Jenna in a wide array of OOTDs to last Wednesday and every day of th...

Bianca and Bernard might be mice, but Madame Medusa is a rat.  Or a crocodile.  Or both. The pawnshop owner that everyone loves to hate is probably one of Disney's most underrated villains. This, despite the House of Mouse calling her "the world's wickedest woman" during promo for The Rescuers.  She does have a wicked sense of style. What she lacks in infamy compared to villains like Cruella de Vil, she more than makes up for in the looks department.  How to make a Madame Medusa costume  If Madame Medusa reminds you a bit of Cruella, that's definitely not a coincidence. The animators initially considered reusing Cruella's designs for Madame Medusa, so this could explain the latter's similarly short fuse, reckless driving, and great penchant for abduction.  The diamond-crazed kidnapper is known for her red halter dress and pink high heels (with the occasional fur -trimmed coat) that scream late 1970s. She also favors jade earrings .   For a dash o...

It's amazing how one dress can make or break careers. In the case of Sharon Stone, it only solidified her icon status.  Appearing on 1992's Basic Instinct as she did, all dressed in ironic white, Sharon's Catherine Tramell character played a dirty game in more ways than one.  How to recreate Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct costume The story behind the iconic Catherine Tramell look is less glamorous than you'd think. Writing for InStyle on the 30th anniversary of the film, Sharon confessed that she was paid far, far less than co-star Michael Douglas.  But at least Sharon was able to keep the outfits — she had asked for them in her contract. That  white turtleneck , complemented by a short white coat, up-to-there white pencil skirt, and white slingbacks with stiletto heels, is really a keeper. The entire thing does make for a very easy costume. Sharon herself said she gets a kick out of seeing anyone channel Catherine Tramell on Halloween, so you better make mother pr...

In 2021, Idina Menzel stepped into the not-so-glass slippers of Vivian, the antagonist on Amazon Studios' reimagining of Cinderella.  Elsa as Evil Stepmother? That perfect girl is gone alright.  Unlike her Disney counterparts, Idina's version of the wicked foster parent has a terrific set of pipes, naturally. But the dynamic is still a tale as old as time. Just like Lady Tremaine before her, Stepmom Vivian likes to gaslight Camila Cabello's Ella into thinking that she's all that stands between her and a life on the street. How to make a Stepmother Vivian costume  Nothing about this movie sticks to any particular period in time. Ellen Mirojnick, she of Bridgerton fame, kept it ambiguous with her costume designs (a fairy tale is "any time," she insists).  In Idina's case, Ellen went 1980s Christian Lacroix and decked the actor in pussy bow blouses, jewel tones, and loud prints. The gown Idina wore to the ball, among many other memorable costumes, is hand-e...