DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME -CARMEN MIRANDA & THE TUTTTI FRUTTI HAT
This costume should come as no surprise to you! I’ve done many outfit posts, decor projects and DIYs inspired by The Lady In The Tutti Fruitti Hat so it was a no-brainer to create this easy DIY for you. If you'd like to learn more about Carmen Miranda, you can read my post here or the excerpt below from the book Bad Girls Throughout History.
Last week I gave you a hint about my costumes on Instagram and many of you guessed correctly but while you were right about Carmen Miranda, I wanted to mix things up by introducing my Josephine Baker costume first. After all, Baker was the original banana lady with her iconic banana skirt and pet cheetah named Chiquita.
Now back to Miranda because I know many of you have been looking forward to this fruit turban tutorial. When I decided to tackle this DIY, I wanted it to be simple so I could use it for the blog as well as attend an after work Halloween party at Pinterest. It's really quick to make and you'll only need a few supplies.
SUPPLIES:
Turban (picked mine up at my local beauty store)
Faux fruit assortment (got mine for $5 at my 99 cent store in the kitchen section)
Glue gun
I originally planned on gluing the fruits to a headband (ignore in pic above) but changed my mind and started off by placing the turban on my head and gluing the first few fruits right on top. I know you're thinking danger, hot glue but I kept the gun on the cool setting and applied the glue to the fruit first, then stuck that to the turban.
Once I had my foundation of fruit, I removed the turban from my head and added the remaining fruits, flowers and butterflies. I did spot checks throughout the process by trying on the turban to ensure it looked the way I wanted it to while staying balanced.
For the blog, I styled the turban with a vintage hibiscus print skirt, vintage crochet tie front top, red platforms and layered my jewelry. I wanted to evoke looks reminiscent of Carmen Miranda's performances in both "The Gang's All Here" and "Weekend in Havana."
On the day of the Pinterest party, it was chilly out so I stuck to jeans with a tropical top for work. To transform my look, I simply slipped on my DIY fruit turban and headed out. It was a quick and easy way to go from office wear to costume.
Don't want to DIY? Then check out my selection from the above gallery of handmade Carmen Miranda-inspired turbans. They're all from one of my favorite Etsy Shops called Olga Designs. I've shared many pieces I own from this shop with you before and even added her hibiscus flowers to my turban.
All the accessories are handmade by Olga (the shop owner) and ships from Florida. Craftsmanship is excellent and all the pieces are so so beautiful. If you find you're not into the turbans as much, you can also snag a tutti-frutti headband or even a few fruit clips to get that Carmen Miranda style.
