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Beetlejuice Miss Argentina Costume

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Beetlejuice Miss Argentina Costume

My little accident

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Photo #1 - My little accident Photo #2 - Miss Argentina Photo #3 - Dress and Tulle Photo #4 - Handbook for the Recently Deceased
Costume type:  Costumes for Women
Categories:Halloween Costumes, Movie and TV Show Costumes

This homemade costume for women entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest.

A word from Amanda, the 'Miss Argentina' costume creator:

(I'm wearing the costume)

Forget the “ghost with the most!” Civil servants are the REAL spooks in town, and none so popular as former 1939 beauty queen and Netherworld receptionist supreme, MISS ARGENTINA! Oh you don’t know what I’m talking about? *sigh* You probably haven’t even read through the manual completely yet….

Attention K-Mart shoppers! Without further delay, I present to you my handmade, 2013 Miss Argentina costume. I have got to say that this was THE BEST and most fun (not to mention time consuming) costume I’ve done to date! I have been a fan of the movie Beetlejuice since I was a mere toddler (long before that Robin Thicke/Miley Cyrus fiasco...ugh) I’m proud to say that I even own a copy of the soundtrack, which I can listen to and play out the movie in my head because I’m.just.that.good! (or that much of a nerd) Now despite Miss Argentina’s short screen time, her character always stood out to me. I remember being really little and thinking she was so pretty in my own oddball way. All of these factors are essentially what lead me to recreating her this year, but not only did I want to dress up as her for Halloween...I wanted to do her character justice! I take my costumes very seriously and study every detail with extreme precision; a real blessing and a curse at times since I’m by no means a professional. An example of my attention to detail with this costume is the date ‘1939.’ VERY few Miss Argentina costumes out there have this date included on the sash because they only know of her behind-the-desk scene. Grab an HD copy, slow-mo/pause, and you will see her full self taking the Maitlands into Juno’s office later on in the movie. Yeah! That’s right! Needless to say, I’m THRILLED with the way this costume turned out and hated to take it off!

Now down to the nitty-gritty. I found the dress at a vintage store and it fit me like a glove, it even had the paisley design on it! A few minor alterations were made and it was on to the cape. I lucked out at my local fabric store and found tulle pretty much identical to the kind she wears in the movie. I’ve never really sewn before all of this so it was a real learning experience as I went. I bent and shaped some wire that I purchased into the pedal like cape around her neck. I then cut the tulle to the shape of the wire, sewed the two pieces together to create a pillowcase-like opening, slide the wire inside, and shut it up. The wire didn’t hold its shape to the fabric like I wanted, so I went around the whole thing and tacked the fabric to the wire every couple inches so the shape would be solid. Next was just sewing a longer section of tulle to the back. Overall the cape was the most time consuming and difficult part of this whole costume. For the sash I simply bought some thick white ribbon at the fabric store. I used the same ribbon to create the lettering which I attached with fabric glue. For the lettering I found a font that I liked online (resembled bones in a way) printed out select letters, traced them onto the ribbon and spent 2 ˝ hrs carefully cutting each letter out with the only exact knife I had...a box cutter. (Box cutter -1 My Thumb-0)

I’m not good with hair or wigs for that matter, so I had someone shape and design a red wig for me, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. The Handbook for the Recently Deceased is simply an old book, glued shut with a graphic wrap around it that’s been weathered to look old and dirty.

Lastly for the makeup, I bought several sample palettes beforehand to test out the different greens and get the right shade. I ended up using Wolfe FX face paint in Sea Green and it turned out perfect. I used a translucent powder over top to give it some hold. This stuff REALLY lasts. I didn’t have a problem with it coming off minus the places where my dress/cape rubbed. By the end of the night it still looked fresh. Everything else was just various purple eyeshadows. I went all out on the makeup and didn’t get tights or anything of the sort to do a half job. I painted my ENTIRE BODY, even around my little toes which were freshly painted a fire engine red ;) Overall the painting process took about 7 hours. As for the infamous slit wrists, I used Tinsley Transfer 3D latex adhesives. These things looked great! Very realistic.
I was fearful that people might not recognize the character, given her short screen time, which is why I brought the book with me, but it was an ABSOLUTE HIT at the costume party I attended. Pulling out the book after taking people back to their childhoods was just an added bonus for everyone. I have never had my picture taken that many times in my life, and it was so nice to see faces light up and hear screams of “MISS ARGENTINA!” from across the room. I ended up taking home the prize of “Most Original” that night, but more so, I took home the satisfaction of knowing that my costume and a beloved character from a movie I hold dear to my heart made so many people happy. I hope I did Miss Argentina proud! “If I knew then, what I know now.…I WOULD HAVE DONE THIS COSTUME YEARS AGO!!”

Rating: 4.7 of 5. Votes: 44

44 votes

Comments

#1 comment by Jenni October 12, 2014

You're costume looks AMAZING! You did SUCH a good job! Kudos!

#2 comment by Kendal August 22, 2015

How much paint did it take to cover your body?

#3 comment by Amanda August 23, 2015

Kendal- I bought two medium 1.5 oz containers of the Wolfe FX, but I only used half of one so you should be good with one :)

#4 comment by Teresa September 25, 2015

Love it :) awesome job!

#5 comment by Sol September 28, 2015

What color of paint did you buy?

#6 comment by Amanda September 28, 2015

Sol-Sea Green. Wolfe FX brand.

#7 comment by karley October 8, 2015

Amanda- is there a way I could get a hold of you to ask a few more questions via email? this is absolutely awesome and I wanna nail it!

#8 comment by Amanda October 9, 2015

Karley- I don't know if the site will approve a comment with an email address in it, but I do keep track of the comments and respond if you want to include all your questions on here! I'll happily help/answer whatever I can :)

#9 comment by Paige October 13, 2015

Did you apply the body paint with a sponge or brush? I'm buying the body paint online and will be using a sponge. I'm worried the paint will absorb into the sponge and I won't have enough come time to put it on

#10 comment by Amanda October 14, 2015

Paige- I think you will be okay with a sponge because you don't need a lot of water at all on those Wolfe FX cakes. I however, DID use a brush with mine. I just went to the local crafts store and got the largest soft bristled paintbrush in their acrylic section. Be prepared to do more than one coat in some places. Best to focus on small areas at a time. If you have and very light or even translucent setting powder that really helps to go over it once it dries. Softens up the color and helps blend a bit if you have streaks. Hope this helps :)

#11 comment by Marissa October 15, 2015

Wonderful! You did an awesome job. This movie is also dear to my heart. I was Beetlejuice two years in a row starting out in kindergarden! I love this character, and as a young child, I also thought she was beautiful! Have definitely been thinking I want to create Miss Argentina too! Although, I went on the website that has the paint, and they are sold out of all sizes, except the tiny one. Now I don't know what to do! Maybe I'll try amazon

#12 comment by Stephanie October 19, 2015

Where did you get the wig? How would you describe the color? Bright Red Wig?

#13 comment by Amanda October 19, 2015

Marissa- Thank you so much! I love love love this movie and was just listening to the soundtrack today! Wolfe's main website tends to sell out of a lot of stuff this time of year, but they supply other stores with their product as well. I would try an internet search for the Sea Green. Looks like a store called "Clown Antics" has it in stock. Hope this helps! Happy to meet a fellow fan! :)

#14 comment by Amanda October 20, 2015

Stephanie- I actually had a seller on Etsy create a custom wig for me (I don't know how to shape wigs in the slightest) It is a VERY bright red wig with bangs. The seller actually went on to specialize and sell Miss Argentina wigs after my order so if you are like me and would rather buy it you can just search Miss Argentina wig on Etsy and I'm sure she will pop up. Not sure what her going rate is for them now since she started making a lot of them. But if you want to give it a go yourself, then a bright red wig with bangs would be best :)

#15 comment by Melissa October 23, 2015

I've been searching for this costume and can't find it! I need a small or medium and can only find plus. So disappointed

#16 comment by Melissa October 30, 2015

Hi Amanda...Where did you get the wig??

#17 comment by Stephanie November 4, 2015

Thank you, Amanda! I used your costume as a guide for mine and it was perfect. Spot on with the make up choice! Thanks! :)

#18 comment by Amanda November 10, 2015

Melissa-This costume wasn't store bought. You can read how it was put together in the description if you want to try your hand at creating your own. I recommend it over store-bought as it almost always looks better. Also in the comment above addressed to Stephanie it explains where I got the wig :)

#19 comment by Jucel May 18, 2017

The best part on this costume is the wig! I was so attracted on the color and can't help to contact my wig maker in Washington, DC to get me one. I just love it. Keep going!!
And am I correct reading that you got the wig which is a very bright red wig with bangs in Etsy? So they do create a custom wig as well? I have not known that. I might need to give it a try as well. Anyways. I love your bangs and wig, so cool. :)

#20 comment by Andi Prado September 7, 2021

Can I buy the wig from u???

#21 comment by Amanda November 1, 2021

Andi-I apologize this comment is late for Halloween, but I don't get notifications anymore on this post.

I still dress up as Miss Argentina from time to time for events. But the person I had make the wig still sells them on Etsy I believe.

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