Make a Britney Spears Costume for Halloween

After the hype over her shaving incident and Circus debut subsided, pop star Britney Spears has once again re-emerged on television screens nationwide. Her premiere on Glee attracted the show's second largest audience ever of 13.5 million people, up from 12.5 million viewers that tuned into the show's season premiere a week earlier.[1] This article will show you the essentials of how to make a Britney costume, and then showcase some of her most popular looks if you want to be even fancier.

Steps

Slave 4 U Britney

  1. Britney brought this look back on Glee, but it was actually first worn by Britney in 2001.
  2. Purchase a metallic green bra or swimsuit top from a store like American Apparel. Use superglue to embellish it with beads and rhinestones in the center of the bra as well as where the straps meet the cups.
  3. Wear a royal blue swimsuit bottom or tight navy denim booty shorts underneath. Sling several heavily embellished belts around your waist, using safety pins to clasp them unevenly around yourself. Alternatively, use fashion glue to adhere rhinestone designs all over your swimsuit bottom, as Brittany does.
  4. Get multiple light scarves, preferably with a gradient of colors, that are green, light blue, royal blue, purple, and/or yellow. Use a safety pin to attach one end to the sides of your swimsuit bottom, and tie a knot there. Let the other end flow to the ground.
    • Alternatively, if you can attach rings to your swimsuit bottom, you can simply tie the scarves on. This closely matches what Britney does on Glee.
    • Use at least four scarves for the best effect.
    • These scarves should be by your hips or slightly behind you, not in front of your body.
  5. Lather shimmer lotion all over your face, neck, chest, stomach, arms and legs.
  6. Use a heavy amount of makeup on your eyelids and below your eyes to complete the look. Line your eyes with black or brown eyeliner and then apply a matte blue color. Blend a shimmer green eyeshadow in.
    • You may vary the colors based on what you know looks good with your skin tone and eye color, but make sure that the colors match your costume.
  7. Ask a friend to take a marker and draw diamond-shaped designs on your chest. Embellish with rhinestones you can stick onto your body.
    • Drawing a design around your belly button is important. If you are comfortable doing so, buy a clip-on belly button ring and wear that as well.
  8. And, the easiest way to pull this costume off is to buy a large yellow snake to carry around your neck and shoulders. This is the distinctive part of Britney's costume.

Casual Britney

  1. Purchase clothes from or emulate the style of Britney's fashion line for Candie. That's the best way to ascertain which styles Britney prefers.
  2. Alternatively, Britney also often sports the following looks:
    • Jeans and a simple camisole
    • Sundresses with a wide belt
    • Silk or stain minitube dresses
    • Animal prints and funky styles from Forever 21 or Betsey Johnson
  3. Accessorize further with big hoop earrings and thick or thin bangles, preferably gold. Britney also likes oversized hobo bags and metallic clutches that match her outfit.
  4. Grab a trenchcoat if it's the winter; Britney has been seen sporting these trendy numbers.
  5. Most importantly, buy a pair of knee-high leather boots! Britney has been seen in many different colors and styles of boots lately, and she happily adorns them in both formal and informal settings. Note that the other clothing suggestions above were fairly generic styles, so if you hope to pull this costume off, you'll have to nail the boots and really get the hair/makeup correct.

Ringmaster Britney

  1. Britney sported this look in her 2009 tours for her album Circus.
  2. The most realistic way to pull this off would be to purchase the ringmaster jacket from a costume store like Diddams or Spirit Halloween.
    • However, you can also grab an oversized red blazer and cut out pieces of blue or black felt for the cuffs.
    • Use black felt for the oversized collar.
    • For the gold clasps along Britney's chest, you can either embroider on a design or make one with thick gold rope and append it with glue.
  3. Wear black spandex shorts or swimsuit bottoms. Britney has black fishnets underneath, but you could also wear nude tights.
  4. It wouldn't be true Britney style unless you sported a pair of large, black leather boots. Ones with matching gold clasps don't hurt either.
  5. Accessorize with a black top hat; it's a traditional part of any ringmaster's repertoire.
  6. Use eyeliner to draw on a curly mustache, or purchase a fake one from a costume store to complete your look.

Britney Bride

  1. A Britney twist on the zombie bride Halloween classic will turn heads.
  2. Wear any lacy white corset on top, preferably with ruffles. If you have a minidress with a corset top, that's even better. If not, you can get a white lace tablecloth and tie it haphazardly around your waist to create a makeshift skirt. Vintage clothing stores would be good places to look for such items.
  3. Get a plain white miniskirt and wear it high enough so that the lacy edges of your dress peek through the bottom unevenly.
    • To make this yourself, get a plain tablecloth and fold it into rectangle about ten to twelve inches wide. The length should be long enough so that it wraps around your waist just once.
    • Wrap the tablecloth high enough so that about two to four inches of your ruffly, lacy skirt peeks through the bottom -- though remember that the skirt's edge should be uneven.
    • Safety pin it on the side to keep it in place.
  4. Adorn several white beaded necklaces of varying shapes and lengths above your dress. Britney has a couple that dangle below her chest and others that resemble chokers. Britney also has a silver necklace on comprised of tiny beads.
  5. Wear silver bangles (thick and thin both work, or a combination of the two) and white bracelets. Britney's wrist and forearm is smothered in accessories.
  6. This outfit is best with medium-length hair that doesn't smother the intricate dress. If you have longer hair, consider getting it heavily layered and tucking the longest strands behind your back.
  7. Makeup should be simple. Apply foundation and bronzer to smooth over blemishes and add definition to your cheeks. Wear black eyeliner and the eyeshadow that pairs with your eye color the best. Make your lips stand out with a bright, cherry red shade, characteristic of the rebellious bride look.

Other Britney Looks

  1. By all means, you are not restricted to the examples in this guide! Here are some other famous costumes that have defined Britney over the decade to get your creative juices going.

Hair and Makeup

  1. Grow out your hair past your shoulders, get extensions, or wear a wig. People generally agree that bald Britney was not her brightest moment. She has platinum blond hair with lighter blond highlights, as well as layered cut that adds texture to her look.
  2. Style your hair with a brush and blow dryer to give it a voluminous, slightly messy look. Britney has been seen with her hair in waves as well as simply pulled back in a ponytail or messy bun, so pick a look based on what you're going for.
  3. Apply foundation and concealer all over your face and neck to fix up any blemishes. Britney is always camera ready, of course.
    • Use bronzer along the frame of your face and under your cheeks to give your face definition.
    • Apply pale rose blush to the apples of your cheeks.
  4. Define your eyes with eyeliner, mascara, and a shimmery eyeshadow. Britney doesn't put on a heavy amount of makeup, but it's certainly noticeable.
  5. Use a light pinkish lipgloss or lipstick for your lips. Likewise, Britney prefers to go light with lip makeup.
  6. Get a pair of large, round sunglasses with thick frames. Britney tends to prefer colored lenses that are not extremely dark, as shown in this picture.

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Sources and Citations