Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Costume

Presenting The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel! I’ve loved Halloween for as long as I can remember. More specifically, I love Halloween costumes. I find it so fun, no matter how old I am, thinking of costumes then creating them myself. Halloween pops into my head here and there throughout the year. Something will make me think of it, then I’ll just sit for a few minutes and rack my brain. Famous people, characters, historical figures, current pop culture. These are things I think of as I consider costumes. 

This year I had just about decided not to do a costume but so many people asked about it and said they’d be disappointed if I didn’t so I figured why not?! In previous years I would use my lunch breaks to head to the thrift store to see what I could find. I pride myself on finding the right items and keeping costumes as cheap as possible, so the thrift store is a no brainer. I used to start around August and would go there weekly trying to find the perfect things. The staff is usually helpful and can be of great help if you just ask.

That’s how it’s been in the past. This year has been a bit different since I’m not working outside the home, and we aren’t really venturing out of the house anymore. That presented a challenge but one that I’ve been happy to accept. Thank goodness for friends and delivery services!

This year I decided to be Mrs. Maisel from the Amazon show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. I am in absolute love with the show. It’s so well written and acted. There is so much about it that is just genius and highly entertaining. Then there are the clothes. Set in the 1950’s the clothes are beautiful and nostalgic, especially Mrs. Maisel’s wardrobe. Just gorgeous outfits. The character of Mrs. Maisel speaks to me in many ways and at some point it hit me that she was the one this year.

Once I decide who I’m going to be, I then study up on that character’s looks and decide which outfit. With this costume, I kept going back to the pilot episode. Within that one episode Mrs. Maisel goes from happy, supportive housewife to sad, drunken, late-night ranter whose life has just been turned upside down. That episode is what started it all and as much as there are other amazing outfits, I chose the main outfit from the pilot.

I typically start from top to bottom. I study the picture of the outfit and run through the items, thinking about what I have, what I can make or what I might be able to borrow. This outfit is easy in that the items are common, yet it’s a period costume so the style of the clothes is specific and a little harder to find. Still, totally doable!

Mrs. Maisel Costume

Maroon Pill Box / Fascinator Hat
Wig (Hairstyle)
Pink Dress
Pink Coat
Maroon Gloves
Gray Shoes
Silk Scarf
Handbag
Cookies in Bakery Bags

Now that we know what we need, let’s get started! My go-to is typically Amazon. I look for every item of the costume there first. That’s going to be the high end cost of simply buying it all. I like to know what that is, then see how much lower I can get the final cost of the costume. (I’ve got the list with Amazon links at the bottom of the post.) The lower the cost of the costume, the happier I am. It’s fun! Why simply buy everything? Put your creativity to work and see what happens!

Maroon Pill Box / Fascinator Hat

I found several hats on Amazon that would work but the more I looked at them and considered the shape of it, I was confident that I could make the hat myself. Looking around the house for something that might work for the shape, I finally settled on a little woven planter basket. It was easy to cut with scissors. I ended up ordering some maroon felt fabric from Esty. I cut about a square foot of the fabric and wrapped it around the planter, then took it over the top. It took a little time to work the wrinkles out of the fabric and get it just right but it was easy and I was able to just tuck the fabric under the ring of the basket. No glue or anything. Easy peasy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wig

Wigs are easy to find around the Halloween Season. Party City carries a lot of styles, as well as those pop up Halloween stores. Amazon, of course, has them as well. If you can get your wig well before Halloween, you can probably find it a little cheaper, as the prices increase closer to Halloween. Wigs with a 1950’s style are popular and pretty easy to find.

This is the one I settled on. It looked a little long in the picture but wigs are easy enough to work with to get them way you like. With this one all I had to do was scrunch up sections in my hand, then push it up with my palm, then spray it with lots and lots of hair spray. Scrunch again and repeat as necessary. I also used some hair putty type product to smooth down some of the flyaways and really ensure there were big sections of waves.

Pink Dress

A couple of hours were spent here and there on Amazon, looking for a dress that looks just like the one in the picture. I finally decided on something very simple and cheap. The coat covers the dress and is more of the focus of the outfit so I settled on working to match the color over the style. I found a cheap dress on Amazon.

Pink Coat

Ah, the coat. That pretty pink coat. I scoured the internet looking for the coat. Amazon had several that were similar and would do but they were way out of my budget. There was a coat on Etsy that even had Mrs. Maisel in the listing. It was $60. I thought about it and thought about it but just didn’t want to spend that kind of money. It was a beautiful, handmade coat. I kept going back to it and one day when I thought I might buy it, it had been sold. I told myself that was for a reason.

It was then that I decided to do what I should have done in the first place, which was to call someone who knows how to sew! Luckily, a friend’s mom is an excellent seamstress so I reached out to her to see if she had time to squeeze me in. Luckily, she did. Of course she had to take the vow of silence, as I typically keep my costume a secret until Halloween. It’s fun that way!

She accepted the job and even came over to get my measurements one afternoon. We went back and forth through messages. She’d send me pictures of fabric colors when she was at the store, then sent me pictures of the pattern. Once we agreed on everything, she got to work. The coat is such a huge part of this costume and Sue nailed it for me. I love it so much. Not only did Sue kill the coat, but she also killed it with kindness and did it as a gift of love to me. Thank you Sue!

Gloves

Several years ago the company I worked for had a roaring 20’s casino theme party where I went in a flapper dress with gloves. I still have the dress and the gloves. That set is pretty bright red (versus maroon) and I wasn’t sure the color would look right but it did. Wow, that was easy! If you don’t have any, gloves are easy to find. Amazon has lots of them. Party City and Halloween stores would have them during the season as well.

 

Love Halloween and want to be a Ghostbuster? Check out my post on how to build your own Proton Pack here!

 

Gray Shoes

Another thing you might already have! And if not, shoes are another easy find. Typically I find them at the thrift store. I will spray the hell out of them with lysol and wear socks. A cheap way to get your costume look! Other thoughts for shoes is Amazon or places like Ross or TJ Maxx, someplace like that, if not the thrift store.

Silk Scarf

These were so popular in the past. Ladies had silk scarves in many colors and patterns. I asked around but no one had one in the right colors. You can get one on Amazon pretty cheap. I got this scarf for under ten dollars on Amazon. It was much bigger than I needed and I’d told Sue not to put pockets in the coat so that it would be a simpler pattern for her. That meant I didn’t have a place to hold the scarf so I pinned the scarf to the side of the coat and made it look as though a corner was sticking out of a pocket. I then pulled the rest of the scarf around the back of the coat and clipped it there. 

Handbag

Usually I am uber picky about my costume and everything has to be as close to the look as possible. The bag is one thing I slacked on this time and didn’t get quite right. Her bag in the picture is black with black handles. Mine is navy with brown leather handles. As most people wouldn’t care, this drives me crazy. I attempted to Photoshop it black, then I was like, OMG, I have other stuff to do! lol  So I let it go and am going to live with it. That just happens to be the purse that I’ve been carrying for two years now. Oh well, it worked just fine.

Cookies in Bakery Bags

The picture I used for inspiration is from a scene in the pilot where Mrs. Maisel is coming out of the butcher shop/bakery after having placed an order. She is carrying two black and white cookies in bakery bags. For these, I used tissue paper and just wrapped it around some brown padded envelopes. It doesn’t really matter what’s in it, just make a couple of rectangular type items that can be held in your hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bottom Line

Here’s a list of the items, how much I spent and a few notes.

Here’s a list of the links for most of the items on Amazon. That total comes to $120 or so with a Prime Account. This does not include a coat. That can be a big variable in this costume. I’m proud of my bottom line and again, can’t thank Sue enough!

Maroon Pill Box / Fascinator Hat
Wig (Hairstyle)
Pink Dress
Pink Coat
Maroon Gloves
Gray Shoes
Silk Scarf
Handbag
Cookies in Bakery Bags

All Together Now

There you have it! Some time spent searching and some creativity and you can be The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel! (I had some fun with Photoshop too. lol!)