No pop stars in recent years have been as creatively dressed as Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, and they don’t really like each other. They seem to represent different forces…one’s dark and one’s light. One’s up and one’s down. One’s hot and one’s cold…sorry. This Halloween, you and your BFF could play on a fun rivalry. The average person, unfortunately, doesn’t have a full creative team a la Haus of Gaga to plan and primp out every square inch of your bod, but if the Pop Star aesthetic is calling out to you this Hallowe’en Season (or what I like to call The 12 Days of Hallowe’en), there are plenty of ways to get that Lady Gaga or Katy Perry look without breaking the bank or hiring 25 helpful professionals.

Lady Gaga
If Stefani is your chick, there are simply just oodles and oodles of Gaga-inspired looks to choose from. Going as Lady Gaga for Hallowe’en, you might want to pluck something out of your living space and attach it to your body or head somehow. You don’t want to go out with your junk hanging out though, if you know what I mean. Thrift stores big and small, and dollar stores, will be your best friend as always, and take this opportunity to be creative and inspired: go big or go home! American Apparel has a huge selection of wild basics to start off your costume, and if the words “wild” and “basic” would ever be used together, it would be for Hallowe’en.

1. A lot of her looks have metal and metallic imagery, so a hot glue gun will mos def help you out this Hallowe’en. Buy a second hand or dollar store mirror and break (super carefully, in your backyard or something), gluing the pieces onto a mask or hat. Pair with a black faux-leather Spandex one-sleeve shirt, extending into a body suit, or separate pants and black shiny boots, and black leather gloves.

2. A heavily sequined or bejeweled shirt, and the more bling the better, for added sparkle, especially lots of large chunky silver rings. Stick to one shade of metal, like silver, and greys, and of course the long bleach blonde wig with heavy bangs is essential to Gaga-fy yourself. Heavy grey leather fingerless gloves, pick some up at the mall and chop off the fingers. Have fun with the face, and use eyelash or cosmetic glue to stick a piece of jewelry, new or old, to your cheek. For a low-maintenance look, tin foil cut into a lightning bolt shape. Accessorize with rhinestones glued around it. Learn how to perfect this look like a pro, using big fluffy fake lashes and silver space-age eyeshadow.

3. HAIR BOWS HAIR BOWS HAIR BOWS! One of Gaga’s signatures, and they can be bought or made in several colours. Pick up a wig at a costume store or Value Village. This look is pretty, so use baby doll pinks and purple lipstick and eyeshadow, and draw on pencil-thin eyebrows above where your brows already exist.

4. If this is the look for you, Spanx yourself up to your shoulders, and get your hands on as kooky of a coloured one-piece bathing suit you can find, and I would even suggest buying an intact one and cutting out the sides. Matching gloves and bangles, and big chunky black boots, and of course the signature wig. For the body-confident Gaga.

5. One-sleeve nude body suit, bejewelled, with nude hose and long bleach blonde wig with matching hair bow (see above). An interesting accessory for this look is white half-gloves. Simply get some white gloves and cut them, leaving the thumb and bottom part of the hand exposed. Hairless tanned man-entourage (MANTOURAGE!!!) a plus.

6. If you only want to sport a little Gaga, go for some fabulously crazy larger-than-life shades. Take some oversized ones and paint words on the front, leaving enough room blank to see, of course. Try using nailpolish!

7. Her yellow and black Mouse Look in the Papparazzi video is intricate Video Gaga Genius at its best. And one cannot leave out the plethora of Video Phone looks, Wonder Woman anyone?. Copy this lipstick look for Mousy-gaga.

Katy Perry
If Lady Gaga is the gourmet dinner of Pop Star Fashion, Katy Perry is the sticky sweet, squeaky clean desert. She is the daughter of evangelists, after all. Katy Perry‘s bubble-gum fashions are still sexy, crazy and fun, just in a completely different way. The icing in the middle of an oreo cookie. The whipped cream on top of a pie. This is where you must take your mind, if you want to Katy Perry-ify yourself this Hallowe’en. And who knows, maybe you’ll meet your tall dark and handsome Russell Brand who will go gaga over your candy covered ya-ya’s and then later on you can text-message him a photo of your breasts! Love at first bite.

1. Katy Perry’s stand out look right now is duh, California Gurls, so get yourself a bright purple, blue, pink or black straight or wavy long wig with thick bangs (the similarities of Katy and Gaga’s fashions start and end at the wigs). Artisans have taken to Etsy and a wide range of looks from this video are available, so hurry the f#$! up and order yours now! Get a matching headband to boot. This look has some creative custom-tights going on, so get a pink pair and cut them into a thigh-high V shape, attaching to shorts or under-garments however you can. Try getting someone to draw the outline for you of where to cut when you are WEARING them, to avoid any mishaps.

2. Dress up like a Girl Guide Cookie! Think Britney’s Hit-Me-Baby-One-More-Time Look with a tasty updated twist. Sexy tight white button up, tied, or tight T-Shirt paired with a short brown pleated skirt with plenty of flair and a sash to complete this look. Get a beige beret and glue dark brown circles made of fabric or other materials to create a cookie-hat. Tanned thigh-high tights and Mary Janes for ultra cuteness.

3. Score a handmade Cupcake Bra and you will certainly turn heads on Hallowe’en. Look for any kind of blue pants you can cut into booty shorts, the sparklier the better! Go to “club-wear” type stores, or stores for people with…ahem, sexually explicit jobs for that perfect pair. Look for sparkly boots in Chinatown!

4. Katy Perry totally looks like a superhero from the 50’s in this look. Super high-waisted red sparkly shorts with white trim, attached to thigh-highs with garters. American Apparel should be able to help you out in this department. Attach to a bra using a glue gun or other sophisticated methods, 2 whipped cream cans you can paint red and white candy stripes onto for full affect. Black wig with bangs and red lips will complete this look, and the higher the heels the better!

5. I love this dress so much I posted about it a few months ago, and it seems like some girls out there are scheming away to make this their perfect costume. I wish the ones leaving comments had offered up a little more information, but perhaps they don’t want to give away precious secrets and bump into carbon copies of themselves on Hallowe’en. I would suggest starting with a white tube-dress and depending on the desired amount of work, paint, draw, glue or sew different coloured dots. You or a sewing-savvy friend could make little plush balls and sew them on, or have fun with fabric paint!

IRONIC BONUS COSTUME: Elmo.

Scratching your head at this costume being thrown in here? Well, have the last laugh on the Katy-Elmo Controversy and dress up like the loveable little red guy, and shriek and hide whenever scantily clad girls come your way. And you can bank on seeing plenty of Katy Perry costumes to run and hide from as well, yelling out “AAAAHHH!!! Boobies!!”

by Becca Lemire