Easy, DIY Leprechaun Costume

I know, I know, this is NOT the season for leprechauns, but I'm 100% okay with it. I actually got quite a bit of "harassment" on Halloween over my costume choice because I was dressed for the wrong holiday... But, I went with what I had on hand, and a leprechaun worked out to be about a $5 costume idea... And here's how I did it:

Outfit:

Vest: 

I already owned this vest, but you could buy a green vest or do a little extra DIY and make your own (for example - grab a costume one from a Dollar Store and cover it in green paint or duct tape, similar to what I did for my Pinocchio costume).

Shirt: 

I didn't have a plain white t-shirt (although in the above photo you can't see the front of the shirt {maybe the vest should have been unzipped further} so I guess it didn't matter) so I wore one with a graphic on the front, but wore it backwards.

Skirt:  

Again, I try to be resourceful and work with what I already have, so this was a Sparkle Athletic sparkle skirt I already owned (I think I have just about every color in the rainbow), but any green pair of shorts, pants or skirt would work.

Socks:

I thought my PRO Compression jailbreak socks were perfect (since most leprechauns wear striped socks) for this costume, not to mention the compression helped while trick-or-treating with the kids for multiple hours on Halloween.

Details:

Pot of Gold:

I purchased a $.75 "mini cauldron" from Walmart during Halloween because a witch's bowl looks almost identical to a leprechaun's pot, right?! I grabbed two packs of Mario Coins from Party City ($.60 for 12 coins), filled the base of the pot with extra felt and then put the coins on the top. I originally thought about chocolate coins, but they were more expensive so I opted for the plastic alternative. You could use a full size pot, but I went with the pint size leprechaun size option.

Bow Tie:

I have a box full of felt (because you never know when you'll need some, hehe), so I grabbed some green felt and made an extra large bow tie, but because my beard was so large you couldn't actually see it. I used this how-to tutorial.

Hat and Shoes:

I bought a $.25 green fedora from Party City. I added a "buckle" made out of yellow felt on the front of the hat (attached by a couple pieces of rolled duct tape). I also added "buckles" onto the top of both of my shoes (attached by safety pins).

Beard:

It seems as though a big, bushy orange beard is a MUST for a leprechaun costume. I wanted to make my own rather than buy a beard, although that is definitely an option. I bought a package of orange yarn (a skein) from Walmart for $2.50 (my most expensive portion of the costume, but I technically have a ton of it left still so I can use it for future costumes as well). I used this tutorial as a guide, but also did a bit of my own thing... I tied a strand of ribbon to a headband (that hung just below my mouth) and then knotted strands of yarn around the ribbon that hung down for the beard. Once I had a large enough beard I braided some strands of yard for the mustache and tied it into the beard (while trying to hide the ends).

All-in-all this costume cost me about $5 (since I owned most of the main pieces). It took me about an hour to put together and most of that time went into making the beard. I'll be honest, I don't think I would run in this costume because the hat and beard wouldn't be very comfortable nor would they have stayed in place (but had I made it for a race I could have worked it a bit more to make it run-able... shoot, I've even seen crocheted beard/ hat combos you could make if you were crafty enough and wanted to go the extra mile), but for a Halloween (or St. Patrick's Day) costume it worked out well.

Do you dress up for Halloween?