We love Día de los Muertos and the look… so we gave it a shot and we loved the results, we hope you do too!

Submitted by Jessie Ross, Los Angeles, CA

To celebrate Dia De Los Muertos, this Day of the Dead Altar costume features many of the offerings people leave on this holiday, including the person’s head as a sugar skull.

A pretty black Mexican styled dress coupled with some skeleton face paint make a great Day of the Dead costume.

My costume was based on paintings by Silvia Ji. I painted my face with regular Halloween make up sticks, colored eyeshadows, and small glittery stickers. I made a head dress by pinning real and silk flowers into my hair and various red, white, and peacock feathers. I made my belt from an antique necklace and to top it all off I wore a floor length velvet cape and carried a lit altar candle and a single long stemmed rose.

Submitted by Natalie, Santa Cruz, CA

Day of the Dead, or El Día de los Muertos is Mexican holiday that pays homage to people who have passed into the next world. To celebrate this day people decorate graves and build shrines called Offrendas. People will leave offerings, toys, drinks and trinkets for the dead. Many of the decorations resemble skulls or “calaveras” and statues of skeletons or “calacas”. Skulls are in fact a central symbol of the holiday. Some observers wear skeleton costumes or masks and many people eat decorative sugar skulls. The skulls usually have ornate decorations around the face such as flowers and other patterns.

The Dame of the Dead Adult Costume is a great way to celebrate Día de los Muertos and also makes an interesting undead costume for Halloween. Unlike plain skeleton costumes this beautiful dress is more of a celebration of the deceased than simply a scary costume. The dress is black and white with elegant lace details on neckline, wrists, shoulders and over the skirt. The Veil features a print of an ornate calavera, or skull and can be seen though easily. The arms and bodice feature a skeleton motif in the style of Mexican folk art that really embodies the spirit of the holiday. Adding just a dash of color a red heart can be seen under the ribcage print and the choker features a matching red bowtie.