Christine McConnell is an LA-based artist, photographer, and baker well-known for sharing snaps of herself dressed in glamorous 1940s-style outfits. McConnell has been creating incredible handmade Halloween-inspired costumes of characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Catwoman, the Gatekeeper (from Ghostbusters), and Wonder Woman. "I always dreamed of living their lives," she said. "When I grew up I realised no one but me would ever make that happen…so I took matters into my own hands!"
McConnell said the more complicated costumes can take up to a week to design and create, but the cost rarely exceeds $100. "It can be hard doing everything yourself, but it's a lot cheaper and I seem to work well on my own," she said. "I buy a lot of props and supplies from estate sales and make things over buying them whenever I can, so that helps make it affordable and forces me to learn new things."
The self-taught artist and photographer says the reaction to her costumes has been overwhelming positive. "People seem to love them! I never went to school for any of this and I don't use patterns, so people seem to think that's neat." Her favourite costume is Lisa from Weird Science as the character was a family favourite. Although the costume only took one hour to make, it took a day to set up the photo setting. She described the fun that she had creating the snap above: "I turned the living room into a set and created a door out of a foamcore board, painted it and smashed it out. I also broke up several pieces of wood and scattered them on the floor. I had eerie lights going on, a fog machine pumping, and Oingo Boingo on the stereo. It's the most fun I've ever had!"
So what will McConnell be wearing for Halloween this week? "I'm currently working on a Beetlejuice Costume… I'm a little in love with Tim Burton!"
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