The Amy Winehouse Halloween Costume How-To.

So it looks like Amy Winehouse will be a popular costume choice again this year. I've gotten over a thousand hits so far this week to my post from last year, and have also gotten many inquires regarding how I put my costume together. So I thought I would give the interested parties a quick rundown of my Amy Winehouse interpretation (if I can remember it all):

1. The wig - This, of course, being the most important element of the costume. This was actually two wigs pinned together. The bottom one, which was on my head, had bangs. The top one was an old Elvira wig. I stuffed it with styrofoam balls and teased the heck out of it, then pinned it to the crown of the other wig. Then it was just a matter of twisting and pinning all the hanging hair up to the beehive. Be prepared with A LOT of bobby pins. (Must give thanks to my friend Amii for helping with the endeavor, and providing the wig head to make it all a bit easier to construct).
2. The tattoos - Unfortunately I can't remember the exact online store I bought these from, but I can tell you I used multiple images of Amy Winehouse to make sure I got some that were pretty similar to hers. I also placed them in the right spots. Try doing a search for "Pin-up girl tattoo" and "Sailor tattoo". Refer to my original post for images. There are also some great tattoos of scars and cuts that would work well, if you wanted to represent Amy circa 2008 (poor thing).
3. The clothes - This was actually the easy part. White tank top with red bra underneath, short skirt, platform sandals, a bunch of necklaces and some big plastic earrings. Again, search for images of Amy for inspiration. If you don't already have appropriate clothes, try a secondhand store like Goodwill. Or buy cheap at Target.
4. Make-up - The eyes are the focus here, and a must. Lots and lots of eyeliner. Black, thick, and going out to a point is necessary. Red lips are good, too. I had a picture of her next to me while I applied my make-up to make sure I got it pretty close.
5. The piercing - I just glued a tiny crystal just above my lip. You can find a bag of really cheap ones at the fabric store. 

So that's it. I was fortunate that I already had the clothes and the black wig with bangs from my Gogo Yubari costume the year before, and I borrowed the old Elvira wig from my sister-in-law (if you do borrow a wig, keep in mind you'll be teasing the hell out of it). The main expense was the tattoos (which was around $20). Give yourself plenty of time for shipping so you don't have to pay the ridiculous overnight charges. 

Good luck and please let me know if you have anymore more questions!