Costumes for chicks in specs

September 10, 2009 9:07 PM

CostumeFilter: Help a spectacled female figure out a great Halloween costume [that features glasses]!

So, I wanted to go as Leela from Futurama, but the logistics of creating a single eye and hiding my other two, in addition to my glasses, sort of make it seem awkward and ultimately not workable.

So instead of working around my glasses, I'd like to work with them! Can you think of any women/female characters whose specs are a prominent part of their appearance?

I'd prefer the costume to err on the side of geeky [if I thought I could create a good Zaphod Beeblebrox costume, I would] but I am not opposed to sexy, comical, political, musical or offbeat.

[Photo in profile for reference.]

posted by rachaelfaith to grab bag (32 comments total)

Velma from Scooby Doo?
posted by Ugh at 9:15 PM on September 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Seconded. This is a committee decision, right?
posted by Loto at 9:21 PM on September 10, 2009

Agatha Heterodyne from Girl Genius.
posted by fearthehat at 9:22 PM on September 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

You're a perfect candidate for the Baroness, but I bet Dr. Girlfriend could be done with glasses.
posted by bunnytricks at 9:25 PM on September 10, 2009

with some larger, rounder glasses, you could go as Daria.
posted by gursky at 9:25 PM on September 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

I've thought about Velma before, but I don't know if I would do it unless I could recruit people to complete the rest of the crew. That really seems like an only-in-a-group type costume to me. I'll keep it in mind, though.
posted by rachaelfaith at 9:25 PM on September 10, 2009

Oh and wow, how did I miss this previously asked question? Oops.

Daria! I could definitely get on board with that.
posted by rachaelfaith at 9:28 PM on September 10, 2009

Meg from Family Guy?
posted by castlebravo at 9:30 PM on September 10, 2009

I wear glasses as well, so I'll be following the thread with pleasure. Keep in mind that if you need different glasses for a costume you can purchase them extremely cheaply and an extra pair of glasses always come in handy.

Willy Wonka (hair tucked into top hat*, vintage leisure suit, bow tie, candy. I purchased huge white glasses at a costume shop and got them relensed for a total of $30 with shipping)

The Baroness (American Apparel sells black leotards) (on preview, bunnytricks beat me, but I will add that male geeks of a certain age flip for The Baroness, I know from experience)

Ugly Betty. Only because a cop, when asked for directions to a Mefi Meetup at The Billy Goat earlier this week, insisted that I looked exactly like her. Compliment? I don't know, and I've never watched the show, but it looks like you can just throw on whatever clashing tat is on the clearance rack at the department store.

Librarian/Secretary, kind of generic.

ENID FROM GHOST WORLD. I cannot repeat this enough, there is probably no less fun costume than Enid from Ghost World.

*There's a million available on Etsy, and if you're craft most craft stores will sell tiny top hats (for dolls, I think) which you can attach to a headband and glue some hard candies/ribbon/whatever to). Real, legit men's top hats are despairingly expensive. Costume shops should have cheap plastic/velour/felt hats.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:35 PM on September 10, 2009

Harriet the Spy has good costume potential if you're dedicated to note-taking throughout the night.
You could do a female version of the 10th Doctor. Regeneration gone wrong right?
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:38 PM on September 10, 2009

Come on, the most prominent glasses costume ever is the Sarah Palin costume!

Get some horror-movie-loving friends to help you create something resembling a dead wolf carcass or some dead polar bears and you're golden...
posted by twiggy at 9:48 PM on September 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

Power Puff Girl?
posted by rokusan at 10:01 PM on September 10, 2009

Juliet Banana is right. The answer to your question is: Enid Coleslaw.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:03 PM on September 10, 2009

I was going to suggest Enid from Ghost World, too. Hmmm, what about Diana Prince (Wonder Woman's alter ego)? Lisa Loeb? Tina Fey? Jan Brady?
posted by MegoSteve at 10:20 PM on September 10, 2009

9, from the movie of the same name. Rag doll-ish, and very cute.
posted by Acacia at 3:55 AM on September 11, 2009

You are a perfect candidate for Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years.
posted by nineRED at 4:00 AM on September 11, 2009

Daria!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:53 AM on September 11, 2009

D'oh, on preview, seconding Daria.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:54 AM on September 11, 2009

Scully of course. In the earlier episodes she occasionally wears really fantastically awful early 90's big glasses . </xfilesnerd>
posted by wrok at 4:58 AM on September 11, 2009

Liz Lemon?
posted by orme at 5:15 AM on September 11, 2009

Go with The Baroness.
posted by Hugh2d2 at 5:32 AM on September 11, 2009

Take a little peotic license and go as Trillian from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:28 AM on September 11, 2009

Daria tips: I was Daria last year. I used a pair of Harry Potter glasses and a long black wig, and it turned out pretty fantastic. (Maybe they were "Boy Wizard" glasses to avoid disputes -- they were in the Harry Potter costume part of the Halloween store, anyway. They were just about perfect and really helped sell the costume -- everybody recognized who I was supposed to be without prompting.)
posted by liet at 6:57 AM on September 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

Could you use your glasses as the frame for the Leela's giant eye? I'm picturing a cardboard cutout of her eye (possibly slightly larger than the eye in the show) taped to your glasses, with eyeholes cut out over the lenses. It might actually be easier for you to pull off the one eyed look with glasses.

Alternatively, if you can coax some friends into a Harry Potter theme, I think Rita Skeeter would be pretty fun.
posted by fermezporte at 7:23 AM on September 11, 2009

Zombie Sarah Palin. You have enough lead time to get cheap prescription Palin glasses from Zenni. These are good for 10 bucks, and these are even more Paliny for 30.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:46 AM on September 11, 2009

Leaning towards The Baroness, Daria, or Enid.

I was the Joker (interpreted as female) last year, so maybe I'll continue on in the superhero/comic book character vein.
posted by rachaelfaith at 10:01 AM on September 11, 2009

Witch Hunter Robin, an anime lead who wears glasses on occasion. She offers a few different costume options if you search out her looks.
posted by Animus at 5:45 PM on September 11, 2009

Edith Prickley
posted by plinth at 6:48 AM on September 21, 2009

Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. She wears some wacky stuff in the videos.
posted by idiopath at 9:48 AM on September 21, 2009

Easy, 80s clothes or an old sweatshirt that you cut the shoulder off and leg warmers, plus the welder's helmet (with glasses inside) - presto, you're Alex the dancer/welder from Flashdance.
posted by dabitch at 11:24 AM on September 21, 2009

Hey, I wear glasses and I actually made a Leela eye a few years ago very easily.

Go to the craft store and get a rectangle of white plastic mesh people use for making hooked rug projects. Cut an oval out of it large enough to cover your glasses. You can glue a pupil and some lashes to the circle any way you want (I used black felt). Now take large safety pins and thread them through the sides of the oval, and then around the arms of your glasses. You will be able to see through the mesh just fine, and it will look like a pretty decent eye!
posted by Tesseractive at 8:01 PM on October 3, 2009

I used to go as Velma sans crew and a ton of people, especially parents trick or treating with kids, recognized me. Jinkies!
posted by ShadePlant at 3:24 PM on October 17, 2009