I refuse to dress at Captain Jack Sparrow again

October 2, 2006 10:03 AM

Halloween costume ideas for someone with dreadlocks?

I have relatively long dreadlocks, and I find it challenging to come up with a good costume as they usually overwhelm any character I'm trying to portray.

For example, this year someone had suggested that my friends and I go as characters from the Big Lebowski (unoriginal, I know), but my hair would make this nearly impossible to pull off.

Any fun/different costume ideas that either would incorporate my hairstyle or wouldn't be affected by it?

posted by dead_ to grab bag (40 comments total)

Reggae zombie. "Braaaaaaains, mon!"
posted by arco at 10:04 AM on October 2, 2006

Predator!
posted by punkrockrat at 10:10 AM on October 2, 2006

Those white-coated twins from the Matrix movies. Weren't they dreaded?
posted by stevil at 10:11 AM on October 2, 2006

Excuse the cliche, but how about Bob Marley?
posted by chiababe at 10:11 AM on October 2, 2006

Palm tree?
posted by casarkos at 10:15 AM on October 2, 2006

Rob Zombie?
posted by amro at 10:15 AM on October 2, 2006

Sideshow Bob!
posted by Addlepated at 10:16 AM on October 2, 2006

Predator would be awesome!
posted by MrZero at 10:16 AM on October 2, 2006

I bet you could incorporate the dreadlocks and pull off Sideshow Bob, too.
posted by amro at 10:17 AM on October 2, 2006

Can you pull them into two bunches on opposides of your head and do a real freaky version of Pippi Longstocking?
posted by mmascolino at 10:20 AM on October 2, 2006

How about a mop?
posted by iconomy at 10:21 AM on October 2, 2006

Great ideas so far, haha. Please keep them coming!
posted by dead_ at 10:22 AM on October 2, 2006

Medusa!
posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel at 10:27 AM on October 2, 2006

Pirate!!!
Sideshow Bob is an excellent idea
posted by lain at 10:27 AM on October 2, 2006

You could go as the lead singer of Counting Crows, Adam Duritz. He's pretty recognizable and has dreds.
posted by NoraCharles at 10:28 AM on October 2, 2006

Seconding Medusa -- super-easy and striking.
posted by vetiver at 10:33 AM on October 2, 2006

Flying Spaghetti Monster!
posted by tkolar at 10:45 AM on October 2, 2006

The Predator would be cool, but really hard. I like the idea of the guys from The Matrix (your friends could be other characters). Also, I could see The Dude wearing dreads, man. Maybe not Walter, but The Dude, sure!
posted by Rock Steady at 10:48 AM on October 2, 2006

Wear a clear plastic shower cap splashed with some color and some crinkly plastic rubber-banded on your dreads: a jellyfish*

*see Shark Tale for visual reference.
posted by jamaro at 10:55 AM on October 2, 2006

how about the blue opera singer from the 5th element? assuming you're not a guy...
posted by hummercash at 10:58 AM on October 2, 2006

Could you go as 1/4 of Bad Brains?
posted by hototogisu at 11:01 AM on October 2, 2006

palm tree
posted by i8ny3x at 11:13 AM on October 2, 2006

Ronon Dex from Stargate Atlantis?
posted by onhazier at 11:14 AM on October 2, 2006

How about Lil' Jon? Pretty much any excuse to have a pimp cup is a good costume.

And if you can't get through the night on "Yeaaaah," "What," or "Okay," then you need to be at a cooler party.
posted by kyleg at 11:31 AM on October 2, 2006

Hermes from Futurama?
posted by dgeiser13 at 11:44 AM on October 2, 2006

Don't write off Lebowski just yet--consider dressing as Jesus.

Or there's always the characters from Battlefield Earth.
posted by box at 11:48 AM on October 2, 2006

How about Bo Derek from the movie 10? You could put big beads in your hair and run everywhere in slow motion.
posted by iconomy at 11:54 AM on October 2, 2006

Romulus Ledbetter from The Caveman's Valentine?
posted by dgeiser13 at 11:56 AM on October 2, 2006

one of the most clever costumes i've seen was a guy who gelled his long hair straight up & stuck a wire in a necktie making it go straight up as well. he was the falling guy! don't know if it would work with your dreads, but it looked really cool.
posted by aquanaut at 12:17 PM on October 2, 2006

Sea anenome.
posted by 23skidoo at 12:31 PM on October 2, 2006

.The Unibomber - hoodie would cover the dreads.
.Lenny Kravitz
.Little Miss Muffet
.Whoopie Goldberg
.The Sun - gel your dreads and wire them, make them into the rays of the sun, paint your face yellow with rosy cheeks
.A Topiary - spray your dreads green, gel and wire them and arrange them into a conical shape or a ball and paint your face tree-trunk brown with rings on it
posted by iconomy at 12:32 PM on October 2, 2006

Comic book characters - Boy or Jim Crow from the Invisibles. You could pull off a Delerium [Sandman] costume with dreads, probaby, particularly if you were willing to use some short-lived hairdye [like Manic Panic.] There are probably others that I'm not thinking of.
posted by ubersturm at 12:45 PM on October 2, 2006

(When I had dreads, I found semi-permanent hair dye to be damn near permanent. It would fade out of the surface of the dreads, but remain in the center. You might want to think twice before dying them with anything but that spray-on shit.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:55 PM on October 2, 2006

what about turning the dreads into snakes somehow? be snakehead-guy.
posted by fillsthepews at 2:02 PM on October 2, 2006

Doesn't Captain Jack Sparrow have dreads now?
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 2:04 PM on October 2, 2006

I really should read the titles of these things...
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 2:04 PM on October 2, 2006

That john travolta movie... the scientology one... I really don't want to look it up, just to keep it out of my brain.
posted by muddylemon at 2:10 PM on October 2, 2006

I'm probably going to tie my dreads up and go as a pineapple. My other idea is to be a muppet, even though most of them don't have dreads it still seems appropriate.
posted by aubilenon at 2:30 PM on October 2, 2006

Kit Fisto?
posted by Rubber Soul at 5:33 PM on October 2, 2006

OK. It's going to be Lil Jon! Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Brilliant stuff in here. Perhaps I took the easy way out, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to utilize a pimp cup, gold teeth and an Atlanta Falcons sweatsuit!!
posted by dead_ at 9:13 AM on October 4, 2006