Help on my search for the perfect Cold War party costumes?
December 3, 2008 9:57 AM Subscribe
Help-with-a-costume-filter: My boyfriend and I are going to a fancy dress party. Theme: Coldwar. Please help us come up with some ideas?
There's a couple of things that make ideas slightly hard:
1- We're both poor students
2- We live in a town which doesn't really have too many costume or craft stores
3- We're within Germany, so nothing too risky or uh... politically incorrect.
I'm slender with long brown hair, he's slender with reddish hair, and hair dying is kinda out of the question.
Also, he doesn't have a suit with him and can't afford to buy one.
Help? please?
There's a couple of things that make ideas slightly hard:
1- We're both poor students
2- We live in a town which doesn't really have too many costume or craft stores
3- We're within Germany, so nothing too risky or uh... politically incorrect.
I'm slender with long brown hair, he's slender with reddish hair, and hair dying is kinda out of the question.
Also, he doesn't have a suit with him and can't afford to buy one.
Help? please?
(quick note for Americans: "Fancy dress" here means "costume," not "Formal.")
One of my own key images of the period was lots of anti-war protesters; hippie gear and anti-Bomb signage.
posted by Tomorrowful at 10:11 AM on December 3, 2008
One of my own key images of the period was lots of anti-war protesters; hippie gear and anti-Bomb signage.
posted by Tomorrowful at 10:11 AM on December 3, 2008
If you want to go really silly, you two could both get a collection of cheap hats, fake mustaches, fake cigars, monocles, easily removed make-up, and so forth. Then just change "disguises" whenever you find a moment in private.
See, you'd both be secret agents, always switching disguises. One moment you're in a beard with a monocle and a ridiculous French accent, the next you're in a mustache and glasses with a ridiculous Spanish accent, see? ...See?
Like I said, it's kind of cheesy and silly, but it'd allow you both to use the same items (one person's items would become available to the other as soon as one switched), and it'd only depend on getting some really cheap costumey props.
posted by Ms. Saint at 10:16 AM on December 3, 2008
See, you'd both be secret agents, always switching disguises. One moment you're in a beard with a monocle and a ridiculous French accent, the next you're in a mustache and glasses with a ridiculous Spanish accent, see? ...See?
Like I said, it's kind of cheesy and silly, but it'd allow you both to use the same items (one person's items would become available to the other as soon as one switched), and it'd only depend on getting some really cheap costumey props.
posted by Ms. Saint at 10:16 AM on December 3, 2008
If people there are generally familiar with Mad magazine (maybe? I dunno), you could go as Spy Vs. Spy: one wears all white, the other wears all black, you both carry fake guns/swords/whatever, and you both wear earmuffs and scarves. (geddit? cold! ha!)
Alternately, you could just wear lingerie with smeared makeup and shiver a lot. If anyone asks, you could respond, "Oh, I thought it said 'cold whore.'"
posted by kittyprecious at 10:33 AM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
Alternately, you could just wear lingerie with smeared makeup and shiver a lot. If anyone asks, you could respond, "Oh, I thought it said 'cold whore.'"
posted by kittyprecious at 10:33 AM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Just a wee note: Flibbertigibbet is completely right about boyfriendPlanetF being british and having a lovely accent. She knows this by doing some surveillance work on my Facebook profile.
Ms. Saint: that's actually an awesome idea, but I'm not sure if there'd be any good costume stores in my city.
posted by Planet F at 10:35 AM on December 3, 2008
Ms. Saint: that's actually an awesome idea, but I'm not sure if there'd be any good costume stores in my city.
posted by Planet F at 10:35 AM on December 3, 2008
You should go as Margaret Thatcher, and he can go as a spy.
posted by jmmpangaea at 10:39 AM on December 3, 2008
posted by jmmpangaea at 10:39 AM on December 3, 2008
He could go as "Checkpoint Charlie" - get a tee shirt and write this on one side, and this on the other. Have him carry a stop / go sign.
Nthing you as Soviet femme fatale for ease of execution / general lack of tall, slender, long-brown-haired female figures in the Cold War. Though Thatcher / Gorbachev would have been funny, and all he would need is a port-wine birthmark.
posted by charmcityblues at 10:45 AM on December 3, 2008
Nthing you as Soviet femme fatale for ease of execution / general lack of tall, slender, long-brown-haired female figures in the Cold War. Though Thatcher / Gorbachev would have been funny, and all he would need is a port-wine birthmark.
posted by charmcityblues at 10:45 AM on December 3, 2008
You could take complete creative license with the title and go as an ice cube and an ice pick. Or 2 angry snowmen with guns.
posted by mattholomew at 10:48 AM on December 3, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by mattholomew at 10:48 AM on December 3, 2008 [2 favorites]
Boris and Natasha?
posted by trinity8-director at 11:02 AM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by trinity8-director at 11:02 AM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
Go as a snowball fight. Mittens, hats, snowpants. Yell "duck" a lot.
posted by awesomebrad at 11:12 AM on December 3, 2008
posted by awesomebrad at 11:12 AM on December 3, 2008
You dress up like a chef, and go as Julia Child? (Though, I guess that was more WWII. Crap.)
posted by inigo2 at 11:26 AM on December 3, 2008
posted by inigo2 at 11:26 AM on December 3, 2008
Somebody else is probably going to come as "the wall" (cardboard, sandwich-sign style, and some magic markers ... maybe a Slinky standing in for concertina wire) ...
Somebody else will probably come as a missile. Some plastic garbage cans with cone-style lids are ideal once painted white. You'll need a way to hold it up inside and cut off the bottom for your feet.
Anyway, I'm trying to think "cheap" and "German" (unless you feel the need to highlight, say, Vietnam in some fashion).
posted by dhartung at 11:37 AM on December 3, 2008
Somebody else will probably come as a missile. Some plastic garbage cans with cone-style lids are ideal once painted white. You'll need a way to hold it up inside and cut off the bottom for your feet.
Anyway, I'm trying to think "cheap" and "German" (unless you feel the need to highlight, say, Vietnam in some fashion).
posted by dhartung at 11:37 AM on December 3, 2008
One of you go as a radar screen and the other a bunch of red (luft) balloons. 99 of them might be too many though.
posted by bondcliff at 11:47 AM on December 3, 2008
posted by bondcliff at 11:47 AM on December 3, 2008
You could be an atomic scientist with a big doomsday clock set at about 30 seconds to midnight.
posted by citron at 11:56 AM on December 3, 2008
posted by citron at 11:56 AM on December 3, 2008
I'm on board with the Spy & and Spy Who Loved Me bit. Show up separately and have him drop a fake film canister into your purse.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:08 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by Ironmouth at 12:08 PM on December 3, 2008
Dr. and Mrs. J. Robert Oppenheimer.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:30 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:30 PM on December 3, 2008
Go completely lateral with the theme and go as characters from Fargo. Margie perhaps.
posted by lottie at 1:39 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by lottie at 1:39 PM on December 3, 2008
The best cold war theme costume I ever saw was a dude in a woman's one-piece swimsuit, swimming cap and goggles with some lipstick and five o'clock shadow ... East German women's swimming team!
posted by nomis at 2:01 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by nomis at 2:01 PM on December 3, 2008
If he is going to be a British Spy, he need only act as though he is gay. Homosexuality was a selection criterion for MI5/6 back then IIRC.
posted by tim_in_oz at 3:23 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by tim_in_oz at 3:23 PM on December 3, 2008
mattholomew - An icepick would be appropriate for other reasons as well..
posted by hal incandenza at 4:18 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by hal incandenza at 4:18 PM on December 3, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Required: little black dress. nice shoes. bad russian accent. Sew a piece of red fabric as backing to a piece of blue fabric. Sew a yellow star on the red side, an american flag patch to the other. Sew together to make it into an armband. Bravo: you're a turncoat! Flip the armband around during the night depending on how many Soviets or Americans you're around.
Him: since he's british, let's do british spy. Ideal is trenchcoat, watch, umbrella, big floppy hat. or if you want to go bond, whitte shirt and tie, dress pants, toy gun. he already has the accent.
or, for him choose any Soviet leader (there's lots of them) and mimic one.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 10:11 AM on December 3, 2008