Dressing kid as Psy for Halloween
October 2, 2012 2:08 PM   Subscribe

Gangnam Filter. I'm dressing my 4-year-old as Psy for Halloween. Ideas welcome.

My kid, nearly 4 years old, likes watching the Gangnam Style video. His dad posted a photo of him watching it and someone suggested we do a Halloween costume of Psy for it. I asked him if he wanted to be that dancing guy for Halloween and he said okay. So why not? This will probably be the last year that I have a large say in his costume. (He originally wanted to be a witch and I bought stuff for that, if this all backfires.)

I'm not very craftsy, but I'm willing to try.

I bought a white suit on Amazon, a black bow tie, and this color Rit dye. I got this piping for the suit. (Spending $30 on the suit pained me, but I think that I'll dye the whole suit in hopes of reselling it or something.)

He has some black pants.

I'm not willing to pay for shoes that will only be worn once. I think that I'll put him in these sneakers. It seems that Psy wears loafers for most of the video. (If you have some preschool size 11 shoes that fit the bill, I'm willing to listen.)

I'm looking for kid size black sunglasses.

Other ideas on what we could do to make this fun?

- Kid is sort of learning the dance, but he is not a good dancer and I feel like I'm on Toddlers and Tiaras having him practice it.
- Maybe we could carry a basket of horses?
- Maybe we could carry a phone and play the song as we walk around?

My child is not Korean or Asian, if this matters.

(And if you think this is a terrible idea for a reason that I haven't thought of, I'm willing to hear that too.)
posted by k8t to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Please don't do yellow face
posted by spunweb at 2:24 PM on October 2, 2012


Response by poster: @Spunweb, we absolutely would not do that.
posted by k8t at 2:26 PM on October 2, 2012


You definitely need the music.
posted by Lucinda at 2:29 PM on October 2, 2012


I think this is so cute but don't go crazy overboard (I'm hoping the "he can't really do the dance" comment is a joke cause I can't do it either). I would suggest dyeing the jacket as best you can and the basket of horses is cute. Maybe encourage him to do a little gallop in a circle instead of actually doing moves. Yeah a ton of people arent going to get it but a 4 year old in a suit jacket is always incredibly cute.
posted by boobjob at 2:31 PM on October 2, 2012


Slick his hair back, of course. Use some heavy pomade to keep it down. The only thing that would be more awesome would be for you to dress identically (like the Alice questioner here on Ask today) and do matching horsey dances.

Or buy one of those horse head mask things, since you can get mileage out of that thing the whole year through.
posted by jquinby at 2:48 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


He should definitely have a horse with him - your idea of a basket of horses is great, or have him ride a hobby horse, or pull a toy horse along with him.

Make sure his hair is slicked back. As for the dance, if he can just pretend to ride a horse, everybody should get the idea.

The sneakers look fine to me, in fact they remind me of the sneakers Psy wore when he returned to Korea. His had metal studs, and the ones you linked to give a similar effect with the holes.

On preview, one of you tagging along wearing a horse head mask would be awesome.
posted by research monkey at 2:52 PM on October 2, 2012


Response by poster: A stick pony?
posted by k8t at 2:54 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yes, stick pony! He can do the lasso move while riding it.
posted by research monkey at 2:56 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


What fabric is the suit made from? Polyester might not take the dye.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:00 PM on October 2, 2012


Response by poster: 65% poly, 35% cotton. This site says 60% cotton is best.

Should I try it or order a different suit?
posted by k8t at 3:03 PM on October 2, 2012


Response by poster: I could also buy this already burgundy suit and add the piping temporarily. I don't think that it'll be recognizable.

Otherwise I don't see any majority cotton suits.
posted by k8t at 3:07 PM on October 2, 2012


Whoever recognizes him is going to ask him to do the dance. If he's uncomfortable with that, you might want to do a different thing.
posted by spanishbombs at 3:08 PM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


Let's wait for someone more experienced to weigh in, but you might want to check out the dyes at the Dharma Trading website. Direct link.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:09 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Looks like this kind of dye works on poly.
posted by k8t at 3:10 PM on October 2, 2012


Oh, go for the stick horse. If someone asks him to dance, anyone with a heart would accept him riding the pony.

The maroon suit is fine -- certainly less work for you. I love that video and have watched it, umm, a few times, and I can't remember if he ever wore maroon or not.
posted by maudlin at 3:11 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Or even if he just hops up and down with the horse and maybe waves one hand above his head -- and you can encourage him that's this is EXACTLY what he should do before the big night -- he's a tiny, adorable kid, not a competitor on DYTYCD. Neither one of you has to be perfect. Bigger kids will want fidelity, but not a little guy like this.

Keep it a lot of fun for him and a lot less stress for you. Maroon suit, slicked hair, the stick pony, and maybe "Gangnam Style!" on his trick or treat container should do it.
posted by maudlin at 3:14 PM on October 2, 2012


Also there are transparent textile colors to paint on if you get the white suit. You'd have to buy blue and yellow to get your color... I'm sure if you called the 800 number or emailed, they would advise you.

I guess I wouldn't count on re-selling the suit afterwards, LOL.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:21 PM on October 2, 2012


It might be cute for you and/or your hubby to dress as one of the girls (sparkly silver shorts, turtleneck tunic top) or the guy with the yellow suit and the Beatles hair.

I'm thinking a little kid dancing whatever way he wants is automatically cute. Anyway mroe conservative members of your family (grandma, aunts, etc.) might find it disturbing if he did the dance too accurately.
posted by bleep at 4:45 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


shower him with confetti when he dances!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 9:09 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


He might have fun watching the video where PSY teaches Ellen and Britney how to do the dance. Plus if he just folds his arms over his chest, sticks his chin in the air and says "Oppa Gangnam Style" whenever anyone asks who he is, people will love it.
posted by MsMolly at 10:38 AM on October 3, 2012 [3 favorites]


« Older RIP toenail. Now what?   |   Doctor Doctor Pull Me A Tooth Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.