In a previous post discussing my black crow obsession as of late, I hinted that I was considering bringing to life Tippi Hedren's character from the classic Hitchcock movie The Birds this Halloween season. Despite feeling rushed for time with an unusually early party this year (now that you know about our trip to Scandinavia you know why), I decided to jump in with two feet.

I know, I know. I've developed quite a reputation over the years as going completely overboard when it comes to all things Halloween. But when you find something in life that brings you joy, why not surrender to it to the fullest? So, for this year's costume I decided to embrace my idea wholeheartedly, and not just simply put together an outfit for a night. I went all out and decorated our house to complement my costume too. It's the ultimate costume accesory.

For anyone not familiar with the film, The Birds is a British horror film from the early 1960's depicting a small town in California which is overtaken by a series of of violent, widespread bird attacks. It's more campy than scary if you ask me, but it's a classic. Here's a still from the movie so you get the idea:

So how did my recreation turn out? Drumroll please....

You can only imagine the looks I received from passing cars and pedestrians while we were taking these photos. Due to this, I think you can also imagine my tone in urging Alex to hurry up and take the pictures...but not take pictures that make me look fat. <sigh> I'm hopeless. (Thank goodness I have such a patient husband.)

If you're wondering how I went about recreating the look and feel without spending a lot of time or money, I'll gladly show you how you can do it to. 

For starters, I shopped my local second hand and discount stores for a green 1960's-inspired two piece suit. Unfortunately I came up empty handed on the suit, so I went with a green shift(ish) dress that looked reminiscent of something from that era. It cost me $29.00, and I even wore it to work the week before so I could more easily justify the expense. 

The shoes I already owned, so I'll say those were "free" (oh how I love that word).

I sprang for $5.00 worth of fake blood from Target. I figured the blood streaks, though a bit messy, were necessary to really complete the outfit.

The final piece of the outfit puzzle were the movie's namesake, the birds. I was able to purchase them from Michael's craft store. They birds were on sale and I had a coupon. We also found a large lot of 12 various sized birds on eBay. The total for the birds, both for the costume and for the house, set us back approximately $40.00. Not cheap, but they're something I'll be able to use for year's to come. 

The final purchase for the costume to bring it all together was a bit of flesh toned velcro, also from Michael's. I used the velcro to make a bracelet onto which I wired a bird to create a more realistic "I'm being attacked" vibe. 

Throughout the course of the night, I had one bird permanently affixed to my wrist, another wired into my hair, and two wired onto my dress. (The wire came attached to the birds' feet in case you're wondering, so it was quite convenient.) You can see I also had one wrapped around my leg in the photo above, but Lulu kept trying to bite it, so I gave up before our annual costume party even started and relocated that one to my dress. 

Here's a close up of me in our downstairs hallway. Note the raven cutouts on the risers of our stairs to really bring the point home. (More on the Martha Stewart silhouettes in this post.) 

You can see I tried my best to emulate Tippi's hair style and period makeup to the best of my ability. And I also tried to add the fake blood in the same location as you'll see in the movie in the scene when she's attacked.

Here's another look at the exterior of our home. I affixed additional birds to our front stair railing, light fixture, and inside our vestibule. 

And thanks to a thoughtful friend who was in on my costume idea, I was able to proudly display my new seasonal door mat from Pottery Barn.

The last and final touch, borrowed from Brooklyn Limestone's decor this year, was to write a quote from Poe's famous poem The Raven on the mirror in our dining room using a paint pen. 

Well, there you have it. My nod to Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece via home decor and a homemade Halloween costume. What do you think? Personally, I'm partial to any costume involving the dark and mysterious, and/or fake blood. 

What are your plans for this Halloween? With under a week remaining until my favorite day of the year, I hope your costume is well underway. Assuming you're getting into the spirit of the holiday. (Pun intended.)