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I am going to a party this Friday and it has a gods and goddesses theme. Each person who RSVPs gets assigned a god/goddess to be at the party. I was assigned Hekate the goddess of magic. The costume does not have to be exactly like the god was supposed to look, but it is supposed to be somewhat representative. I am not really sure what to do. Any ideas?
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posted
Hekate (or Hecate, depending on how you spell it) seems to have had many different functions over time. The one I see most described on the various pages I hit was the Light-Bringer. I'd do a white toga-style dress and a torch, maybe a laurel headband.
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What I found said she's described as "golden" and "radiant". So maybe dress in gold? She's almost always depicted holding a torch; she is a guide. She has power over birth and death, so maybe something representing that. And of course, magic. A spindle is a symbol of birth/death/life cycle and also of magic; why not a torch and a spindle?
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IM david for toga info, he did it really correctly for latin class. i just wrapped a pink sheet around myself. A torch, hmm i know how to make a real one, boyscout style, but that doesn't work without fire.
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Togas are easy; just drape fabric. Not authentic, but you'll get the "look". But a toga is a Roman garment, and Hekate is Greek. Also, the only women who wore togas in ancient Rome (with almost no exceptions) were prostitutes. A goddess would not be depicted in one.
What you really want is a drapey kind of dress.
A torch can be made from aluminum foil, construction paper, and spray paint. Unless you want a real torch, with real fire. Those can be bought at Home Depot.
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But this is college, wearing a toga is part of it, the "greek" life does it all the time. Of course everyone else will be doing that too.
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White sheets work well for togas. Drape it to your satisfaction (use pins or not).
My father once made a great torch (for one Halloween when I was the statue of liberty). I'm not sure exactly how he made it, but it was made of foam (the soft squishy kind) and formed around a flashlight. The foam was spray painted and colored acrylic was cut in flamey shapes and inserted into the top of the foam torch (so with the flashlight on it illuminated the flames). It was a very cool thing. I wonder what happened to it and the crown....
Go to the fabric store and see if they have any suitable fabric on sale. You can make a very easy Greek-style dress by folding the correct length of fabric into a tube and sewing up the side (or sewing two seams to make a tube), then pinning at the shoulders (preferably with broaches or something pretty, like sparkly pins.) Then drape the neck as desired, add a girdle at empire-waist height and voilà ! Add a stole if desired.
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I do not have a sewing machine and my hand stitching is a bit bad. It would look more authentic then a toga though...
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Ideas from this site could be a pregnant woman (godess of childbirth), a ghost (queen of the ghosts), a three headed woman (the triplicate godess), a she-dog (her animal companion), a witch (for her associations with Wicca), a street sign (godess of the crossroads),
It also says
quote: Traditionally, Hecate is represented as carrying torches, very often has a knife, and may appear holding a rope, a key, a phial, flowers, or a pomegranate.
so maybe you could just drape these items on your costume.
You could also just cover yourself in leaves (that might be fun)
quote:The yew, cypress, hazel, black poplar and willow are all sacred to Hecate. The leaves of the black poplar are dark on one side and light on the other, symbolizing the boundary between the worlds. [part of her queen of the ghosts title]
The reference to Hecate in Shakespeare is interesting too.
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But then it'll have unhemmed edges, Ok that's it, I'm not moving to a dorm without a sewing machine.
Oh and if that Gold dress would be hemmable after you wore it, I'd buy it for Fair queen contest, because I'm almost positive we'd wear the same size, just I'm a foot shorter.
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You can use safety pins instead if you don't have a sewing machine, but really, basting does fine. It wouldn't take more than an afternoon to do it, even by hand.
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I know you hem dresses to length, but that one just doesn't seem like it would work because of the bottom (and oh well it's not like we could get it ordered in time for her, or I've decided I need a formal anyway)
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posted
Buying a sheet would probably be cheaper than buying fabric from a store (unless you have fabulously good luck). Also, you wouldn't have to worry about unhemmed edges - just do the procedure kq described with pins and you won't have to do any sewing.
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I am going to try to make the dress that KQ is describing. If I can't pull it off I will just wear the fabric as a toga. What color should I get? What should I do with my hair? Shoes? Jewelry?
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I think gold or bronze if available would be a fun twist on the "idea" of the goddess. But they can be expensive, so go with what you find that looks good. (Fabric stores often have wonderful sales just before Halloween.)
Wear sandals; they should be strappy and elegant, if possible. Hair up, maybe piled on your head? Perhaps rather messily? Jewelry, I don't know... Maybe something symbolic of light or birth or death or magic in some way, or a stone associated with her, or just something that looks good.
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If you can't find any bronze or gold fabric get unbleached muslin, and wear lots of gold jewelry (bonus of unbleached muslin is it comes in a ton of widths)
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Yeah, and unbleached muslin has an off-white color that would be perfect with lots of gold jewelry; on the other hand, bleached muslin would be more reflective and "radiant". Good call, bryerchic!
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But a dark brown fabric, that isn't metalic, if you can find it would look good, with your skintone (since the ones I just listed may or may not show up )
You know my brown graduation dress, with strappy gold sandals and a torch would do, not quite costumey, but it would work
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Yeah, wide, unbleached muslin usually goes for between 99 cents and $1.25 a yard (depending on width and weave.) You can sometimes get it on sale for around 60 to 66 cents a yard, though-- dirt cheap! Bleached tends to hover between $1.30 and $2 a yard, again depending on width and quality and such, but goes for as little as 75 to 80 cents a yard on sale.
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posted
Glittery gold for her skin would look cool too, on shoulders, cheeks, lips and eyelids. Long gold eyelashes would complete the costume look and should be easy to find this time of year. Then wrap a flashlight in gold paper for a torch.
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Hemming without a sewing machine - get a roll of WonderUnder. It's fusible webbing that comes in 3/4 inch widths. You lay it between two layers of fabric (like between the folded over part of a hem) and iron it in. You can also use it for the side seams in the same way. Lay the front and back together - right sides together - so the edges match, lay the WonderUnder in between, and iron. It may not hold up for more than a night (never seems to last long for me, so I only use it as a temporary fix), but it should be enough for the party, at least.
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