DIY Halloween Costume Ideas: Dr. Zoidberg

To celebrate Halloween, I've decided to do a short series of do it yourself Halloween costume ideas that I've created in the past. This is for those who want to get creative and don't want to just stick with a packaged costume. Sometimes these options can be more affordable, especially if you use items you already own, but they can also add up to be just as pricey as a packaged costume if you really wanna go all out. The first costume I am going to feature is probably one that I am most proud of. It wasn't a costume I created for myself but for my boyfriend Gary. He loves Futurama and his favorite character is Dr. Zoidberg. I couldn't find any packaged Futurama costumes but after some googling, I found some ideas on how to create one.

The Goal: Dr. Zoidberg



Supplies Needed:
Scrubs
Lab coat
Red body paint
Red glove
Red string
White Flip Flops
Red Felt
Scissors
Stapler
Red Sharpie
Red Swim Cap
Stethoscope and Reflector head piece

Basically you start with the scrubs, sea foam green scrubs are ideal but my mom works at a hospital so she was able to loan us some light blue ones for free. I purchased red face paint, a basic lab coat and doctor's accessory kit, which included a toy stethoscope and reflector head piece, at a Halloween store. I was able to find a red swim cap at Dick's Sporting Goods to cover his hair. I fashioned the mouth out of a red glove I purchased at the dollar store and used red string to tie it onto his face. I used a stapler and red felt to make claws for his hands. If I had more time I might have tried to sew them but I ended up just using a stapler and then coloring over the silver staples with a red sharpie. The white flip flops were very difficult to find in October but I ended up finding a pair on clearance at American Eagle that had white thongs and blue bottoms. If you plan ahead you can get a pair of all white ones at Old Navy for cheap, but by October I could only find them online and didn't want to pay shipping.

Once you have everything, you basically just need to put it all together. Have him put on the scrubs and swim cap, then paint his face, ears and neck with the red paint. Gary put his lab coat on first and ended up getting red paint on the collar, it might still get on it but probably not as much if you do the paint first. He opted not to paint his feed but if you want a more authentic look, you can paint the feet red or get red toe socks. Put the lab coat and accessories on and then the claws as a finishing touch. Below is a picture of Gary "scuddling" as Zoidberg. I think he looked awesome! 

The main issues with this costume are getting red paint everywhere and the swim cap can feel really tight on your head, he ended up taking it off after an hour or two. But if you can handle a little pain, it's a great concept for a costume! If you're bald, you can skip the swim cap and just paint your whole head red!