Headbands aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, but they’re close to being that affordable. You can get them at the dollar store, grocery and department stores, beauty supply stores, craft shops – you get the idea. They’re readily available in different colors, materials, and widths. If you’re like me, you probably already have a few that you never wear stashed in your bathroom cupboard. Besides the fact that you can use them for wig styling in cosplay, they’re great to incorporate in other pieces of your costume. Here are five suggestions on how to use a headband in a costume:
Armor enhancement – Headbands are curved in a such a way that they fit almost perfectly on top of your shoulders. If you’re making a costume with armor, you can add plastic headbands to your base of craft foam or Worbla before you paint it. You could use one or several to add depth and texture. You could also wrap headbands around thigh or calf armor.
Become Geordi La Forge – If you watched Star Trek: The Next Generation as a child and had access to a headband, chances are good that you put it over your eyes and pretended to be Geordi La Forge. You can take that concept to the next level and build a visor from the headband base. You’ll have to cut small slits so you can see, and you can use craft foam or even card stock to build up the rest of the accessory.
Circlet – Thin headbands made from plastic or fabric can be turned into regal circlets with a little reshaping and paint. Don’t wear a headband around your forehead if it has teeth or is too tight though! To get a looser fit, you can cut off the ends that grip your head, drill a small hole in each end, and add ribbon so you can tie the circlet around the back of your head. Paint it with silver or gold, add faux gem or pearl cabochons, and dress it up whichever way you’d like.
Image via Cookie Fairy Nerd.
All about the ears – Many characters have ears or unicorn horns and attaching those items to a headband is one of the most secure ways to wear them. For example, if you want to be a My Little Pony, you can fashion the ears from felt and glue or sew them around a headband. It would be cute and simple to pull that costume together in a hurry. The same technique would apply if you wanted to make Mickey or Minnie Mouse ears.
Basket handle – You can transform any small, cool container into a basket by gluing on a headband to make a handle. The bowl or dish would have to be lightweight enough for a plastic headband to stay attached, and you couldn’t fill it with heavy items. Though that sounds limiting, you could add a headband to a plastic Tupperware type container and paint it to look like metal – it could be a great base for a steampunk accessory. Alternately, you could go pastel to match an anime costume. The basket could be part of the cosplay or just a matching piece to carry some basic necessities like your ID, a card, and cash.
How would you use a headband in cosplay?