Gizmodo: Costumes

Best Use of an LED Yet (Eating Children)

Mark Wilson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:00:00 EDT

Is it still called a Halloween costume if you wear it all year long? Regardless, this anglerfish mask utilizes an LED to entertain friends, distracting them before it opens wide and engulfs their head a la mutant symbiote. OK, we might have presented that explanation without complete factual accuracy. There are actually a number of LEDs that light up before the mask bites your friends' heads off. So it looks pretty cool in the dark:

Spooky. [instructables via MAKE]

Worst. iPhone Costume. Ever.

Jason Chen — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:20:00 EDT

Seen at the Valley Fair Apple Store here in the Bay Area, some guy's protesting Apple for something or other while wearing a homemade iPhone costume. Did your mom help you make that costume, sir? Because you should really ask her for help—she'd be able to pick out a nicer typeface and better looking icons. Best of luck to your cause, whatever it is. [Thanks Michael!]

Homemade Optimus Prime Costume Doesn't Quite Capture the Autobot's Masterful Walk

AddyDugdale — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:43:17 EST

It's long and a bit ponderous, but it's worth it when you get to the end of sister site Jalopnik's video of a guy struggling into a ten-foot tall Optimus Prime costume. Firstly, you get to see the bossman of the Autobots getting his gear on. A couple of minutes later, he's ready to move—and move he does, wreaking terror to the suburban streets. Er, heavy night, Optimus? [Jalopnik]

Robovie-X 'Bot Fires Missiles at Moving Targets, Plays Dress-Up

dango — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:44:17 EST

Robovie-X is a new robot kit from Japanese DIY maker ATR. Not only can it use its fully-programmable 17 degrees of freedom and optical distance sensors to follow moving targets and fire at them with a surprisingly powerful plastic missile launcher, it can also, apparently, shed its armor and dress up as a jazz-hands-waving Foghorn Leghorn or a white-gloved Michael Jackson archer. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. Check out more pics and a video of the missiles in action after the jump.

Apparently more weapon attachments are on the way. No word on additional costumes. [via Impress]

Top 10 Sexiest Halloween Costumes for 2007

Charlie White — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:00:00 EDT

In honor of the autumnal season and one of our favorite pastimes, here's a roundup of the Top 10 Sexiest Halloween Costumes in the entire world. After all, Halloween is a holiday for goblins, geeks, goons, weirdos, trolls and merrymakers of all stripes, so we knew the Giz readership wouldn't mind if we posted a few non-gadget costume pics (I can see Blam rolling his eyes already). And hey, it's gadget-y, too—heck, one of these babes is wearing handcuffs, isn't she? Anyway, we're not sure if it's the costumes themselves or those comely lasses who are wearing them, but either way, we find each costume appealing in its own inimitable way. Check out the gallery after the jump, which includes a few NSFW shots, so beware.

Dog Dresses Up as iPhone for Halloween Celebration

Charlie White — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:15:00 EDT

Who says people get to have all the Halloween fun? Dress up your dog in this iPhone Halloween costume and he'll be the envy of all the other mutts. On the other hand, wearing this getup couldn't be much fun for the poor guy. Nevertheless, this is a brilliantly executed costume, even better than that Darth Vader dog costume we showed you in the past. It doesn't quite reach the level of that Croc-Eat-Dog masterpiece, though. In this case, someone really knew what he was doing when he put this one together, with meticulous attention to detail and craftsmanship—even laying down what looks like plexiglass for the iPhone's touchscreen. And what's that? A leash where the iPhone's headphone jack normally is? Brilliant. [Gregory Hull on flickr, via Make]

Halloween Costumes Guaranteed to Result in a Swift and Brutal Ass-Kicking

Sean Fallon — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:00:55 EDT

With Halloween just a couple of days away, you may find yourself searching frantically for that last minute costume. If any of the following outfits are on your list, strike them off immediately —for these are costumes likely to result in a severe ass kicking. And nothing ruins a Halloween faster than wedgie-induced taint rippage or having the hottest woman at the party kick you in the nuts. Enjoy.

Papercraft Skull with Moving Jaw, Just in Time for Halloween

Charlie White — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:50:15 EDT

This Papercraft skull has a tab on the back that you can pull and make it talk, scaring the children, and maybe even your pets. Download the PDF, and you can make one for yourself, just in time for the big day. After the jump, we have a very special hat you can wear for your Halloween festivities.

Not for the faint of heart, this very special cap has as talking rat on top, and what's that? It looks like he's munching on your brains for dinner. But Giz readers have plenty of that bodily organ to spare, so this little rat can go ahead and nourish himself all he wants.

What sorts of things does this talking rat say? Follow the link to the website and you'll see the video, but we're thinking it might be a better idea just to take the batteries out before you head out to that Halloween party.

[Boing Boing (Skull) and HalloweenOnly (Rat Hat)]

Darth Vader Dog Costume

Brian Lam — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:38:48 EDT

OK, originally, this was a post about an authentic looking Darth Vader costume. Browsing the site's extended branches, I bumped into this much cooler Darth Vader costume for Dogs, with cape, belt, and helmet. Original post is below, but for those who disbelieve dog is man's best friend.

This official Darth Vader suit should provide a good base for my Dark Helmet Spaceballs costume. The pleather pants and shirt go under molded pieces formed from the original casts, including the collar, shoulder pieces, gauntlets, chest piece and boots. For $760, I'm surprised it doesn't come with a master replica Lightsaber. Anyone know where I can get some black rimmed circle glasses, a pewter cobra ring with a faux emerald, and an extra large Darth helmet? [Costumes Inc.]

Halloween Costume Greatest Hits: Dead Pixel

Travis Hudson — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:06:27 EST

This is one of the easiest and most innovative costumes I have seen today. The geekiness inside all of us absolutely despise dead pixels and this costume shares our hatred. I still don't understand the link between dead pixels and diskettes, though. And good luck explaining what you are to almost everyone you see out tonight.

Got a tech, or otherwise awesome Halloween costume, e-mail us some pictures at our tips address and your costume could get featured in your very own post (as long as the costume is cool enough)! – Travis Hudson

Dead Pixel [happydesigns]

Halloween Costume Greatest Hits: Headless Marie Antoinette Roams the Streets

Charlie White — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 08:23:01 EST

There's a Halloween costume/tech/food contest going on at Makezine.com, and by far the scariest and most dramatic entry is this headless Marie Antoinette costume. That's just the beginning, though, because there are all kinds of gross foods and disgusting creepy crawlies on that site today. There's even a cockroach cake!

After the jump, see more views of the costume, how this ingenious costume was constructed, and also see what we thought was the second-best costume, good enough to win almost any contest itself.

We thought this Mount Rushmore costume was also impressive, with the whole family all dressed up patriotic-like:

Decapitated Marie Antoinette Costume [Love Bone]

DIY Halloween [Makezine.com]

Monster Halloween Roundup: Everything You Need

Charlie White — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:12:52 EDT

Halloween is just around the corner—it's next Tuesday in case you've lost track—and in honor of the second-most-popular holiday in the US, we've been scouring the web and have scared up only the best Halloween stuff. Gadgets, goofs, costumes and much more await you in our Monster Roundup, getting you ready for Halloween whether you like it or not.

First of all, you're going to need a costume. Guys, you probably aren't interested in looking like sexy Wizard Wanda here (or maybe you are), but you might have a significant other who might like to wear this slightly revealing getup or some of the others at 3Wishes. After all, hasn't Halloween devolved to both guys and gals dressing like sluts?

More Halloweenage, after the jump.

Pumpkin Burger: This must be a Halloween-style way of serving meatloaf, and perhaps the most unusual pumpkin modification yet. Notice the pumpkin seeds masquerading as sesame seeds on the top. This, my friends, is the essence of Halloween.
Big Mac pumpkin [Bits & Pieces]

Remind everyone that none of us get out of here alive with this Casket Business Card Holder, with a special slot in the top that holds those cards up for all to see. It's to die for at $23.99.
The Casket Business Card Holder [Gearlog]

Take a look at this Jell-O mold that looks exactly like a human brain, and we can't quite put our finger on what these fingers are, but they must be some kind of pastry with what looks like almonds on the ends for fingernails. If your guests aren't too grossed out, these creations might be a big hit.
Playing with Food [eG forums]

Make a pumpkin computer, and indulge either your Mac (it's a Classic, at right) or PC preference. Might seem kind of silly the rest of the year, but this Tuesday, you'll have the most appropriate computing device in the entire haunted house.
Pumpkin Computers [Make]

Project spirits: this weatherproof pattern projector will help you shine spooky bats or floating ghosts all over the side of your house, frightening the wits out of the neighbor kids, perhaps even scaring them away once and for all.
Light Display Projector [Hammacher Schlemmer]

Arachnophobia: don't forget to stock up on remote-controlled tarantulas. This creepy-crawly's eight legs move separately, realistically skittering about under your complete control, you madman.
Remote-controlled Tarantulas [Gifts.com]

Tampon Goblins: It might take a while for your guests to realize exactly how you made this scary ghost with the jittery eyes and his ominous-looking bat friend. Hang them all over the place, but just keep it a little secret that you invaded Missy's underwear drawer for your raw materials. We're still chuckling that there's actually a blog called "Tampon Crafts." – Charlie White

Tampon Halloween Hobgoblins [Tampon Crafts]

Authentic Star Wars StormTrooper Outfit: Fun All By Your Lonesome

Gizloco — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:33:24 EDT

Listen up, Star Wars nerds. A company is offering a "totally authentic" Imperial Stormtrooper outfit just in time for Halloween (or the latest larping festival). Each part of the outfit is hand-crafted from the very molds used in the original film to ensure only the highest of quality in StormTrooper evening wear.

I've never seen the original Star Wars films (sue me), but each TK421, which is the suit's official name, apparently has the same belt that saved Luke and Leia's lives. You also forfeit your right to ever talk to a girl again for a period of at least one year when you buy the suit.

The painfully authentic StormTrooper suit can be found online for around $2,400. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Firebox.com via Coolest Gadgets]

iAttire Just In Time For Halloween

gizmodo.com — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 15:30:15 EDT

It's ok not to have friends sometimes, but I'm afraid this is really pushing it. iAttire demands you deck out your iPod in costume for Halloween so it can go out trick-or-treating with you. These "limited edition" outfits run the gamut from cowboys to bikini-clad sex goddess. They're handmade so expect to shell out some bucks for these. They are entertaining however and come in costumes for shuffle, mini, and regular iPod. My favorite is probably this vampire costume for the mini because it's simply rediculous. Reminds me of those old Ren & Stimpy episodes where they'd play with LOG.

iPod Costumes [LiveDigitally]

iPod Dress Up

johnb — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 10:10:04 EDT

More silly iPod costumes have surfaced. Pixelgirlshop not only sells iPod Sock Monster covers ($30), but a nice array of crocheted animal covers in Froggie, Bunny and Raccoon. And if you want to try something different, try dressing your baby as an iPod with the iPod My Baby onesie. In pink, blue, white and Nano Black ($15.95).

Product Page [iPodMyBaby]

iPod Halloween costumes—now that's scary [CNET]