DIY Willy Wonka Costume

I’ve loved the original 1970s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie for about as long as I can remember. From the silly songs, memorable characters, and the amount of delicious looking sweets, for me, it’s a classic. I initially thought about dressing up like Veruca Salt, my favorite character, however, there’s nothing more memorable than Willy Wonka himself! I decided to put a feminine spin on this classic costume (without the sexy that the packaged versions go for). This DIY Willy Wonka Costume is made up of pieces that you may already have in your closet, plus a few things that can easily be found at your favorite thrift store.

DIY Willy Wonka Costume

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So grab your Golden Ticket and let’s get creating this DIY Willy Wonka Costume!

What You’ll Need: Makeup

You can really do whatever you’d like for the makeup, however, I thought it would be fun to really play up the fun colors in the costume. I used my Too Faced Sugar Pop Palette for the majority of this look, but any of these colorful options will do!

1. I started with my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as my base, covering my entire lid.
2. Then, I topped my base with a wash of the light pink from the eye palette.
3. Next, I blended the bright blue into my crease and along the lower lashline.
4. I lined used the NYX eye pencil to line my eyes again, then ran a purple eyeshadow across the upper lash line.
5. To make the eye look pop, I used a purple eyeliner to create a small cat-eye wing.
   
6. To finish off the eye look, I used a chartreuse eyeshadow for the inner corner.
7. Finally, for another pop of color, I opted to wear purple lipstick.
   

What You’ll Need: Hair

This is where the real DIY comes in. Depending on your budget, you can opt to either purchase a brown top hat or DIY it. I opted for the latter, as I wasn’t sure I’d be using the top hat again. Plus, DIYing it is free and I liked the mini version of this hat.

I loosely followed the instructions I found here, but here’s what you’ll need:

• Cereal Box
• 1 large candle or lid, for tracing
• 1 smaller candle or lid, for tracing
• Scotch tape
• Bobby pins
• Optional: Fabric, ribbon, paint, hot glue gun, craft headband

Once you’ve gathered your materials, here’s how I created my DIY top hat:

1. I took a cereal box and traced the bottom of two different sized candles for the brim of the hat and the top of the hat.
2. Then, I cut a long strip and cut it down to match the circumference of the top of my hat.
3. Next, I taped all of the pieces together from the inside.
4. Finally, I pinned it with bobby pins to the top of my head.
5. BONUS: If you’re feeling extra crafty, feel free to cover it with fabric, decorate it with ribbon, or paint it! If you’re going to be wearing the costume to a party with dancing or for several hours, I’d recommend attaching the DIY mini top hat with a hot glue gun to a craft headband as well.

What You’ll Need: DIY Willy Wonka Costume

I felt like I really was lucky when it came to finding the pieces for this costume. The blazer itself was what I was most worried about finding, but my local Seattle Goodwill had two purple blazers (cost $4) to choose from. I recommend checking the entire rack, being open to pinning back a larger size if you need to, and even checking the men’s and boy’s section. You never know!

For the shirt, Willy Wonka actually wore a white button-down with a purple floral print vest, however, that wasn’t something I could find. Instead, I found a short sleeve purple floral button-up (cost $5) that I used for the main shirt.

Then, I gathered the shirt at the collar with a piece of Offray Polka Dot Ribbon. For the bottoms, Willy Wonka wore khaki pants, but I thought a khaki pencil skirt would add a feminine flair and would be more re-wearable. Finally, I finished the outfit off with a pair of brown ankle boots that I already had in my closet, see similar styles here.

Have you figured out what you’ll be dressing up as this year? I’d love to hear about your costume plans in the comments!