The Goofiest Ever Two-Person Costume: A Horse?

Answer 1

Having two people dress up together as a horse is a guaranteed way to get laughs. No matter how many times you've seen people do this, for some reason, it always seems fresh and funny. If you and a friend are ready to be literally connected at the hip all night, this is the costume for you. This tutorial will give you some ideas on how to create an amazingly silly horse costume.

For a really great horse costume, there can't be any shortcuts. Plan to begin work on this costume early, so that you have plenty of time to tweak it and make it really great. The person who will play the horse's front will be wearing a giant paper mache horse head atop their shoulders, and a sort of "bucket suit" which will comprise the horse's front legs and chest, while the person who will play the horse's rear end will have a matching "bucket suit." However, this second half will consist of a long fabric barrel which can be pulled around to fasten with the first person's costume, and it will also have a rump and a tail.

To construct the horse's head, first create a strong wire base for your sculpture. You can then cover this with air dry clay, but this will be heavy. If you can be patient, it is better to use paper mache, which is light and very durable. Tear strips of newspaper and soak them in a mixture of flour and water. Allow the paper mache to dry every two or three layers. The horse's ears should be firmly affixed so they do not rip off. As you near the top layer of your mask, use toilet paper instead of newspaper to create the details. Lastly sand and then paint the horse's head. You can glue strings to it for a main. Attach fabric to the horse's neck and shoulders, and sew this fabric to a pair of sweatpants. To create the second half of the costume, you will need more of the same color fabric, and a pair of sweatpants. Sew a long tunnel of fabric to the top half of the sweatpants, and practice connecting this half of the costume to the front half of the costume. You can use pins to keep the two connected, but if the fabric is long enough, it should stay in place. Remember to put in a discreet breathing hole--this can be covered by mesh in a matching color. Finally affix a long yarn tail to the back end of the costume.

There you have it. A horse costume for two people -- if you didn't know your friend very well at the start of the night, you certainly will know him or her very well by the end of it.