The iconic tuxedo shirt and Tiffany blue sleep mask is the perfect roll-out-of-bed pantsless costume for warm weather Halloweens, posh costume parties, and hot crowded cosplay conventions. I never cared to dress as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s until I watched Big Little Lies…and then I had to! Here’s how I altered a shirt dress and put together this costume for a Halloween cruise last year.
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I’ll go ahead and say it: Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a terrible movie, and Holly Golightly is a shallow, vapid character. Audrey Hepburn as a style goddess is the only thing that movie truly offers. I do, however, think Big Little Lies is a fantastic show, and Reece Witherspoon’s character, Madeline, is endearing to me (despite her horrible decisions). My costume more closely resembles Madeline’s outfit than Holly’s. In the film, Holly is wearing an oversized men’s tuxedo shirt, sleep mask, and tassel earplugs. In the show, Madeline is wearing a shirt dress, sleep mask, and tassel earrings.
The main focus may be the sleep mask, but the more important article of clothing is the men’s tuxedo shirt. Not wanting to fight with an unflattering oversized shirt that would ultimately be uncomfortable and potentially have floppy sleeves fall into my drinks, I opted for a shirt dress. I also opted for tassel earrings that I could wear with other outfits (because they’re cute, duh). If you’re following along at home and don’t sew, you can skip the alterations in the next sections.
Shirt dress: Auxo Women Long Sleeve V Neck Pocket Shirt Dress Tunic Top Casual Solid Charade Blouse White (Medium)
Earrings: Women Vintage Earring Hollow Crystal Tassel Dangle Stud Earrings (Purple)
I purchased a cheap tuxedo shirt exclusively for the tuxedo tucks in the front of the shirt, and I removed them to sew onto the shirt dress. I also removed the little flaps and buttons midway up the sleeves on the shirt dress that would have been used for holding rolled up sleeves in place. And I removed only the top four buttons down the front. These were replaced with the plastic tuxedo buttons that came with the tuxedo shirt.
Tuexdo shirt: Broadway Tuxmakers Women’s Wing Collar, Large Pleats Tuxedo Shirt (10) White
I ironed under the raw edge of the tuxedo tucks where there were buttons. I opened up the collar to accomodate the tuxedo tucks and cut away the excess at the top. No need to have a bulky collar.
And then I simply pinned down the tuxedo tuck pannels and stitched them in place, finishing with closing back up the collar. A little tedious, but a very quick process.
After finishing both sides, I added buttonholes where I removed those four buttons earlier and inserted the black plastic tuxedo buttons.
And voila, darling! I also purchased nude dance briefs in case of high winds, but this is optional if the shirt dress is long enough on normal people. I have a long torso…
Nude briefs: Capezio Women’s Brief, Nude
This costume traveled well and fit into a gallon ziplock baggie in my suitcase. I wore it on a Halloween cruise last year with my costuming friend Tina and my blogging besties Miranda from Spooky Little Halloween and Cheyenne from Sense & Serendipity. We had the best time!
Up next are more costumes from the cruise, and eventually the Halloween cruise itself!
[Related: Halloween Cruise? Don’t Mind if I Boo! (Part 1: The Cruise) and Halloween Cruise? Don’t Mind if I Boo! (Part 2: The Costumes)]
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