How to make an Arabian Nights costume

1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume

Every year the PTA at our elementary school hosts a fancy dress fundraiser. It's always held on the third weekend of October, so parents like to come in a costume that matches the party theme.  This year's theme was 1001 Arabian nights, so we had a lot of Arab sheiks, sultans, genies, and belly dancers.

There's a huge variety of costumes for this theme available for sale.  Most of the women's costumes are pretty skimpy, though; they're totally inappropriate for a school social event, even an adults-only one!  And many of them require more of a $$ investment than I'm willing to make for just one night. I found it cheaper and more fun to put a costume together myself by purchasing individual costume items.
Here was my costume: belly dancing pants, a veil, a tank top, and a sash.  I found the pants on eBay for just $6.50. The veil, also from eBay, was just $3.50 (not to mention free shipping!).  The tank top and sash were just things I already owned. Behold, I was able to put together an awesome outfit for just $10!
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume

Here are some suggestions for putting together an Arabian Nights or Aladdin-themed costume without spending too much money (or showing too much skin!):

Use what you have
Even though the auction is technically an adults-only event, I took The Pea as my date. I figured she's not exactly a child in looks or behavior, Alfie couldn't use his ticket (he was at a soccer tournament with the boys), and she would be home alone with nothing to eat. She wore a black dress and used 2 infinity scarves: one draped over her head, and one worn over one shoulder as a sash.  She looked gorgeous! Other clothes you can wear: a tank top (so much more comfy and less revealing than a bikini top or crop top!  If you have a sparkly one, so much the better!), harem pants, or yoga pants.
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume

1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume



Make your own headdress
I love my friend Sheila's homemade headdress. She took an elastic band and sewed gold bangles all around, then attached a square of blue organza to the back.
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume


Pile on the accessories
Wear lots of gold jewelry!  Think beaded headpieces, gigantic dangling earrings, and chunky necklaces. Many parents chose to wear cocktail outfits with middle eastern-themed accessories instead of wearing a full-blown costume.
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume

Think outside of the box
There are so many images associated with Aladdin and Arabian nights: palm trees, monkeys, flying carpets, magic lanterns.  Your costume could be any one of these!  Here's my friend Catherine in a camel costume.  One other guy wore a dark t-shirt with felt moon and stars glued to it (he was literally the Arabian night).
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume

A bit of creativity and patience is all it takes to put together an outfit that will rock the casbah!  Have a magical time at your party!
1001 Arabian Nights / Aladdin costume


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