Walk like an Egyptian-Nefertiti Costume

So I have always been entrigued with Nefertiti. It’s been my email address name since I was 16 years old, and that’s a long time ago now. She has been known for her beauty and grace, and after watching a documentary of her Bust being found in Egypt, I have always idolized her since I was a child.

Well that’s half the battle. I am always known for my scary, creepy winning costumes. (clown, witch doctor, zombie, etc) and always like to make everything from scratch. So it was hard for me to do a “beautiful costume” and to live up to my idol.

I searched and searched the internet and could hardly find any or no guidance on how to make her costume. (Without being for kids or using construction paper) I didnt want to buy a plastic looking costume from a costume shop so I decided to make the whole outfit from scratch. The hardest thing was making the headpiece.

I started in March thinking of ways to make the headpiece. I have a little thing I call “Big-head-itis” and with my super crazy long hair its hard to find hats to fit my head. I looked in second hand shops for lamp shades, but couldnt find anything to fit. I didn’t want to use cardboard since it’s too thin, so I went to my dad. He works in the heating trade and I asked him if he had a durable material that would not be too heavy but would stand straight. He recommended Thermopan (joist liner) its bright silver and you can find it in any hardware type store. I cut out the shape, and I was motivated to keep going. I covered the entire hat in blue duct tape, then spray painted it navy blue to match her real bust. I went to the fabric store and bought some strips to do the lining around the hat and loop of the snake. For the snake I bought a $2 one from the dollar store; I cut the tail off and bought some cheap paint from there to line in gold and give some color. I went to a second hand store and bought green,red and navy T-shirts and cut them into squares. From the Michaels craft store I bought glittered foam paper that has a sticky background and made the trim around the hat. For the forehead part I used a piece of foam and covered it in gold fabric. I was pleased with the final result and it fit my big head!! haha

For my Crook and Flail, I again went to my dad. With his garage full of goodies, we took some copper tubing and we melded them into shape. I used yellow and blue duct tape for the finished affect and some beads tied to the loop we melded on the end.

I bought a black dress second hand for only $5 from the local Sally Ann. From the fabric store I found some sheer blue material to use as a cape. I sewed it on the top shoulders and added 2 snaps on my wrists so it stayed in place all night. I used a table runner I found from the dollar store and sewed it onto the gold belt I attached (it just tied in the back) On top of that I used foam (my new favorite material) and bought a bunch of stick on jewels from the dollar store to have more effect at night and stand out; also I glued them onto my shoes so everything matched. (It would have been better if they had brown but they were not really in stock here in october – too cold)

The only thing I purchased was my Egyptian collar necklace. It was actually not too expensive ($20). I ordered it online from a company from Egypt so it was quite authentic feeling. I also bought a Scarab ring from the same place. Other items were found second hand as well.

All in all, I actualy felt quite regal for the night. I received tons of compliments, the best one being where did you buy your costume? That one always feels good, and believe me I am not close to being a professional seamstress (I usually glue or duct tape everything). The funniest thing, is that I always need to be authentic to the costume, so I went all night not wearing my glasses. I could hear the compliments but couldn’t really see who was saying them!

I really hope my costume inspires others in the future and the details help in making your own personalized masterpiece!

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