While you might not see many people dressing up like Cupid for Valentine's Day, there are other fun Valentine's costumes or holiday-related outfits that you can wear for fun and to add a little spark of romance to the day dedicated to love.
Types of Valentine's Costumes
Hearts and the colors red and pink are the main themes when it comes to Valentine's costumes. Lingerie costumes are popular for women, while men might be decked out in red smoking jackets, silk pajamas or the ever-popular heart-covered silk boxer shorts.
These costumes might not be appropriate for wearing outside of the privacy of your own home. If you're attending or throwing a Valentine's costume party, you might have to get a little more creative when it comes to your costume choice.
About Cupid
As mentioned earlier, Cupid is probably the first thing most people think of when they think of Valentine's costumes. The little cherub who shoots people with his love arrows is a necessity for any good Valentine's party, even if the rest of the partygoers aren't dressed up.
In mythology, Cupid is a boy, but most of the costumes you find for Cupid are designed for women. They usually include a short dress that looks somewhat toga-inspired, wings and a bow and arrow. The dress and accessories are often covered with hearts. Any fairy costume could be altered into a Cupid costume by adding some cut out hearts in red and pink, and making or purchasing a bow and arrow.
Sexy Valentine's Costumes
Other Valentine's costumes tend toward the sexy or risqué. Doctors and nurses are very popular, for reasons we can't get into on a family website. People can dress in inmate clothes and be prisoners of love, or dress as the King and Queen of Hearts. Devils, especially sexy devils, are also popular. Any costume that includes an element of fantasy is a great choice for Valentine's Day, whether you're going to a party or staying in. Here are some fun, sexy suggestions:
Sources for Valentine's Costumes
There are many places you can buy costumes for Valentine's Day online. This will probably be your best bet, since a lot of seasonal costume stores have closed by the time you're thinking about Valentine's. Here are some sites to get you started:
Make Your Own Costume
If you'd like to make your own costume, you have a lot of options. The easiest thing would be to buy a red or pink sweat suit and lots of different pieces of felt or fabric in different shades of red, pink, white and black. Cut out a bunch of heart shapes (use a cookie cutter to make a template if you don't want to freehand it) and then glue or pin the hearts to the suit.
Add glitter if you like, or write on the fabric with fabric paint as if the hearts were conversation hearts (then you'll want to make pastel hearts, of course. A fun hat (also in holiday colors) would be a great addition.
A homemade Cupid costume for a man or a woman could start with a toga. If you happen to have a pink sheet, that would be ideal, but a white one is fine, too. Add a belt made of gold cord, sandals and a homemade bow and arrow with a heart on the end of the bow. Add wings made out of wire hangers shaped to look like wings and covered with white panty hose.
Just wearing pink or red to a Valentine's party is often enough of a costume if you take it over the top. Make sure everything you're wearing is pink or red, and throw on a feather boa to match for extra flair. If all else fails, you can put on those fancy silk boxer shorts, just wear them on the outside of your clothes.
