This Year’s Halloween Costume: Daphne Moon

I have to admit, I’ve been growing a bit weary of dressing up for Halloween in recent years. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love putting on a costume and going out to have fun. But I am getting tired of having to spend a few hundred dollars minimum every year on stuff I’m never going to wear again. So this year I wanted something simple that already (mostly) existed in my closet. Enter Daphne Moon.

We’ve been having a Frasier binge of late, and since we just did Seinfeld for our costumes last year, the idea gradually came to me, and I realized exactly how easy it would be! This is another one that could work for your office Halloween party. And like Elaine, Daphne would work well as part of a couples’ costume or especially as part of an ensemble! (Note: This post contains affiliate links to items that you can purchase from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you.)

Here’s everything you need to easily put together your Daphne costume for next year:

• Top: Just about any short-sleeved, fitted black top should do. Maybe one with a turtleneck or slightly rolled, snug sleeves or cap sleeves. I already owned the perfect one from years ago, but here’s a very similar one for only $20.
• Skirt: Grab a red or yellow pleated plaid skirt. Something like this would work well. (The one I’m wearing, along with the belt it came with, is true Millennial vintage–it’s the first skirt I ever bought, back in high school when I was first getting to experiment with my own sense of style! They really just made clothing better back then.)
• Shoes: A few options here. You could do pair of black leather loafers like I did. (I wore this pair from Franco Sarto and find them very comfortable, though they’re a bit pricey for a one-time use if you don’t have any other need for them.) For a cheaper option that’s still incredibly ’90s, something like these would work well. You could also opt for some chunky Mary-Janes or lace-up Oxfords.
• Tights: Pair some opaque black tights with your skirt. I love these, and since I wear tights almost every day at work, I have bought a bunch of them in several colors! They are so comfortable and sturdy and last through many wears and washes as long as I don’t put them in the dryer. It’s a nice, thick material that doesn’t snag nearly as easily as many others I have worn. (I mean, any tights are going to snag if you attack them with something rough enough, but I’ve owned these for a year of weekly wear and they look brand new. That’s how much I love these tights, you guys.)
• Hair: I did not have similar enough hair this year, but I found the perfect wig. I was shocked when I opened it up because I expected something pretty cheap. This, however, was a quality wig for an incredibly low price point–thick and lush–and I was receiving compliments on it all night from people who weren’t sure if it was my real hair saying I could wear it out if I wanted to! One person even gasped when I reached up to adjust it after several minutes of conversation and said, “That’s a WIG!? This whole time I thought it was your real hair!” Grab the color Brown Mixed. (It’s sort of a reddish-blondeish-brunette.) As a side note, this could totally double as a Peggy Bundy wig if you wanted to go as another sitcom queen some other time!
• Bag: I got a Union Jack bag to carry my belongings around all night, as an extra hint about who I was. When people saw that, they put together that I was supposed to be English.
• Jack Russell: What really made the costume click for everyone the most was when they saw “Eddie”. I got a stuffed Jack Russell terrier to carry around with me all night and introduced him to people. I lucked out by finding a real one-of-a-kind one on eBay, substantial and handmade sometime in the ’70s or ’80s, most likely. Several people thought I was carrying a real dog! But since there’s only one of him, this one or this one might work for you instead. Another thing you might try, especially if you’re nostalgic, is searching for a vintage Wishbone toy on eBay. I saw several of those and was really tempted to grab one.

For makeup, you’ll want to aim for a mid-’90s “soft natural” aesthetic. Fresh-faced and feminine, a satin finish, rosy or peachy-pink blush. Brows softly arched and natural, eyeshadow softly subtle and neutral, and dark brown eyeliner and mascara. Creamy or satin lips in a mauve or muted plum color.

Also going to add that if you have never watched Frasier, we are halfway through season 7 and have not seen a bad episode yet! There are very few shows I can say that about.