Raven costumes are a great option for Halloween, a costume party or Mardi Gras.
Ravens have fascinated people throughout history and were made famous in Edgar Allan Poe’s dark tale The Raven.
If you would like to dress up as a raven this year, there are many fabulous costume options.
Raven Costumes for Women: If you’re looking for a ready-made costume, then your best option is Queen Ravenna, Charlize Theron’s villainous character from Snow White and the Huntsmen. But you could also piece together your own raven costume, either sleek and modern or with a Renaissance twist. If you would rather put your own costume together, I’ve got some ideas for you and links to some awesome tutorials. There’s also a very beautiful and dramatic raven make-up tutorial to help you create an impressive look.
Raven Costumes for Men: There’s one fun and silly ready-made raven costume that’s pretty cool or you can piece together your own raven costume: choose a fitted black t-shirt, faux leather pants, raven mask and wings. I’ve gone shopping for you and selected a few of the sexiest options.
Cute Couples Costume Idea: One of you could dress up as the raven and the other could be Edgar Allan Poe.
Women’s Raven Costumes
{Ready Made Costumes}
Deluxe Queen Ravenna Costume – Dress with Feather Collar
When you think about raven costumes Queen Ravenna, the evil stepmother from Snow White and the Huntsman, comes to mind. The movie itself wasn’t that great but Ravenna was a very intriguing character with her superhuman strength, her habit of bathing in milk and her ability to transform herself into a flock of ravens.
The deluxe Queen Ravenna costume features a long black sequinned dress with mesh sleeves and a feathered collar that is designed to stand upright. Ravenna’s silver fingertips, dagger and crown are available for purchase separately. The costume is available in small (2-6), medium (6-10) and large (10-14).
{DIY Raven Costumes for Women}
When it comes to fashioning your own raven costume there are so many ways you can go.
Choose a Mask and Pick your Wings:
Masquerade Mask with Feathers
Feather Chiffon Fairy Wings
Sleek Feathered Epaulette Raven ShrugBlack Feather Raven Shoulderpiece
A feathered Venetian mask is a great way to add mystery and allure to your costume. The mask shown is made of leather and plastic, and is decorated with feathers, beads, glitter and lace.
I love all of these Raven wing options. The chiffon wings offer a delicate look and would look fabulous with a modern slip dress or a medievel-inspired dress (and you could easily reuse it next year when you dress up as an evil fairy). If you want a minimal feathered look that you can attach to your clothing, then the raven shoulder epaulettes are a good option. Alternatively, there is also the adjustable shoulder shrug with adjustable satin ribbons and a drawstring closure.
Select Your Outfit:
Romantic Renaissance Dress (Raven Costume Idea)
This year I am completely enamoured with the Renaissance dress paired with wings idea. This dress is gorgeous. It hugs in all the right places and has flowing fabric giving that romantic Renaissance look. The dress is made of comfortable lightweight cotton and is available in a range of sizes from small to plus sizes.
Other Clothing Ideas:
- Catsuit. A faux leather or rubber-look catsuit is a great base for your raven costume. Very alluring and sexy.
- Bodysuit and Leggings. A black bodysuit and a pair of leggings also make a great raven costume base and are a wonderful addition to any wardrobe so you’ll be able to wear them long after Halloween.
- Corset. A beautiful black corset with a tulle skirt makes for a wonderful burlesque-inspired raven costume.
- Steampunk attire. A flowing black corset top over a sateen brocade skirt provides the basis for a steampunk-inspired raven costume.
Raven Costume Tutorials:
- No Sew Raven/Crow Costume Cape. This tutorial, courtesy of Martha Stewart, includes a template and shows you how to make a feathered cape with black felt, velvet ribbon, feathers and a hot glue gun.
- Beginner’s DIY Raven Costume. I absolutely adore this look. This step-by-step tutorial shows how even a beginner with little sewing experience can create a fabulous feathered raven costume.
- Last Minute Raven Costume.This is a child’s costume but I think it would easily translate into an adult costume and may be just the thing if you’re short on time. All you need is a black hoodie, a feathered boa and some stiff black felt. They’ve used googly eyes but for a more adult look you could either sew or glue some sequins or rhinestones for the eyes.
{Raven Makeup}
I love this tutorial! The eyes are so dramatic. You can replicate this entire look or just pick and choose a few elements from it. If you don’t want to wear a mask then she shows you how to turn your nose into a beak with makeup.
Raven Lore
Ravens are very clever birds surrounded by superstition and myth. Larger than the common crow, ravens can live up to 30 years and have a wingspan over 1 meter. Because they feed on carrion – and love to pick the eyes out of corpses – they have become a symbol of death. They have a keen sense of smell that is drawn to rotting flesh. They have a deep and haunting voice that sounds like they’re saying ‘corpse, corpse’. As a harbinger of death it is believed that if an ill person sees a raven then they will not recover.
In Norse tradition the god Odin kept two ravens and used them to spy on people. In some cultures it is believed that the raven can fly between this world and the afterlife. It is also believed that ravens can be inhabited by a human soul and that the raven is also a disguise for the Devil.
But not all superstitions are negative. In Welsh tradition, if a blind person is kind to a raven then they’re sight may be restored.
Raven Costumes for Men
The raven (or crow) costume is a fun an goofy costume that will be lots of Halloween fun. The outfit includes a black tunic that has rounded fabric rows to create a feathered look, it includes a tail and ‘wing’ sleeves. The outfit comes with a matching headpiece that has a felt beak and eyes. Available in standard and extra-large sizes.
{Put Together Your Own Raven Costume}
Your raven costume begins with a black shirt and black pants. There are many sexy styles of shirts and pants to choose from. Here are my favorite selections:
Fitted Shirt (Raven Costume Idea)Faux Leather Biker Pants for Men
A fitted black shirt is the perfect base for your raven costume, and you can use it throughout the year as well.
These faux leather pants are awesome and very sexy. They will look great for your raven costume and there’s so much more you can do with them too. They’re perfect for every day use, or you can use them for next Halloween and be a biker, rock star or one of Anne Rice’s rock n’ roll vampires from her popular series The Vampire Chronicles.
Venetian Long-Nosed Raven Mask (one-size)Men’s Raven Costume Black Feather Shrug
Finish off your costume with a pair of black wings and a long nose masquerade mask.
Scary Raven Mask with Moving Beak
If you’d rather go with a spookier option then this ravenous raven mask is for you. The mask has a movable beak that wiggles as you talk and while you can see through the pupils no one can see your eyes. Very spooky!
Happy Halloween!
Images:
1) Featured image courtesy of Pixabay.
2) Raven Close-Up, Public Domain Image from Pixabay
3) Perched Raven, Public Domain Image from Pixabay
Updated: September 10, 2022
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