Here's a brief list of costume ideas inspired by the songs of Lloyd H. Miller and the Deedle Deedle Dees . I've organized them roughly according to difficulty. Some brand-new unrecorded songs (like my new tune about Diana Nyad) are here to give you even more options. I've also included some suggestions for spinning boring store-bought costumes as something a bit more Dee-lightful (sorry).
EASY costumes
Diana Nyad - a cap and some goggles
John Muir - wear some pants and a shirt and some boots then add a long beard made out of whatever you've got lying around: your dad's old socks, a dishtowel, some construction paper, some yarn, etc.
Blood - wear all red clothing and say you're dressed as the "River of Blood." if people look at you funny, look all put-out and tell them about the Deedle Deedle Dees' song about the circulatory system. act like it's crazy they've never heard it.
Cool Papa Bell or Satchel Paige - put on your little league uniform. replace the name of your team on the jersery and the logo on the hat with the name and logo of some awesome Negro League team that Cool Papa or Satchel played for: the Kansas City Monarchs, the Homestead Grays, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, etc. where to get the logo and name? just draw 'em on heavy-duty paper and tape 'em on.
Subway car - get a box, decorate it like a classic Bluebird subway car, cut a hole for your head and arms. rule Halloween. tell people the history of the Bluebird you learned from our song.
Tenzing Norgay or Matthew Henson - Put on every piece of winter outerwear you have. say you're Tenzing Norgay leading the way to the top of Chomolungma AKA Everest. Or Matthew Henson on your way to the North Pole.
Diego Rivera - put on some pants and a button-up short sleeve shirt. put a pillow under your shirt to create a giant belly. get a paint brush. tell people you're Diego Rivera. if possible, have someone else in your family dress as Frida (but this costume is kind of labor intensive)
Wilma Rudolph - wear your school P.E. uniform or gym clothes. tell people you're Wilma Rudolph.
STORE-BOUGHT SPINS
Elsa or Anna from Frozen - say that you're Marie Curie after working with radioactive material. or Eleanor's Roosevelt's nightmare of what it meant to be First Lady (a party hostess). or a bird (consult the song "Birds of America Don't Care-Oh" for a bird name you like to say).
A bear costume - Say you're dressed as the bear from "Growl Growl," our song about the creation of the Alaskan flag and the constellation configuration (that appears as a big spoon or a bear depending how you see it) that helps us find the North Star
Buzz Lightyear - Pick one of the four female astronauts mentioned in my new tune, "The Rocket Went Up" (Valentina Tereshkova, Christa McAuliffe, Mae Jemison, Sally Ride) and say you're dressed as her.
The classic two-person horse costume - say you're dressed as Baldy, the Civil War horse we salute in hip hop song
Pocahantas or any of those gross Native American girl costumes - Tie a baby doll to your back with a sheet. Tell people you're Sacagawea and that Lewis and Clark were your assistants as you led an expedition across the country.
HARD COSTUMES
Everything here is period stuff you'll have to gather or sew.
Nellie Bly - look up her picture and you'll see the challenge she presents. you'll need a long skirt, a hat, that fancy shirt, an umbrella if possible. maybe some stuff that looks like this is hidden in your basement or closet from a grandmother or something. or maybe you're a master of the sewing machine and can make it.
other period costumes with an accompanying Dee song:
Harriet Tubman
Theodore Roosevelt
Abigail Adams
Henry Box Brown
Edgar Allan Poe
Sojourner Truth
