Michael Jackson Thriller Costume

Michael Jackson Thriller Costume

There is only one way to dress as Michael Jackson for halloween: to go with the most classic, recognizable image that everone will notice immediately – that unmistakable THRILLER wordrobe.

Anything after this time period might either be meanly mocking the King of Pop, or will be passed off by other party goers as merely “ganster” (as in the Black or White era) or just plain eccentric.

Before I get started, let me explain something you definitely should NOT do when completing your Michael Jackson Outfit: DO NOT, I repeat, Do Not dye your face or skin. This is seen as very offensive by many people of color given the history of skin painting during more racist times in the United States.

And now on to the fun! The first element of the Thriller look (and by this a refer to all the videos from the album “Thriller”) is the Jerry curl. This can be achieved in two ways, a wig or a professional perm (make sure you have long enough hair!). If you do decide to go with the wig, a Michael Jackson specific wig from a costume shop should be easy enough to come by. Otherwise, I suggest buying a curly hair wig and cutting it yourself.

The second essential element is the leather jacket. A VERY 80s jacket! Go check out some photos of Mike during this time. While it doesn’t have to be leather, plastics, or “pleather” will do just fine, but what it must have is lots of zippers and buttons. After you have just the right red jacket, everything else is gravy for your Michael Jackson halloween costume.

What to wear under the jacket? Almost anything will do. In his Beat It and Thriller videos, he just wore a simple, tight fitting t-shirt. In the Bad video, an undershirt wasn’t even visible, so don’t sweat this one too much!

Next are the red pants for your ultimate Michael Jackson costume. During this era he also usually wore black pants or jeans, on the tight side that were just short enough to show his socks. Go with lighter colored socks so they are easily identified as having that Thriller vibe. In some pictures they were even gold or silver sparkled! Now that’s snazzy.

Finally, you just need some shoes to top off that Michael Jackson outfit. One word: loafers. Despite the bad boy dress, Mike always had on black loafers over those white socks. Any used clothes shop will have a pair of penny loafers that will give you an instant Michael Jackson look.

Finally, saunter into that halloween party, do a spin, grab your crotch and hit a moonwalk across the room and you’ll be the hit of the party! And don’t forget to beat it while you’re there in your Michael Jackson Thriller Costume!

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