Homemade Leopard Costumes

A leopard costume can be fun, flirty, classy, glamorous, or just plain adorable! It's a very versatile costume. This page will give you ideas and tips for making yourself into a glamorous, fun leopard-kitty! You can wear this kind of costume for Halloween, costume parties all year, cosplay events, or any time!! And the pieces can be re-worn all year as regular fashion accessories, so check out all the great costume pieces on this page!!

Also check out the special section on this page about white leopards!! Snow leopards are adorable, and make a great costume!!

For your leopard costume, start by gathering up every leopard-print garment and accessory you own. Sweaters, purses, jewelry, socks... everything. See what you have, and check what you need. If you have a leopard-print dress (or pantsuit or top and pants/skirt) already, you're halfway there.

Your dress (pantsuit, etc) will be the base of your costume. Beyond that, you can add tights, gloves, scarves, shoes... Anything leopard-print. You'll also need black or leopard-print kitty ears, and perhaps a tail. A tail can be made by sewing a long strip of fabric into a tube (right-sides-together), then turning inside out so the seam doesn't show. Ears could be storebought (you can buy some on Amazon through the links below), or you could sew some spotted fabric into little ear-shapes and attaching to a plain black headband.

Hair can be worn in any way desired. Nails could be painted black (to look like sharp shiny claws) or, with some meticulous design work, could be painted with tiny leopard spots! Keep reading below for mask and face painting ideas!

(photo by scraps patchwork on scrapspatchwork.com)

Here are five glamorous leopard-print dresses. They will give you the perfect start to your costume, and you can buy them directly through these links! Enjoy!

Leopards have very distinct, spotty faces, so you'll need a mask, or to paint your face.

You could make or buy a mask. If you make one, try using papier mache (Yeah, like we did in Kindergarten! You know. Newspaper strips and flour-water paste). You could also cut regular paper out in a mask shape, or use fake fur or fabric.

To paint your face, try some professional-grade face paints, not acrylics. Snazaroo is a great brand, and it won't itch or give you a rash for Halloween. When painting your face, reference photos of real leopards, as well as face-painting designs like the one in the photos on this page.

Do you have the face paint you need to pull off a kitty-licious leopard face? Don't forget ears, a tail, or a trendy leopard bag to hold your trick-or-treat candy!! Spotted tights and black shiny fingernails can add just the right touch of glamour. These Amazon finds will help complete your look.

Here are some products to help you with a white leopard costume! If you're looking for an even MORE unique costume, a white leopard is even more fancy and lovable than a regular leopard! These great costume pieces will help you complete your costume!

Say hi and tell me about your costume!