I’m getting married on 11/11/11 - we chose the date because it’s the start of the carnival season.
It’s the second marriage for both of us and we both had rather traditional weddings the first time round so now we’re going for something different - a carnival party with everybody in costume.
My fiancé will be wearing a sort of “classy clown” costume - red tailcoat (slightly too big), tux trousers (slightly too short), battered, multicolored Doc Martens. He’ll be wearing classic clown make-up - he usually does his carnival make-up himself, but for the wedding we’ll have a make-up artist.
I’m a bit off a loss though as to my make-up. Of course I want to look a bit silly, but also cute at the same time.
I’m sure the make-up artist will be able to come up with something but I want to show her some suggestions of my own before we start (we will have a trial run before the actual wedding).
I will be wearing a short white and red petticoat, red and white Doc Martens (no blisters for me at THIS wedding!), a red corset plus this tailcoat corset, also in white and red. I addition a mini top hat that looks like a miniature wedding cake, complete with a small plastic wedding couple on top. I have short hair, so no elaborate hair-do necessary.
So, Dopers - what would you suggest? A silly/cute clown bride make-up - should’nt be too hard for the teeming millions, right?!
My first impulse is to look into commedia dell’arte styles, as they provide the origins of modern clown art, but have a classy look that a red rubber nose is just missing.
This womanis wearing a mask, for example (from these awesome maskmakers) that could be inspiration for makeup for a clown wedding, IMHO. It’s very cute and clownlike without making me think of Bozo. If it were I, I’d probably press to actual wear a couple of their masks, instead of makeup, actually!
Or you could go with something even more refined, like this(other cool looks from the same portfolio on thispage).
If you want to go more Barnum and Bailey, then simply using more translucent makeups to mimic the ol’ grease paint can give you a cutefeminine look.
Moving into more postmodern clownery, thisis really pretty, IMHO, from this how-to page.
Of course, there’s something irresistible about the minimalistfreckled clown look, too!
Thanks a lot! Great suggestions!!! The masks are awesome!
I especially like the postmodern make-up **WhyNot **linked to. When I googled for “female clown make-up” I came up with this picture. I like the asymmetrical look but the eye and nose color is not quite what I’m looking for… .
I DO like the squeaking rubber nose though. Food for thought…
Ooh, pretty! I like how she hints at the classic harlequin patches by simply leaving some skin exposed. Nice and subtle. I suppose you have to have the right skintone to pull it off, though.
I’d keep the eyebrow arch convex for a wedding, though. No one wants to see a sad bride.
I also though immediately of the Venice Carnival- while most people wear masks, you can see how a look like this could translate very easily into makeup instead.
Dang! Now I wish I had planned a Superhero wedding! That would totally rock!!
Honestly though - I like the simplicity of Harley’s make-up. Just the lips and the mask - make it a bit more colorful, like a venetian mask and it might work really well.
When I saw the title of your thread, I immediately thought, “The bride should wear white, of course.” So, while your [costume|outfit] sounds great, my vote is that the makeup should be whiteface. Three variations come to mind - a white oval covering only your eyes, sort of like a domino mask; a white oval covering your entire face; or all exposed skin in pure white.
