Mad as a March Hare

I've been waiting to write this post since September!

I've just got back from a costume party based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I went as the March Hare, my favourite character from the Alice books. (The phrase “mad as a March Hare” apparently refers to their strange behaviour in the spring, when hares appear to box with each other. This isn't males competing over territory or mating rights as you might expect, but female hares rebuffing the advances of males.) I decided to put together an outfit loosely-based on the version of the character from the 1951 Disney animation. I didn't want to end up buying clothes that I'd only wear once so I tried to only spend money on things that I thought I'd use after the party.

Here's Disney's March Hare:

I think his blond hair is supposed to be a reference to the original Tenniel illustrations of the character, where he's drawn with straw on his head, (a visual reference to madness in Victorian times).

Here's my costume:

This is what I spent:

Orange bow-tie – (handmade) You can read more about the making of the bow-tie here.

Orange blazer – (£13.18, eBay) I'm not sure if I am going to wear this more than once, but sadly the first jacket that I bought, (which I quite liked), got lost in the post necessitating an urgent replacement. I did change the button on the front

Blue shirt – (£14.90, Uniqlo) I love long-sleeved, button-down shirts, but I don't own very many. It's difficult to buy a well-fitted women's shirt off-the-rack. When I'm a millionaire I'm going to get a tailor to make me a dozen beautifully fitted shirts, but until then this will have to do.

Red vest – (£4.99, New Look)

Black skirt – (price unknown, Gap) I owned this already.

Brown tights – (£5 for a pack of three, Sainsbury's)

Red and black shoes – (£8, charity shop) Black shoes purchased from a local charity shop and painted red. I ignored all online advice about painting shoes and painted these with some acrylic craft paint that I had to hand. It worked, but I needed a lot of layers to cover up the black.

Ears and tail – (handmade) I did need to buy a headband (£1, East End Cosmetics), but I had all the rest of the material I needed for these. You can't see the tail in the photo above, but I do have one! I also bleached the front section of my hair for extra authenticity.

£46.07 in total, (which seems to be about what it would cost to buy a costume from a shop), but I know I'll wear most of this again, (although it remains to be seen whether or not the paint will come off the shoes).

And I made these Alice in Wonderland mittens for my hostess! The pattern is definitely available through Ravelry and I think it may also be available in the designer's Etsy shop.