Corpse Bride Costume
Bring Tim Burton's iconic undead bride to life with tattered elegance.
Emily from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a Halloween favorite for those who love gothic romance and striking makeup. The look centers around a tattered, blue-tinged wedding dress, a matching veil with dead roses, and skeletal details. With the right body paint and a long blue wig, you can easily recreate her hauntingly beautiful appearance.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time
- ~120 min
- Budget
- $40–120
Try it on
See yourself as Corpse Bride
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What you need for a Corpse Bride costume
Short on time? Buy it ready-made
Spirit Halloween sells the complete Corpse Bride costume — one box instead of 6 pieces.
Strapless off-white wedding dress
A sweetheart neckline maxi dress or old wedding gown, distressed at the hem with blue and grey fabric paint.
DIY: Use an old white dress and cut a high slit on the right side, then shred the hemline with fabric shears.
Long wavy blue wig
A long, center-parted wig in a dusty blue or dark teal shade with loose waves.
DIY: Dye a white synthetic wig using blue polyester fabric dye.
Blue rose flower crown with veil
A headband featuring dark, withered blue roses attached to a long, tattered white or light blue tulle veil.
DIY: Hot glue artificial blue roses to a headband and attach a piece of shredded, tea-stained tulle.
Blue and white body paint
Water-activated or cream-based body paint in light blue, white, and dark blue for shading.
Skeletal arm and leg makeup or tights
Black and white paint to draw bones on your right arm and leg, or pre-printed skeleton tights and sleeves.
DIY: Paint your right arm black and use white fabric paint or body paint to draw the arm bones.
Dead blue rose bouquet
A small bundle of artificial blue and grey roses wrapped in tattered ribbon.
DIY: Lightly spray-paint artificial white roses with dusty blue and black paint to make them look dead.
Rather not assemble it? See ready-made Corpse Bride costumes at Spirit Halloween ↗
How to put it together
- 1
Distress the white dress by tearing the hemline and using watered-down blue and grey acrylic paint to create a dirty, gradient effect at the bottom.
- 2
Apply a base of pale blue body paint to your face, neck, chest, and left arm, leaving your right arm bare for the skeletal design.
- 3
Paint your right arm entirely black, then use white body paint to draw the skeletal arm bones (radius, ulna, and hand bones).
- 4
Put on a wig cap, secure the long blue wavy wig with bobby pins, and place the blue rose crown with the veil on top.
- 5
Carefully step into the distressed wedding dress, ensuring the slit on the right side showcases your right leg (which can be painted with skeletal bones or covered in a skeleton stocking).
- 6
Apply dramatic makeup, focusing on large white-painted circles around your eyes, dark blue eyeshadow contouring, and a small painted-on scar on your left cheek.
- 7
Complete the look by carrying your bouquet of withered blue roses.
Makeup & hair
Use pale blue face paint as a base, contouring with dark blue eyeshadow around the cheeks, nose, and collarbones. Draw large, round eyes with white eyeliner on your lids and black liquid liner for dramatic lashes, then wear a long, wavy dusty-blue wig.
Corpse Bride for couples, groups, kids & more
- couples
- Pair with Victor Van Dort in a slim-fit pinstripe suit, messy black hair, and pale makeup.
- group
- Add Victor, Victoria Everglot in a Victorian gown, and even Scraps the skeleton dog.
- kids
- Use a simple blue tutu dress, a mini veil, and light blue face paint for a comfortable kid-friendly version.
- Plus size
- An A-line or empire-waist white maxi dress provides a comfortable, flowing fit that is easy to distress.
- pet
- Dress a small dog as Scraps using a skeleton print dog sweater.
More ways people search for this costume
The most-searched variations of “Corpse Bride costume”, and how this look adapts to each.
Corpse bride costume couple
- Pair with Victor Van Dort in a slim-fit pinstripe suit, messy black hair, and pale makeup.
Corpse bride costume diy
- Skip the store: Use an old white dress and cut a high slit on the right side, then shred the hemline with fabric shears. Dye a white synthetic wig using blue polyester fabric dye. Hot glue artificial blue roses to a headband and attach a piece of shredded, tea-stained tulle.
Tips
- Set your blue body paint with a translucent setting powder to prevent it from smudging onto your white dress.
- If you don't want to paint your arm, wear a black sleeve or glove and paint white bones directly onto the fabric.
- Use fabric shears to create jagged tears in the dress hem rather than regular scissors for a more natural, shredded look.
- Keep a damp cloth or makeup wipes handy during the night to clean up any accidental paint transfers.
Corpse Bride costume FAQ
- How do you make the skeletal arm for a Corpse Bride costume?
- You can paint your right arm black and use white body paint to draw the radius, ulna, and hand bones, or wear a pre-printed skeleton sleeve.
- What makeup do you need for Emily from Corpse Bride?
- You need pale blue cream face paint, dark blue eyeshadow for contouring, white eyeliner to enlarge your eyes, and black liquid eyeliner for dramatic lashes.
- How do you dye or stain the Corpse Bride dress?
- Mix blue and grey acrylic paint with water in a spray bottle, then lightly mist the bottom hem of a white dress to create a gradient, tattered look.
Did you know? Emily's character design was heavily inspired by gothic romanticism, and the stop-motion puppets used in the film had mechanical armatures covered in foam latex.