General Goddess Costume

• When most people talk about goddess costumes in the West, they are referring to the Roman and Greek goddess models, complete with flowing dress. This dress usually has a couple distinct attributes: it is light in color; sleeveless or with flowing, slashed sleeves; and loose-fitting. The dress should be gathered at the waist, often with a criss-crossing gold or silver-colored cord, in the style of gladiator shoes. To make the general goddess costume, you could do a couple of things. If you can sew, pick up a sewing pattern for a goddess dress by Simplicity or another popular pattern producer. Otherwise, find a loose fitting, light-colored dress, preferably floor-length and tie a metallic cord several times around the waist. Empire-waist dresses work well for a goddess costume. To finish the look, put your hair up in a fancy up-do, put on large, metallic jewelry and for added impact, use shimmery lotion over any exposed skin.
  
  

Specific Goddess Costumes

• If you prefer, dress as a specific goddess in the Greek and Roman traditions instead of just going as a generic goddess. While there are plenty to choose from, the most popular and well-known goddesses are Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite. The costumes are similar to each other and should follow the basic goddess costume with a few additions. For an Athena costume, the goddess or wisdom and warfare, among other things, a shield and either a spear or a sword will work. For Artemis, goddess of the hunt, a bow and a quiver of arrows will convey the character. For Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, use hearts in the jewelry of the costume.
  
  

Group Ideas

• If you are going to a costume party with a group of friends or a significant other, there are specific themed goddess costumes that work better with others than alone. Hades, god of the underworld, kidnapped and married Persephone, making her his queen. This would be an apropos choice for couples for Halloween. A group of three women could go as the Fates: Clotho, the spinner of the thread of life, Lachesis, the Fate in charge of measuring the thread and apportioning it and Atropos, the Fate in charge of cutting the thread of life and determining how each person dies. Hang the various implements of the Fates: a (spinning) wheel, a measuring stick and a pair of scissors on a pendant to differentiate the costumes.