If you’re looking for a creative, but recognizable Halloween costume, you might want to think about dressing up as Kathy Beth Terry. If you don’t recognize the name, Kathy Beth Terry is the 13-year-old girl from the music video for Katy Perry’s hit “Last Friday Night.” With a little help from Rebecca Black, Kathy goes from geek to eighties chick. Follow these steps if you want to undergo the same transformation:
Bright Clothes
If you want to look like Kathy Beth Terry did in “Last Friday Night,” mismatched colors are essential. You’ll probably find the most success if you look for your Kathy Beth Terry costume at your local Savers, Ragstock or Goodwill. In the “Last Friday Night” music video, Kathy wears a lime green miniskirt, a large green belt and a hot pink off-the-shoulder shirt. You can make the shirt on your own by finding a bright pink long-sleeved shirt and using a scissors to cut the neckline. If you’re comfortable showing your midriff, cut the pink shirt slightly above your belly button.
Accessories
Remember the over-sized plastic jewelry of the 80s? Yeah, I’ve blocked it out too. But bright plastic bangles and geometric earrings are essential to the perfect Kathy Beth Terry costume. Look for dangly earrings in a triangular shape. The ones Kathy Beth Terry wears are pink and yellow, but any mix of bright colors will do. Get five or six plastic bangle bracelets, ideally in pink and purple pastels. You can find buy these bracelets for a reasonable price at Claire’s or the Icing.
There is finally an advantage to having braces: you will have no trouble looking like the “Last Friday Night” star! The rest of us have to improvise a little bit. You can make your own set of braces by bending a piece of wire into a “U” shape that fits your mouth and adding little pieces of foil to form brackets. Stick the homemade braces to your teeth with little pieces of gum or gummy candy. Or, you can just pretend that Kathy miraculously got rid of her braces for the night. I mean, the rest of the music video is pretty improbably too.
Hair and Makeup
To get Kathy’s hair, you are going to need some big-time teasing. If your hair is super straight, it’ll help to wear it in braids or use a crimper before you tease it. It is a lot easier to get Kathy’s look with wavy hair. Use a teasing comb and hairspray to make your hair super big. Part on the side, and if you have side-swept bangs, show ‘em off.
For makeup, use black eyeliner and either false eyelashes or a ton of mascara. Swipe your lids and crease with a frosted eyeshadow, apply a generous amount of gloss to your lips and you are good to go! If you really want to go all the way with your Kathy Beth Terry costume, you can each nail half yellow and half pink. She has fake nails in “Last Friday Night” but I wouldn’t suggest blowing your money on a manicure.
To see Kathy Beth Terry, check out Katy Perry’s music video.
For more creative Halloween costumes, see DIY Bellatrix Lestrange Costume and Nicki Minaj Costume Guide.