Illustrated by Vero Romero
The most iconic part of Taylor Swift’s summer reputation tour was, without a doubt, her massive snake puppet, a cobra that the fans have named Karyn. (Refinery29 — AKA me — named the snake Dale, but whatever!) The snake only appears in one part of the show, in the middle of the song “Look What You Made Me Do.” Right as the song reaches its apex, the massive screen behind Swift opens to allow the entrance of one cobra. The cobra is a puppet of sorts, a tent of snakeskin print fabric resting on an animatronic base. All in all, very cool, very iconic, very good Halloween costume.
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Be Karyn! (Or Dale.) This costume is for those who wish to embody the spirit of Halloween and the spirit of the reputation tour without spending the month of October crafting an elaborate snake costume. Some of us are re-watching Grey's Anatomy for the fourteenth time!
What you’ll need:
A purple (or otherwise dark-toned) velvet cape
Glow in the dark eyes
A silver dress
Red felt
Glow in the dark eyes
A silver dress
Red felt
What you’ll do:
1. The dress will serve as the snake’s scaled body. Grab an easy bandeau-style dress like this one from Pretty Little Thing or this slinky one from Revolve. If you’re looking to be a hardcore Halloweener, use narrow black gaffing tape to make “rings” around the dress.
2. Cape it up! Velvet capes are a-plenty in the Halloween stores, but you can also feel free to make your own. This one from Amazon is elegant and long. This one from Etsy is holographic!
3. Do you have the strength and the fortitude necessary to craft a snake's head? Good for you! For the last-minute Lauras out there, the name of the game is eyes. All you need is eyes on your hood to give the idea that you are, indeed, a servant to the wills of one Taylor Allison Swift. The cheesy option are these sticky glow-in-the-dark eyes from Etsy. The intense option are these LED eyes.
4. Lastly, and listen closely: You're going to need a tongue. Get that red felt out — get your felt at a local craft store or order it here — and make a slim tongue with a divet down the middle. Sew or pin that tongue over the crown of your head of your hood. Voila! A snake is born.