Walter Mercado Costume

This is an odd one, but a fun one! Walter Mercado is a cult icon in Hispanic/Latino homes. He, yes he, is an astrologer/spritualist who is known for his daily horoscopes on TV and radio for decades. His look is very opulent and can be compared to Liberace. Walter is known for his capes, jackets, cloaks, rings,brooches, his fiery hair, that face, and his expressive hand gestures. He is quite an interesting individual, feel free to read up on him in the links below.

Wikipedia bio on Walter Mercado

Funny BuzzFeed post about why he is the Beyonce of TV Astrology

Blog post about growing up with Walter Mercado

I chose to do a costume of him because I was killing to birds with one stone. This year's local Zombicon theme is Voodoo Nightmare, so I figured Zombie Walter! and Halloween night I can do regular Walter for the trick or treaters. Even if you are not familiar with him, his look is soooo eccentric that it is a stand out costume. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Let the fun begin!

Materials

A square piece of fabric,it should measure the armspan (tip to tip) of the wearer- for example I used a 72 x 72 inch fabric since my armspan is 72 inches. Use a fabric that is gaudy,opulent, and over the top. Brocade, lame, damask, velvet, sateen, etc. I used a shower curtain for mine, it's a sateen finish with damask pattern flocked in black velvet)

Lace, beads,stick on rhinestones, booches, earrings, large costume jewlery or any other embellishments you have handy.

Scissors

Sewing needle

Thread to match your fabric

How to make it....

Fold the fabric into 4 quarters to find the center. Cut a 3-4 inches in on the top fold. This will give you a slit for the head at the center of the square.

Unfold the fabric and refold it in half, so that the slit falls on the top of the fold. Cut a straight line, a few inches down on the center of one side of the existng slit, this will create the V-neck, once folded down into garment. Sew the edge of the V to keep down the fold. Iron down, if needed.

Sew the sides of the oveall folded fabric two- thirds up on each side. This will give it better shape, the sides will not open up, and the unsewn top third is where the hands will be. See pictures.

Embellish the neck area by sewing lace, beads, booches, or earrings onto the neckline. Make a focal point of the embellishment. Add rhinestones or any other fineries to kick it up a notch. I used lace,a belt piece and a set earrings to do mine.

I chose to sew it versus using glue because it would add less bulk and be more secure.

I wore a black t shirt and black slacks under cape/robe.

I have short hair, so I chose to tease out a short curly wig and style it into place using bobbypins. I recommend a coppery or orange color. If you have hair thar you can style, you can do so and use colored hair spray to achive the look. Go for big 80's hair.

I used a mix of real rings, beads with elastic string, a bead with twist ties and a brooch with a hair tie. Pretty simple. See pictures for more detail.

This costume needed a nice prop that would be fun, so I made a crystal ball. It is easy to make, inexpensive, and is made with easy to find materials. Please follow the link below for a full Instructable.

Color changing All seeing Eye Crystal Ball

Once you've made this costume and its accessories, this will be the first thing you do prior to putting it on. It is essential to his look

The big key for his look is contouring and highlighting, but I did other things to make it as similar looking to him as possible.

Materials

Primer

Glue stick

Spoon

3 Stick foundations- 1 in a pale shade, 1 in a medium shade and 1 in a deep shade. (I got elf since they are only $1 each.)

Translucent face powder (elf- again -$1)

Brown/Copper eyeliner

Medium Brown matte eye-shadow

Brush, sponge, or your fingers

Blush (optional)

Clear lip gloss (optional)

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First things first, wash and dry your face. Shave first, if needed.

Use a primer,because its a lot of makeup and you don't want all that in your pores.

Once primed, cover brows if needed. Do this running glue stick over your brows, smooth with spoon, and let dry. Repeat five times.

Apply the medium shade foundation all over your face.

Highlighting- apply the lighter stick foundation to your T-zone (the area right above the center of your eyebrows and the spot between them, down the center of your nose; the middle of your upper lip; and the middle of your chin, your under-eye area, right above your cheekbone and right above your jaw line. Use a brush, sponge, or your fingers to blend your makeup until there is no visible line of delineation between the highlighter and the foundation. You want this to look well blended.

Contouring- apply the darker stick foundation to your temples, around your hairline, the sides of your nose, right under your cheekbones, and below the jaw line. Blend, blend, blend. Same as the highlight.

See image above for the area of the face that were highlighted and contoured.

Apply powder to face to set your makeup and get rid of any shine. To deepen the contour, you can use the medium brown matte eye-shadow on the contour areas and blend with a brush to soften.

If desired, put blush on your cheeks. Smile like you won something and apply moving upward from the apple of the cheek to your temple.

Brows- Using the brown/copper eyeliner draw above the covered brow following the length of the brow. Fill in and thicken as desired. If you did not cover your brows, use the brown/copper eyeliner to fill in your existing brows.

Eyes- Using the brown/copper eyeliner, draw a line directly onto your natural crease. With a finger or a brush, blend the line upwards. (If you have hooded eyelids, keep your eyes open when applying the liner. It will help you create the illusion of a crease.) With the same eyeliner, draw a light line on your bottom lash line. Blend lightly.

Lips- Using the brown/copper eyeliner line outside your natural lip line. Fill in towards the lips with the liner. Dot some of the light foundation stick onto the center of the lips and blend. If desired, put a light coat of clear lip gloss over it.

Do your makeup.

Put on the robe/cape.

Put on the wig / style hair.

Put on your rings.

Turn on your Crystal Ball.

Enjoy!