Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Day 2

Gather around, morsel mortals! Welcome to Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a (typically) annual Halloween feature here on Beauty and the Bookshelf. What Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf entails varies from year to year so that, like a haunted house, you never know what to expect. It is, however, always comprised of two things: it's Halloween and it's bookish.

This year Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf encompasses one of my favorite aspects of Halloween: dressing up. Am I the only one who sees things in a store and is reminded of a book, or thinks that a certain character would totally wear that shirt? What about actually dressing up as your favorite characters? HELLO, BOOKISH HALLOWEEN. Cosplays, costumes, whatever--either way, you can dress up as--you can be--characters from books. And for Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, I'm going to do just that: put together a series of character costumes (complete with lists of where you can buy everything) just for you. I'll be doing female versions of all the costumes, buuut they can also all be gender-swapped (or some may be gender-swapped), which is super fun! Check it all out...if you dare. (Insert evil villain laugh here, mwahaha.)

You can find day one--a certain witch with iron teeth--here.

Today's costume is...

KAZ BREKKER

Ah, yes, the Bastard of the Barrel, the King of the Crows. The man who always has a plan and backups, and backups for his backups. Dirtyhands. He's deadly in a way that's fierce and subtle and seething and terrifying. You can try to cross him, but you will fail. You can, however, try to dress like him--and in a female version.

Coat | Shirt | Pants | Boots | Tie | Gloves | Cane

Kaz's look is somewhat basic but also rich looking, and so I took something masculine and made it just a bit more feminine. (Basically, I just took what I imagined him wearing and switched it with the female version.) You've got your coat--it's cold in Ketterdam, and it's got the collar I definitely picture Kaz popping--a dress shirt and tie, and black pants (these are actually corduroy). I went for a taller combat boot and, of course, Kaz has to have his crow's head cane and iconic black gloves. As far as hair goes, I've always pictured Kaz with an undercut, so I'd go with something like the picture above, despite the fact that Kaz's hair would be sleek and without a strand out of place: a messy faux undercut. If you want to wear makeup, I'd go simpler, but also a bit severe to really pack the punch.

So. Care to be a bastard--or a crow--this Halloween?

BEFORE YOU GO...it's not really Halloween without some trick-or-treating, it? So I have a treat for you: a giveaway. One lucky winner will get their choice of a hardcover or paperback copy of any book that has a character featured on Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf. Enter if you dare, my beasties! (But beware the very important rules.)

-This giveaway is international (so long as The Book Depository ships to you for free).
-No cheating or bending the rules whatsoever.
-No private accounts, giveaway accounts, shady entries, or the like. I check. And if the majority of your account is giveaway after giveaway your entry will not be accepted. Also, one-word, meaningless comments are not preferred (hint hint).
-Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my congratulatory email or else another winner will be chosen.
-I reiterate: no cheating.

a Rafflecopter giveaway