From The Mask To Red Riding Hood: This M'sian Creates Epic Halloween Costumes Every Year

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Meet Sasha Bashir — a former TV host, actress, author, and a Halloween queen.

Before October rolls around every year, you'll be sure to spot this mother of two planning and prepping her costumes.

In previous years, she turned herself into a Barbie in a box, The Queen of Hearts from Alice In Wonderland, and other characters, such as American fashion icon Iris Apfel, The Mad Hatter, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, Cruella de Vil, and the ever-iconic The Mask played by Jim Carrey in the 1994 film.

After looking up some YouTube videos on how to make a Barbie box, Sasha re-created one of her own in 2019.

Breaking down her outfit, she explained that she already had the perfect Barbie-coloured dress sitting in her closet that was part of local designer Fiziwoo's Raya collection a few years prior and she bought the wig on Shopee.

All the hard work paid off when she won best dressed at her office's Halloween party!

For her Queen of Hearts look in 2020, she roped in her two boys, Ghibran who was The Mad Hatter, and her other son Ghibrael who dressed as the White Rabbit. And who was the Cheshire Cat, you might ask? Jackson McQueen, the family's adorable house cat.

"I had a beautiful couture black gown, which my good friend Faizal Hamid designed and made for a previous event. I then bought a whole heap of different types of heart-shaped appliqué patches from Shopee and sewed them on myself. I bought the crown on Shopee too, did the makeup myself, created the styled looks for my kids' characters using bits and pieces from both their and my wardrobes," she shared with SAYS.

She made all of the props from scratch, including the big pocket watch her son is holding in the photo and the card soldiers standing behind them, after watching a few YouTube tutorials.

With the help of her photographer friend, Jay Ismail, she managed to get these awesome photos of her Halloween costumes in 2021.

"I already had a yellow Zara suit and it was only a bit later after I got it that I realised it's very much the kind of yellow of the suit Jim Carrey wore for his iconic character in the movie The Mask," she explained, adding that she only had to buy a yellow hat from Shopee and some green face paint.

"I added in a plain white shirt, vintage Escada tie, and Stuart Weitzman shoes, which I already had and the look was done."

"I love Iris Apfel and she is such an inspiration to me. She is now 101 years old, still going strong, and dresses fabulously every day! I want to be her when I grow up! I already had the fringe jacket from Alice + Olivia, the various accessories from different places and the glasses are from the Iris Apfel collection she did with Zenni optical. So for this look, I just needed to get a wig from Shopee and I had the look together."

The 42-year-old added that her Mad Hatter attire was the easiest costume for that year because she already had all of the items. 

"The top hat is a true vintage one I bought many years ago in a Paris pre-loved store and then I just built the look from the top hat downwards. The jacket is from Norma Kamali, the ruffled shirt is actually the same ruffled shirt my son wore when he dressed as Mad Hatter in our previous year picture. Hahaha. The bow brooch is Gucci, pants from Zalora, and the boots are one of my many vintage Escada pieces."

"What I really wanted was a huge, billowing, and dramatic couture gown from Valentino. But with their unattainable price range, I got creative. I got the wig, gloves, and plain black dress on Shopee. Then, I went to Spotlight, bought about 15m of red netted fabric and created that bow-like piece to attach to the black dress, and added a vintage brooch. For my kids, I bought the red shirts for them and mixed in other pieces that were already in their wardrobe."

"For Yayoi Kusama, I wanted to re-create a version of her polka dotted infinity room art installations. So I bought a few meters of polka dot fabric, the wig, and sunglasses for my kids and I from Shopee.

"I already had those awesome polka dot gloves from Dries Van Noten, the red polka dot sunglasses from Swatch and added them to a Rizalman for Zalora top I already had. So that I would be immersed in the polka dot print, I draped the fabric as a backdrop and on a table in front of me, and sat on a stool between the two so that I am completely surrounded by the print. My kids joined me for this look too and it's one of my favourite pictures of us together."

"It's a lot more work but it's fun so I am happy to do it 'cause I really enjoy the process of doing some research on the different characters and then interpreting the character's style in my own form of expression," she shared.

Here's a look at some of her first few Halloween costumes this year:

"One of the characters I selected is Red Riding Hood. I absolutely love how dramatic and regal capes look and I was attracted to the instantly recognisable red hooded cape that the character is known for."

As references for Red Riding Hood's capes are often made from satin and velvet, Sasha wanted to see how she could elevate the look to make it more couture-looking.

"I thought of red lace and I could see in my head that the lace pattern would contrast nicely on grass… But I knew it needed to be custom made to achieve the look I want. Knowing I could not make it myself, I bought lace fabric on Shopee and took it to local designer Nana Nasri. She totally understood my vision and created a beautiful piece which I love, and I will wear again for a special event with slightly different styling. I really love how these pictures turned out. They have a bit of a gothic and romantic feel."

"I had purchased a vintage white Oscar de la Renta dress from Ebay many years ago and when I received it, I didn't like it. I was going to resell it but ended up leaving it hanging in my closet for a few years. One day, a friend of mine and I were talking about the movie Annabelle when suddenly it hit me that the dress that I couldn't figure out how to wear because it looks like a horror movie dress (hahaha) would work very well as an interpretation of Annabelle."

She then bought a wig on SHEIN and got some red ribbon for the detailing.

"No matter how early I start planning my Halloween looks, there is always something that needs to be done. The day before my first shoot, I realised I didn't have a proper big red flower detailed belt. I quickly stopped by my favourite supply store, Star Enterprise in TTDI, bought the right sized ribbon, watched a few videos on YouTube, and then quickly made it myself that night. Thankfully it turned out okay, 'cause I did not have a back up plan. Hahaha."

"For Frida Kahlo and Beetlejuice this year, I already had all the clothes that would work for the characters, such as the beautiful embroidered cape from Alice + Olivia for Frida and the striped suit from Norma Kamali for Beetlejuice."

To complete Beetlejuice's look, Sasha bought the floral headband and green wig from SHEIN. For Frida Kahlo, she created the set in her garden by draping a very colourful bedspread she had over her garden wall and added a different batik fabric on the ground.

"Anya Forger is a character who wasn't even on my radar and I honestly never ever heard of before. I just happened to get a pink wig from SHEIN and posted a picture of me wearing it on my Instagram. I received a few DMs saying that the wig is perfect for the character Anya Forger. I was like 'Anya who?'. Hahaha… So I went into research mode and watched some Spy x Family, and the very first outfit her character wears in the series was my inspiration for my look. 

"I wanted to be the much more grown up version of Anya, many years into the future, where she is more confident and comfortable with her telepathic abilities, yet never loses her child-like idealistic innocence, so I went through my wardrobe to find something that would work. It's not a hard look to interpret. I found an awesome YSL tuxedo dress, got Nana Nasri's help again to make an oversized bow in satin, and found the little black cones she has on her head on Shopee. I bought the frilled socks 'cause I thought it's a cute element of her look that I wanted to retain, but amplified everything else a little bit."

"To be able to experiment and play with fashion is a privilege I never take for granted. It's so much fun and a great way for me to blend all of the things I love – fashion styling, art, costuming, theatre, character storytelling, and makeup. My love for playing dress up started when I was about five and has only intensified as I have got older. Haha."

"Every day is a chance to dress up and be the most intensely fabulous version of yourself. Don't keep those incredible clothes you have in your wardrobe for 'special occasions'. Make every day a special occasion! I hope everyone finds something that sparks as much excitement for them as all this does for me," she added.

Follow Sasha on Instagram and TikTok to see more of her Halloween looks coming up.