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How to Dress Up Like the Sanderson Sisters

If you grew up in the 90’s like me, you probably have a special affection for the 1993 Halloween flick Hocus Pocus. I was 12 when it came out and was pretty obsessed with every facet of it. My sister and I watched it dozens of times, year round.

For those not in the know, A.) You’re missing out. Watch it ASAP. and B.) It’s about a teenage kid and his little sis, who accidentally awaken a fictional trio of witches, the Sanderson Sisters, who were killed in Salem and just need to suck some kiddie souls to stay reanimated forever.

I loved Bette Midler’s Winnie Sanderson, the oldest and bossiest sister-witch (because that’s how we older sisters roll). I loved Kathy Najimy’s zany witch Mary and her ability to sniff out children. And I especially adored Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sarah Sanderson, who was blonde and breathless and had a magical singing voice that lured the kids to their doom.

So I had a lot of fun finding all the stuff on our site that could make a fun Sanderson Sisters group costume for a group of three sisters or friends. Made me wish I had one more sister, so we could dress up as a trio! (We’d probably just have to fight over who was which witch.)

tagged all my favorite Sanderson Sisters costumes with “Hocus Pocus,” so you can easily find them all in one place.

The Sanderson Sisters lived in 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, but they liked to play with color a bit more than the pilgrims! Winnie liked green, Mary liked red, and Sarah liked purple. They favored corsets and dresses with lace-up bodices, long full skirts, and long hooded cloaks.

Winnie accessorized with green striped stockings, super-long nails (which had the power to shoot electricity) and curly bright red hair styled in two buns. She wore excessive pink blush and red lipstick in a cupid’s bow shape, and she had large front teeth.

Mary had black hair streaked with purple and styled in a long pointy updo. Her makeup was warm and fairly normal with deep red lips.

Sarah wore fishnets, believe it or not! She had long platinum blonde waves and wore ghostly pale makeup with wine-colored lips and smoky eyes.

All three carried witch brooms early in the film, but when those were lost, they flew around on modern household brooms and even a vacuum cleaner!

 

The Renaissance style dresses, skirts, tops and corsets look the most Sanderson-esque.
The Renaissance style dresses, skirts, tops and corsets look the most Sanderson-esque. Sarah favored more busty, form-fitting looks, while Mary and Winnie covered up a bit more.

Pictured Costumes:

Deluxe Adult Lady Renaissance Costume

Adult Purple/Wine Renaissance Gathered Skirt

Adult Black Velvet Renaissance Corset Bodice

White Cotton Renaissance Peasant Top

Deluxe Adult Lady Musketeer Renaissance Costume

Deluxe Adult Black/Purple Velvet Hooded Cape

Adult Brown Velvet Hooded Cloak

Deluxe Adult Black/Red Velvet Hooded Cape

Add a cloak. The best thing for swooping around you dramatically.
Add a cloak. The best thing for swooping around you dramatically when you’re afraid of asphalt. And it can flutter out behind you while you’re riding a vacuum cleaner.

 

There might be more costumes that strike your Hocus Pocus fancy in our Renaissance Costumes section, Colonial Costumes section, and Witch Costumes section.

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