Clothes

• The bigger and louder, the better. Clown costumes should feature over-sized clothing. Visit your local thrift store to find colorful pants, shirts or overalls. Try attaching fun fabric patches to a large pair of denim overalls. Simple use fabric scissors to cut patches from brightly colored scraps of fabric and sew them to the overalls. Sew on giant buttons, fuzzy balls or any other interesting items to your clothing as well. For added effect, wear a vibrantly patterned pair of boxer shorts over your clown pants, or a vest full of flair over a plaid shirt.
  
  

Makeup

• Use face paint to create a happy or sad clown. For a traditional look, cover the face in white greasepaint and paint an exaggerated red smile or frown around the mouth. Pencil in black eyebrows and glue false eyelashes on the eyes. If your clown is sad, add some teardrops dripping down the cheeks. Use glitter face paint for an even more heightened effect. Don't forget the classic red nose: Cut a slit in a hollow red ball, or simply paint the tip of your nose red.
  
  

Accessories

• Wear a lot of accessories. Accessories make the clown. Large shoes, an over-sized tie and a fake flower pinned onto a collar are all classic clown looks. If you don't have a wild red wig, use hair spray paint to color your hair, or cover your hair with a fun and floppy clown hat, yarn or even mop head. To make your own clown hat, start with a plain straw or fabric hat and use hot glue to attach fun items such as fake flowers, stuffed animals or even a bike horn that you can reach up and honk occasionally.