For many, many years, including several when I was growing up, my mother was a Home Ec teacher (and, from all accounts, a damned good one). One of the many things that means is that I never once wore a costume out of a box on Halloween; she either made them all, or helped me make them, until I was old enough to make them by myself.
I wish I had photos to go with this, but since I don't, I can at least talk about some of my favorite Costumes of Halloweens Past:
1). The Ghostbuster.
I was in junior high somewhere, and the movie had just come out. My mother bought a cheap tan jumpsuit and sewed nifty patches and stuff all over it, and we cannibalized a vacuum cleaner, spray-painted a big cardboard box black and silver, and made me a neat backpack, complete with 'firing attachment'. I was just so damn cool. I was! Quit snickering!
2). The Rubik's Cube.
Also in junior high, I think, maybe a year or two earlier. Again, right at the height of their popularity. We got a big square box, spraypainted it black, and covered it with squares of construction paper; I was a solved Rubik's Cube, thanks, in case you were wondering. There were holes cut out of the front and top for me to stick my hands and head through, and I wore it like a giant square muumuu over a black leotard. Wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but hey.
3). The Unicorn.
This was in high school, an outfit that I made for myself for the drama club's Halloween party. I went all out on this; I made a mane and tail out of glossy white yarn threaded with gold thread, and a short plaster muzzle, and a big golden horn. The best part was the hooves, though; for my feet, it was just a pair of golden shoes with white spats over them, but for my hands I made a nifty pair of actual 'hooves', painted gold. The bottoms were hinged with tape and had a loop of yarn inside, so that I could hold them shut and they would look like hooves; but then I could drop the yarn and they would open so that I could poke my hands out and use them. Tra la, I'm a genius.
4). Gothkitty!
In college, just for the hell of it, but it ended up amusing me. I had a large number of eeeenteresting black pieces in my wardrobe, you see. So I wore my Death boots (lace-up calf-high black boots with flaring tops, pointed toes, and witchy heels), my tuxedo jacket, my black lace corset-vest that tied up the front, and appropriate underblack. I dyed my hair jet-black and wore a black cat-faced half-mask to which I had given appropriate piercings; four in each ear, one in the nose.
The fun part was that, under the mask, I had painted my eyes in the baroque faux-Egyptian style favored by Death in the Sandman comic books. For some reason, every time I pulled the mask up to eat or converse, all my comic-book-reading friends got spooked... la la la!
Replies: add your comment: currently 6 comments
Heh. That's cool. My costumes were all store brought or just dinky stuff I found around the house. I was going to be the chick from the Weakest Line...with a weave today, but I didn't go anywhere. ::shrug:: Hope your Halloween was fun. ^_^
Posted by Tiffany @ 10/31/2001 08:56 PM EST
Arg. That was Weakest Link. -_-
Posted by Tiffany @ 10/31/2001 08:59 PM EST
I definitely wish you had pictures to go with these too, Moon. I'd especially like to see the GothKitty! Prrrrrrrr......
LOL *slap slap*
A Rubik's Cube?? How interesting!! My brother also went as a Ghostbuster once, when we were kids. Or wait...maybe that was his friend who did that....Hmmm...
I have been a Ninja Turtle on Halloween before. And that costume was also homemade! I was also once a ghost that looked like a gimp....Please don't ask!! *_*
Last year for a a Halloween party, I just got a black cape/cowl/robe and a hood and wore black gloves, and I guess I was just an....evil person. I got my picture taken with a friend who also dressed...pretty evily, but she made evil look so good! ^_^ Sorry, reminiscing on the past is makingme teary-eyed.
Yesterday we got to wear costumes to work; I dressed as Wolfwood!!!! Seriously!! I found a cheap suit that worked out okay; it wasn't black-black, but it worled okay. I tried to brush my hair right, but my hair is too short so that didn't work that well. And I had sunglasses and made a fake cigarette (I don't really smoke, but even if I did, I wouldn't be allowed to have it at work! Although, I didn't keep it in my mouth all the time anyway, because ofthe ..taste...and because it might be seen as a "bad influence" on kids, and I didn't want to get in trouble). I took pictures; maybe I'll send them in when I get them back (which will be soon!)! ^_'
Posted by Wolf @ 11/01/2001 06:07 AM EST
Sweet! :D I've taken cool costumes for granted, I guess; when I was a kid I always saw kids with those plastic things and just thought "Euuurgh... whyyyy would you do something like that? It's so boring." Hooray for almost cliche'd domesticity. :)
Although now, it's kinda ironic that the only costume out of those I made this year that got a ton of compliments was the one right off a pattern. :P Sis was a medieval type chick, and got lots of comments; the rest of us were the FULL set of mages from FF1 and ... got almost nothing. Blah. No respect, ya know? Oh well. ^_^;
Posted by StB @ 11/01/2001 10:40 AM EST
My mother always made my halloween costumes (usually improvising from some pattern she bought), and I always liked it. My brother always made her buy him his costume, but she always made mine.
Because you can't be a cat-ballerina-fairy-princess if you're getting your costume out of a box, dammit!
The very last year I did anything in costume I was 14 or so, and my friends and I went in a little group. We were Chrono Trigger characters. I was the prophet (since my mom wouldn't let me dye my hair blue, I had to keep my hood up), my friend was Schala, and her friend was Queen Zeal. No one had any idea who we were, but we had fun, and just said we were magicians if anyone asked.
Posted by Ed @ 11/01/2001 03:12 PM EST
I was a gothkitty for halloween this year. I just put some cat ears on and I was done. ^_^
Posted by Celes @ 11/01/2001 08:48 PM EST
