Costumes above: Gypsy and French Maid (with vampire bite)
My dear friend over at Octoberfarm has been writing about Halloween memories from childhood. It had me thinking about my favorite part of the holiday--getting to dress up and be someone else. I'm such a geek that I envy the dorks at the SciFi conventions that wear costumry the entire weekend and role play in city parks on the weekends.
Admittedly, as an adult I've been everything from a pregnant nun to a French maid, Buffy the Vampire Hunter, a gypsy, a witch, a ghost bride (complete with a severed groom's hand on my wedding gown train), the Blair witch, and autumn. Yeah, I went as autumn one time...I was all oranges and golds with leaves in my hair.
The childhood ones that stick out the best are the time I took huge parachuter's overalls and had me in one leg and a friend in the other leg and we went as siamese twins...very hard to walk--didn't hit many houses that year. I went as Pocahontas one year (froze to death), Cinderella another year. But, my favorite childhood cosume was the gypsy one. I kept going back to that one, as I have as an adult. I grew up in the conservative DC area and being able to wear tons of jingly jewelry and flowing skirts and wear my hair in its naturally Celtic thick wavy state was fantastic!
The right costume should make you feel more yourself than you've ever felt before. I often stop and ask myself "what am at my core?" The gypsy and autumn suited me the best. This year, I'm going as a post-apocalyptic ghost hunter which is actually going to be fun. It won't be terribly scary or startling or even sexy (although I've managed to sex it up a bit with a "Resident Evil" feel), but it definitely says where I am and what I'm about. I would never wear this costume ghost hunting so that makes it even more fun. It's like the ultimate ghost hunting outfit with all the gadgetry and Raiders of the Lost Ark feeling. At the same time, I can let the guests play with the toys of the industry. Next year, I know I'll be back in that gypsy costume, barefoot and wild-haired...
What were your favorite childhood and adult costumes?