[epinephrine]

27 days! What's everyone doing for Halloween?

I've decided to go ahead and have a party, but to divide it into separate parties with different themes so expectations are lower and it's easier to prepare for and more low-key. I'm having a couple of movie parties, a pumpkin carving party, an outing to one of the local haunted houses, a graveyard hide and seek party, and the bonfire/costume/fireworks/feast Halloween night party. Oh, and a zombie party after zombie walk, if I can ever find out when it is. Having lots of fun just planning! My girlfriend and I are thinking of dressing up as Chinese vampires. They wear traditional dress, sailor hats, braids, and weird makeup, and they only get around by hopping. Strange.

[LilPinkElectricC...]

I really want to go as Amy Winehouse this year and find a friend to go as Pete Doherty. Basically we'd do zombie makeup and I'd need my beehive wig.

I love the sexy unsexy type of costume, which is why my backup idea is a sexy narwhal. My guy friend went as sexy harry potter one year and wore short-shorts, potter glasses and a balzer. It was hilarious.

[epinephrine]

Oh my god, ladies, Halloween is just 43 days away! Let the countdown begin!

This year's not shaping up to be too exciting for me. I wish I could borrow somebody's kids or something so I could have more to get excited about. My girlfriend is dead set on going as Sweeny Todd and Mrs. Lovett, which is okay, but a little obvious for me. I loved the movie, but gothy costumes are so common on Halloween. It's just too easy. I don't have any costume plans of my own right now, but if the opportunity presents itself, I'll whip something up like I did last year. I thought it might be fun to go as some kind of internal organ like a liver or a kidney and walk around giving detailed scientific descriptions of your role in the body's functions. I was looking back at the old posts and I really like the idea of subverting the "sexy" costume theme with some sexed-up versions of unsexy things. Sexy Harry and Draco would be hilarious. Or something really ridiculous, like a sexy robot or a sexy turtle. Another great costume for girls is a drag queen - it's so simple and funny. Just pile on the makeup and wear your most outrageously feminine clothes and your highest heels, and paint on a 5 o'clock shadow or a full-blown moustache. Talk in a deep voice and call everybody "sister." I fall back on this one a lot when I need a quick costume.

I'd really love to go to a good Halloween party, but having one myself is completely out of the question. Hosting parties is an act of charity - you sacrifice your money, your time, and your comfort so everybody else can have fun. Parties are nothing but stress for the host - you spend all your time planning, and by the time the party starts, you just want everyone to leave so you can have your house back. And they never live up to all the planning and expectations.

[mouse]

OMG POLLY WATCH TWIN PEAKS IT IS BRILLIANT! you can watch it online for free: http://www.cbs.com/classics/twin_peaks/vid...022511&cc=0

they don't have the pilot which is a crying shame, so if you can find that in a video store i'd highly recommend watching it first, but both seasons are all online for free.

[thirtiesgirl]

Polly, I'd highly recommend Twin Peaks, the tv series. Best thing he's ever done, imho. Definitely worth checking out, and it's become such a cultural reference point. David Duchovny had a bit part in early episodes, so if you pay attention, you'll catch him in a wig, dress and makeup.

ETA, I forgot the year I went as "1991: the Year Punk Broke" (Flannel, ripped jeans, Doc Martens, pink pageboy wig, & a Daniel Johnston t shirt.), then Tootie from Facts of Life (Ever roller skate drunk? DON'T.) & the next year I went as Biggie Shortie from Pootie Tang.

While I've never rollerskated drunk, I did dress up as a rollerskating cocktail waitress for Halloween when I was 15. (Why a rollerskating cocktail waitress, I'll never know. I've certainly never seen one on skates. I think it was just an excuse for me to wear a short skirt, fishnet tights and rollerskates. I was at least creative enough to carry a little tray with plastic martini glasses glued to it, though.) My mom hated the costume and almost didn't let me go out with my friends, but she relented at the last minute. We trick-or-treated all over our neighborhood, including the apartment buildings on the north side. Let me tell you, skating around super narrow apartment hallways, especially on the upper floors, was pretty damn scary. And climbing up stairs with skates on your feet is an absolute bitch. (No elevators in some of the buildings.)

My friend Kat will probably dress up as Amy Winehouse this year, with a big beehive wig, trashy outfit, and a little bag of confectioner's sugar in her pocket for when she needs to, you know, 'powder her nose.'

[pollystyrene]

Oo, Angela Chase- that's a good idea....now if I could get prophecy_grrl to go as Rayanne, we'd have something I'm sure the thrift store has some mid-90's stripey sweaters....okay, I admit it, I wouldn't have to go to a thrift store for one

Now I'm intrigued about Twin Peaks- I was a little young when it was on, so I've never watched it...I don't think I've actually ever seen anything by David Lynch.

[mouse]

some friends and i are going as the simpsons this year--my costume-genius friend (who always knocks it out of the park, and last year actually won a prize for her full-body entirely homemade felt alligator costume) came up with the idea of doing bart's hair out of construction paper a la a burger king crown. i know it's not a terribly original concept but i think we could make the costumes original--most people would just buy 'em.

last year i was a stepford wife--cocktail dress, heels, tons of makeup, blonde wig & joints drawn on my elbows and knees--and though that was the most costumey costume i'd had in i can't even rememebr when, it was still kind of half=assed.

[auralpoison]

I went as Laura Palmer in HS even though I'm beige. Lots of pastiness & wrapped in plastic.

I went as a zombie seventies prom queen one year; my friends & I wore matching polka dot dresses that we'd shredded, burned, dyed with "blood". We were the homecoming court of the undead & we carried random faux organs because we ate our escorts.

The costume I felt prettiest in was Billy Holiday. I wound up at a Pimps & Ho's party (Don't ask.) & I was the only one that actually dressed like a legit, yet classy prostitute. It's odd, I was a dead ringer.

The *sickest*, too soon couple outfit award goes to my parents: they went as OJ & Nicole one year. My dad was blood spattered & wearing Isotoners & my mom looked unspeakable with a faux knife in her chest.

I saw a girl go as a silicone implant once. She was in clear plastic trash bags & wore this weird pink chenille nipple hat. Passed out condoms all night.

An easy guy costume: Mormon missionary. Black pants, white shirt, black tie, bike helmet & backpack.

I think this year I'm going as Frida Kahlo.

ETA, I forgot the year I went as "1991: the Year Punk Broke" (Flannel, ripped jeans, Doc Martens, pink pageboy wig, & a Daniel Johnston t shirt.), then Tootie from Facts of Life (Ever roller skate drunk? DON'T.) & the next year I went as Biggie Shortie from Pootie Tang.

[stargazer]

polly, i think you should go as your avatar, angela chase. you have the red hair. you could just throw yourself around a party and sigh at random people. i know people who have gone as twin peaks characters. so, i say, skip that idea.

one of my friends is really creative when it comes to halloween. she went as bob ross (the dude who paints the trees guy) and little debbie as in little debbie's snack cakes. oh, she also was a whammy from the show press your luck.

one year i was a pretty hideous ghoul with scars and rotten teeth. made me think of the part in mean girls where cadi actually went as a scary character to a costume party. yeah, i like the gore factor of halloween.

[Moonpieluv]

last year I was a very very pregnant jazzercize instructor named Rhonda from Long Island...stuck in the 80's, smoking cigs and double fisting beers. It was hilarious. I had the accent, the moves...everything.

I'm at a loss as to how to top that this year. I once was an antique doll. That went over pretty well, too. Maybe I could do a spin on that somehow.

Like a Big Eye Little Miss No Name doll? I can totally pull off the makeup, too. hmmm?

[pollystyrene]

I had a really good couple costume idea the other night- when I was 6, I missed Halloween because I had pneumonia. I was supposed to go as:


I was very sad, and feel that my life has been lacking since this incident. Then, I thought "Hey, why not try to make up for lost time and do it this year! And LeBoy could go as:"


Hmm, then I saw how very sleeveless Cyndi is there and how jiggly my arms are and re-thought it. Maybe I'll make it a goal for next year to tone up my arms. And find a snazzy jacket like Duckie's at a thrift store!

[thirtiesgirl]

Just thought I'd share this Halloween story because it still tickles me, and Zoya, your wish to have a partner so you can dress as each other for Halloween also reminded me of this memory. So here goes...

Years ago, I took some computer classes at the local business college in my hometown and enrolled in their legal secretary program. I was at school from 9 am to 3 pm, learning computer stuff and taking classes on legal terms, so I had to quit my receptionist job and spend all day at school. My only social life became the people I went to school with. One of the women in my program who I got to know was this petite Latina grandmother who was in her early 70s. She was very ladylike, with perfect makeup and perfectly done hair, always with the little cardigan over her shoulders, held together with a sweater pin, in her neat little pair of slacks (always slacks, never pants or jeans) and feminine blouse. She was so sweet and everybody loved her.

For Halloween, the business college decided to have a little costume contest, so people could dress up if they wanted to. I couldn't think of anything more original than dressing as a witch (I already had the hobnail boots, goth-y dress and stripey stockings, so all I needed was the big hat), but the Latina grandmother put together the best costume I have ever seen. She was half man, half woman. Her left side was the feminine side, in a flouncey, white lace dress, with a hairpiece added on that side of her head to look like she had a long curl of hair over her shoulder. She wore false lashes, bright red lipstick and painted on her eyebrows... erm, eyebrow, since it was just the left side. Her right side was the masculine one, in a tuxedo jacket and pants (one pants leg on the right side, sewn to the dress on the left), and shiny black shoes (or, um, shoe, since she was wearing a strappy heel on the left). The right side of her face was free of makeup, except for a moustache and stubble penciled on her face, and some extra thickness added to her right eyebrow. It was so expertly done that if you saw her from the left, you'd think she was dressed as a fancy lady, and if you saw her from the right, she was a well-dressed guy in a tuxedo (as I did when I first got to school that morning - I saw her from the left and thought she'd dressed up as a lady, and the second she turned around to greet me, I was completely surprised by her other half). Her makeup was expertly applied, perfectly divided on each side of her face, and the costume was flawless. Very hilarious, too. The feminine side was so overdone, and the masculine side was so guy-like, you couldn't help but crack up when you saw it, especially on such a sweet little grandmotherly type. Who knew she had it in her, to get so creative with her Halloween costume? Of course she won the competition.

[zoya]

Because it's a chav thing, right?

Actually pherber, in this neck of the woods, they're called Neds. and they quite possibly out chav chavs.


moving on...

I really need to date someone, because my dream couple's costume is to go as each other. I've always thought that would be hilarious, especially if you were around lots of friends who know both of you well.

[take some petrol...]

On the couples Halloween costume tip, in the late '90s when my college boyfriend and I were still dating, he decided to dress up as a Heaven's Gate cult member for Halloween, and I was an alien. (Heaven's Gate, for those who have forgotten, was that cult of alien worshippers who checked into a hotel in San Diego, all wearing the same kind of black Nikes and purple robes, then drank the deadly blue Kool-aid and lay themselves down to die in their hotel rooms...to take that final trip into outer space.) ...So, yeah, we were a couple of sickos.

this is perfectly deliciously terrifying and wonderful. you are amazing. heaven's gate scared the piss out of me. that man, the leader, was horrifyingly creepy!

[thirtiesgirl]

Possible suggestion for the Dalek costume: silver home insulation stuff, which you can buy at most hardware/home stores. You can buy it in rolls, and it kind of looks like a roll of big, silver aluminum bubble wrap, except the bubbles are bigger (and they don't really puff up). Back in the day before I could really afford club clothes, I used to make mini-skirts out of silver insulation to wear when I'd go out clubbing. I'd roll it out and wrap it around me, cut it at the right place, and then just safety pin it or duct tape it together around my waist. I was thinking that could work for the bottom part of the costume. ...Not so sure what to do about the top part of the costume, though. Maybe a plastic bucket, spray painted gold, with square eye cut outs? Although it would be pretty damn hard to run around all Halloween with a bucket on your head.

On the couples Halloween costume tip, in the late '90s when my college boyfriend and I were still dating, he decided to dress up as a Heaven's Gate cult member for Halloween, and I was an alien. (Heaven's Gate, for those who have forgotten, was that cult of alien worshippers who checked into a hotel in San Diego, all wearing the same kind of black Nikes and purple robes, then drank the deadly blue Kool-aid and lay themselves down to die in their hotel rooms...to take that final trip into outer space.) ...So, yeah, we were a couple of sickos.

[take some petrol...]

props, polly! literary costumes are my favorite too. the year i went as undead flannery o'connor, my friend went with me as undead sylvia plath. we were going to carry around an e-z-bake oven full of cookies until we decided that this was funny but too tasteless and that the joke would be lost on our college's general populace anyway (also, i couldn't locate the damn oven in time.)

i'll try to put the thinking cap on and think of some literary couples.... you could always go as henry miller and anais nin (or june miller!) that would be saaaucy! one night in their proverbial shoes wouldn't give you enough time to become totally dysfunctional (ok, another bad joke.)




that bender costume sounds A-MAZING. but somehow i think cramming myself into a studded cardboard pyramid wouldn't be the most conducive to hostessing, as i generally throw the halloween party.... hehehe! hmmmmmm maybe someday. i could always just wear it on my torso with my head and appendages sticking out.

[pollystyrene]

I've been meaning to post here- we're trying to convince a friend, who just had an addition put on his house, to throw a Halloween party. Last time we went to a Halloween party, LeBoy and I went as Annie and Paul from Misery. I like doing literary-themed costumes- in high school, I went as Phoebe Caulfield one year.

Hmm, any ideas for a literary-themed couple costume? I was thinking of doing Scout and Boo Radley- I'd have to make a papier mache ham, though. Hmm....

Don't give up on the Dalek costume! The Halloween party we went as Annie & Paul was amazing- it was hosted by Alex Ross, who LeBoy's sister is friends with. There were some amazing costumes. Some guy made a Bender (from Futurama) costume out of Rubbermaid-type containers- he had light-up eyes, the middle part opened and he had "stolen" watches in there and a whole system of tubes so he could drink beer with the head on.

[take some petrol...]

if you're anything like me, you're already thinking about your halloween costume for this coming october!!

what are some of your ideas?!

i can't decide, but i better start on it soon - here are some of the things i've been considering.


-- the body of laura palmer from david lynch's 'twin peaks'. i've made sketches and everything. i would make kind of a cowl out of sheets of clear plastic tarp and kind of a scrunched-up dress shell out of the same material with a white slip underneath, lots of makeup to make me look frostbitten.


-- kate from the b-52's! this would be easy enough. i've seen a lot of reasonably priced red beehive wigs around, and the rest would be either things i already have (vintage dress, earrings) or can pick up on the cheap.


-- dalek from 'doctor who'. this will never happen. it is a pipe dream of the grandest variety. mostly, i just want to try and construct a fake dalek out of cardboard because i think it would be fun. hahaha

the problem is that my glasses ruin every costume, hehehe. i don't have contacts and can't see ANYTHING without them!

some of my costumes from the last couple years include undead flannery o'connor, mrs. clutter from truman capote's 'in cold blood', siouxsie sioux (i was a really awful siouxsie), a bat (i made little bat wings out of wire and black nylons!)

[pherber]

Double post!


...the spooky spirits are out to get you, if you post in the Helloween thread in April!

[pherber]

Oh, and I refuse to wear ANY Burberry (it's not well regarded here)!

Because it's a chav thing, right?