Halloween 2010: Presto Change-o

I think we've established that I have a deep and enduring love for costumes, right? In light of that, is it really that surprising that I should have two this year? I know. Out of control!

Anyway, in my desire to avoid ruining the surprise of my original costume, and since I'm attending two parties, my roommates and I have come up with another fun but not too complicated idea.

Thus, the muses were born. (Actually, I'm pretty sure there is some myth that relates to their birth, but I don't remember nor do I feel like wikipedia-ing at the moment. Check yourself, eh? Report back.) If you loved the classic Disney films, then Hercules probably was a favorite of yours, and those lovely, toga-clad Muses narrate his story. They are sassy and harmonious, and we knew that was our costume!

So here we are, in all our narrative glory!



Here is the breakdown to do it yourself -- we kept it cheap!

• Full or queen-size flat sheet (mine came from Saver's!)
• Metallic belt or ribbon (Dollar bin at Michael's!)
• Metallic hair accessory (99 cent christmas decor, sewn onto a headband!)

Depending on the weather where you are, you can vary what you wear beneath your toga. We wore leggings and tank tops since it was rather chilly! I wore it again on Halloween night with jeans under it, so it's flexible in that way. But please, do wear something under it.

• Wrap your toga (I'll post my methods of wrapping another time, but there are plenty of videos to instruct you on the internet) and secure with safety pins.
• Tie your ribbon or fasten your belt in place.
• Place your hair accessories, and in our case, spray with gold glitter hairspray. It gets everywhere!

Done!

How do you like them? Have any easy but cute costumes you wouldn't mind sharing? Comment and fill us in!

Halloween 2010: Brainstorm

Still don't have a costume picked out? Baffled by the array of scandalous interpretations of your favorite childhood characters? (I'm looking at you mini-skirt Little Red Riding Hood.)

My friends, your time is running out! So, in light of that, I've gathered together some of my favorite costumes with the hopes that if I can't inspire you to choose one, you can at least get a running start on your own idea!

A couple of nerdy ideas to start you off with: how about going as Calvin and Hobbes?

(photo borrowed from wikipedia)

Not only is a pretty simple costume, but you can choose to either go solo or as a pair -- either you carry a stuffed tiger, or your have a friend dress up as one! Fun, right?

Or there is this fantastic option:



And it comes with a "Dress Like Flo" instructional website! Click on it to see exactly what she is wearing. Slick, eh?

One of the costumes that I have wanted to do forever is Marie Antoinette, with the costuming based on the movie starring Kirsten Dunst. The whole movie is beautiful, and the look from the masquerade is one of my favorites:

(This photo comes from Yahoo!)

And of course, you can be just about anyone if you throw a zombie in front of it.
My current favorite would be a Zombie Waldo! Whenever someone walked up to you, you could yell "You found me!" and give them some candy.

I just think I am soooo funny...

Any other ideas? We're getting down to crunch-time people! And I'm now working on two costumes! It's gonna be a wild ride.

(PS: Can someone be a brainstorm, literally, for Halloween? I just love the idea.)

Halloween 2010: Historical Accuracy

Guys, I'm gonna be honest with you.

I LOVE costumes.

Halloween ranks up there with my favorite days in the whole year, because when else do you get to dress up and look completely awesome? Can't think of a day? That's because Halloween is the only day. So before delving into my costume for this year (which you should remember is a secret) I wanted to fill you in on past costumes and how they came to be.

When I realized that I could throw a Halloween party as a freshman, I jumped on the chance and sent out invitations to my friends, with only one requirement: you must wear a costume! I had quite the plan up my sleeve for my own costume. Though I had been growing my hair out since the beginning of the year, I wanted to be a very authentic Edie Sedgwick (sans drug addictions and eating disorders).


I came home the night before the party, had dinner with my two best friends (long hair still intact) and then the next morning -- chop chop! I lost my locks all in the name of Sedgwick. Fun, right? (I should be honest and tell you I had been considering the hairstyle for a while, and it lined up well with Halloween.)

Last year, I day-dreamed about Amy Adams' sleek look in Night at the Museum II, and then decided to dive head-first into Amelia Earhart research. I picked out a great jacket, borrowed a hanky from a friend, wore very little makeup (big change from the year before!) and voila!

The movie starring Hilary Swank came out a few weeks before, but I still haven't seen it! This was a nice costume as well, because people recognized me a little quicker than they did when I was Edie. The airfield in my hometown actually has a very similar plane to what she flew, but I never got to get my picture with it. Next time!

So now that you know what I was in past years, here's a few tips on how to have a great costume without emptying your (probably already meager) wallet:

Don't buy new/full price: My Edie dress was $9 dollars at Ross. It was a great deal for a dress that I figured I would wear once, but I've worn it several times since then, so it's an even better deal! For Amelia, I already owned the pants, shoes, shirt and borrowed the hanky. The jacket came from Marshall's!

Do your makeup/hair: Though you may think that your costume will look fine with your everyday 'do, makeup and hair are in many cases the "make or break" factor in a good costume. Edie, for example, would have been a flop if I had long hair. For Amelia, I could have done a little more, but I wasn't cutting my hair off again!

Be creative: This probably seems a little obvious, but it's important, and applies to all facets of a good Halloween costume. If you search for a clever costume, you are far less likely to see someone else dressed like you, and if you put a lot of effort into yours, even if you do see a twin, you'll probably look better! Don't think that because you don't want to spend a lot that you have to have a lame costume.

Brainstorming? I hope so.

Did you have an awesome (or maybe not so awesome..) costume? Comment or leave a link, I'd love to see it!

Halloween 2010

Though I love Thankgiving, Christmas and Easter as much as anyone else, I never ever have as much fun on those days as I do on Halloween. Halloween is tied with Thanksgiving for the infamous "Favorite Holiday" spot -- and that's only because no one has served me turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes on Halloween yet!

For the past two years, I've thrown a pretty casual Halloween party at my house, with the only condition to the invitees being that they must wear a costume (and have fun!). My costume is always a secret; the first year I chopped my hair into pixie cut the day of the party and went as Edie Sedgewick, last year I was Amelia Earhart with a (p)leather jacket and penny loafers. This year... well, you'll just have to find out!

In any case, with only 49 days left until the holiday arrives, it's time to kick costuming and party plans into high gear!

While I get to work on brain cupcakes, spooky lanterns and a sweet get-up, I'll also post inspirational costumes from the web, photos of my past costume successes, recipes and DIY ideas for you try. Here's one to whet your appetite:

This, my friends, is a disco ball costume, by user atozfriendly on Instructables (this photo is property of atozfriendly, and it's awesome.)

Excited yet? I am. So fill me in on any cool costumes or H-ween things you've done before, and let me know if there is anything you wanna see!

P.S.: Have you ever thought about the word brainstorm as a noun? Weird, eh?