Costumes

Halloween was always my favorite holiday. Is this surprising? Hello, chocolate! Easter was a close second, but Easter involved uncomfortable Sunday clothes (I won't say "and a trip to church," because I don't think I was too strongly against it when I was younger). I was a cowgirl for the longest time. Costumes also included a football player (traded uniforms with a friend, who made a darned cute cheerleader), a hobo, and maybe a clown.

It wasn't until I got older that I really started having fun with my costumes, including:

• The year as a teenager and resentful of [everything] not getting all that candy, my brother, his friend and I went trick-or-treating. I was a cute little reindeer, my brother an asshole (pillow folded around his head and Tootsie Roll in his mouth), and his friend a terrorist. We were quite the group. (Yes, I know. The wallpaper in the dining room was horrendous. It came with the house, as well as some seriously nasty and rough plastered walls. It "kept the kids from putting their dirty hands" on them. Yeah, only replacing dirt with their BLOOD. And yes, those are Guess? jeans, rolled 80's style with my chunky red Gap socks and faggy whites.)
• The year in college, going to an office party as a little girl on tv. I sewed a little baby doll together, sans head, and wore it as a necklace. Carrying around the tv set -- a huge box decorated for the effect -- was a little unwieldy, but kept the Freddy Kruger-dressed freak I worked with from sidling up behind me on the dance floor while I was getting my groove on.
• Another year in college, going to a kegger as a Chuck E. Cheese's employee. My lamest adult costume to date.

Teaching opened up a whole new era of Halloween costumes for me. My six years yielded the following:

1. A hippie, wearing the jeans a friend doodled on with permanent marker. If I didn't feel like getting up would make me heave, I'd take a picture since I still have them. (I got hit on by an 8th grader this year.)
2. A flower (idea stolen from the old college roommate). I wore green sweats with a cut out flower around my head.
3. A lifeguard. This was my lazy year. When else would I get to teach all day in sweats?
4. Paul Stanley from Kiss. My co-teacher was Gene Simmons and one of our students was Ace Freeley. We called a local clown for make up tips, and she did us for free. (Flotsam and Jetsam t-shirt and black leather jacket borrowed from mister mrtl.)
5. An alien. I wore my father's old metallic silver workout suit and some combat boots from Good Will I spray painted silver. My hair was up in a unicorn-type ponytail and also painted silver. (I got hit on by a 7th grader this year. I think he dug my thumb dancing and that I was at ease enough while chaperoning the dance to go out and groove by myself.)
6. Another teacher. My final year, I had moved to a new school, where many of the older faculty were adamantly opposed to costumes. Hell, they fought for no "Hat Day" during spirit week. Lame-o! Anyway, I griped to my homeroom students (also my special ed class) when they made the announcement of no dressing up for Halloween that "no one was going to tell me I couldn't dress up." Being a general khaki-and-polo-type teacher, my students were shocked when I showed up in a coat dress and high heels. While announcements were read, I pulled off my heels and replaced them with thick athletic socks and tennies, then put on some really thick and dark lipstick. I touched my lips as I talked to my students, then put the same finger to my head in thought. It didn't take them long for them to catch on that I was dressed up like their administrator, a friend who had been at my previous school with me.

This last "costume" came in handy when I started with my current job as well. In the professional world, it is not appropriate to wear costumes, but hell if we couldn't wear something that someone else got away with on a regular work day. My personal favorite was dark lip liner forming a deep V, tight shirt and bangs sprayed straight up. Three of us did this that day (the original had left the business some time before).

Generally I'll only dress up if I have somewhere to go while dressed up. I see motherhood as a benefit here. Bug gives me somewhere to go, the excuse to participate. This year? Mario.

Update: Geez, I almost forgot last year. I donned a blonde wig and khaki scrubs, made myself some cardboard bars and went to an officer spouse function as the Imprisoned Martha. Maybe I have a picture of that somewhere, too, though they'll have to be added later.

Another Update: This is why I should actually start at least taking notes when the topic is chosen rather than writing it the night before. Freshman year in high school I was a Christmas tree. I went to a party and was quite the spectacle on the dance floor with my twinkle lights. Sucks though how limited my mobility was with the cord.

See also Take II.

next week's topic: secrets

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Note: Links will be added to participating blogs. If you're not included here, please comment with a link to your post.

Ern, Kalki, KC, Kranki, La Pix, RazDreams, Summer, Susie

Comments

[william]

The "Asshole" costume is funny. You make a hot ACE.

[Susie]

These are great. I LOVE Halloween, too. I am hated by the other moms because LG's costumes are outstanding.

This is one I haven't done yet, but you might enjoy: Bathing Beauty: dress in flesh colored leotard and tights. Cut out the bottom of a large plastic toy tub, this will be your bath tub. Step in and hang it over you with suspenders that you attach to it. Attach iridescent balloons (bubbles) to your clothing and scattered on the rim of the tub. Hot glue a washcloth and rubberducky to the rim. Add shower cap.
I gotta do that one some day. Saw it in a magazine years ago.
I've written a costume post, very different from this. Will put it up in a few. :)

[william]

I meant Paul Stanley. A hot Paul Stanley.

[ieatcrayonz]

Mrtl the red-nosed reindeer
Striked a very sexy pose.

Next to the transperent wallpaper
You could even say it glowed

[kalki]

Look at you as Paul Stanley!! Just when I thought I couldn't possibly blove you any more...

[RazDreams]

i think i can see your dining room table reflected in that wallpaper! cute (and slightly seductive!) reindeer though! :)

[LadyBug]

My favorite costume ever was when I 'dressed up' as a black-eyed pea.

I painted on a black eye with some mascara. Then painted a big letter "P" on a white t-shirt.

I thought I was so clever.

Unfortunately, since I wore a black skirt and black tights, everyone seemed to think I was a hooker.

Sigh. So much for cleverness.

[suburban misfit]

Excellent!

My kids' costumes rock, too, and it's really mostly a matter of luck (as I'm not terribly creative or crafty) and the other moms think I spend ages and ages doing them and they hate me for it.

Friends of ours host an annual New Year's Eve party, with themes. And dressing up! Some past themes include The 7 Deadly Sins, 1950's Havana, and Myths and Legends. SO MUCH FUN.

[song]

please tell me your going to post a pic of the alien costume? coz if it's anywhere near as realistic as the kiss outfit it's going to rock.

[Ern]

Wait, what's going on? I got all kinds of distracted after reading this:

"my father's old metallic silver workout suit"

I'm afraid we MUST have a picture! Picture! Picture! Picture!

Oh, and I love the idea of dressing up as a person you work with. :)

[La Pix]

I loved reading this!
What do you wear for Bug on Halloween? You know, at the "workplace"??

I posted something super short about costumes, albeit buried under a few photos of a storm from Saturday night.

http://waveofmodulation.typepad.com/wave_of_modulation/2005/07/look_away_and_n.html

[Girl.A]

The funniest costume I can recall was the one mentioned months ago on Dooce's comments.

That stuff that shoots outta babies bums after they eat corn on the cob: Shit in a corn costume.

[mrtl]

William - He wore a t-shirt that said "I am an asshole" under a jacket. If someone asked what he was, and he thought they could handle it, he'd flash them. Otherwise he'd just say he was a marshmallow.

Susie - Sounds cute, but only if I didn't have to sit down.

yonzie - You crack me up.

Kalki - ::hugs::

More later - gotta get back to work.

[Amy]

Mrtl- you got some good imaginatio going with all those 'tumes!

Love your Paul S. And what a great little smile hiding behind that door/wall thingy.

I am off to contemplate some costumes of my own.

LONG LIVE MMM!

[Bente]

Hi mrtl. Excellent costumes! I wasn't able to come up with anything this week, but I'll try real hard for next week!

[Heathen]

Oi! I was a black eyed Pea once too. No one got it at all.

You look great in your kiss make up.

I feel like I wear a costume every single day of my life. I just pretend to be normal like everyone else!

[mrtl]

Raz - Yeah, I see it, too. You realize the pattern on that wallpaper was felt. The previous owners put a whole roll of it in the attic.

LadyBug - Too funny! So misunderstood.

misfit - That sounds like a lot of fun. How neat that your kids' incredible costumes miraculously materialized!

song - Welcome! If I can find a picture, I'll post it. I think that one made it into the yearbook, but those are all in a box in the garage.

Ern - You strengthen my resolve to find it.

La Pix - I saw it! Not sure about Bug's costume this year. Year 1 she was a chili pepper (http://maddenvision.typepad.com/photos/month_1/redhotbaby.html) and last year a cute little butterfly (pictures not posted just yet - I've been sidetracked on that task). There was some consideration that she'd be one of the girls from Barney. Then again, maybe she'll be a pimp.

Girl.A - That's gross. It doesn't surprise me as coming up in conversation there, but it's still gross.

Amy - Hey! I'll be sure to stop by.

Bente - Thanks for checking in. I was starting to worry about you. I love the redesign with the frog!

Heathen - Thanks! Being normal sounds like a pretty good costume, too.

[Von Krankipantzen]

How great that as a teacher you dressed up. None of my teachers ever did. Especially the Kiss make-up. How cool are you?

[mrtl]

Kranki - Maybe they weren't allowed. Sucky schools.