Halloween

Planning a Halloween costume always takes me back to my childhood. Most of my costumes back then weren't terribly inventive; I was Garfield, Snoopy, Rainbow Brite, something with a plastic mask. Still, a few stick out in my memory, both as a kid and as an "adult."

My Five Favorite Halloween Costumes

1 - Laura Ingalls Wilder - I think I was in third grade for this one. My mother and aunt sewed the entire dress, originally so I could represent Germany on our "Christmas Around the World" float for Campfire Girls the year before. For Halloween I added a pioneer bonnet. The dress itself wasn't that remarkable, but the fact that my Mom made it for me just blew me away.

2 - Dryad - 2005 - Not a terribly sexy outfit, as I felt kind of like a giant brown couch, but it was quite cool. My coven sis made me a "trunk" dress from brown fabric, and I made a gigantic headdress of leaves, branches, a bird's nest, and several birds. The only problem with the head thing was that once I was good and drunk, it started sliding sideways on my head every ten minutes. Or that might have been my entire body listing starboard, trying not to pass out. I don't remember very clearly.

3 - Bible-Thumper - I think I was 23 or 24? For the Witches' Ball that year I threw together what may have been the Best Costume in the Universe, Bar None. This was around the time that all those wacky Fundamentalists were protesting the Fort Hood military Pagan group, and our dear governor-now-President-damn-it said he didn't think Wicca was a real religion. The whole thing nauseated me so much I decided to commemorate narrow-minded human stupidity for Halloween. I wore a knee-length black skirt and white dress shirt, knee socks, an enormous fake gold crucifix (designed for vampire costumes, I believe), and a WWJD? button. I had a friend poof up my hair as hugely as possible (known as Hallelujah Hair--the higher the hair, the closer to Heaven). I also carried a picket sign (Wicca is the Devil's Work! or something equally silly), and a "Bible" that was actually my copy of Drawing Down the Moon covered in black paper. I spent the Ball pretending to pray in a loud, hyperSouthern drawl. I was unanimously awarded Scariest Costume.

4 - Demeter - The following year for the Witches' Ball I wore a green Greek-inspired dress and a really badass head wreath made of autumn leaves, punkins, wheat, and all sorts of other stuff. Not my most creative outfit ever, and rather simple, but it looked really splendid on me, particularly given that the dress was slit up to the thigh and I walked around barefoot all evening. (Barefoot women are just sexy.)

5 - Tarty Schoolgirl - 2006 - I realize it's terribly politically incorrect and will mark me as the Worst Feminist Ever, but this year I decided I wanted to do something completely unlike me. One thing I never do is wear short skirts, and that gave me the idea--a red plaid skirt cut up to here (with a matching tie, thanks to S1ren the Sewing Maven), a white dress shirt open down to there, over a black lace bra and chaste anime-inspired white panties (keep your tentacle monsters far away, please). I even have white stockings with bows on them, and fake glasses to wear. It's too bad my hair is short this year or I'd wear pigtails, but I think that might be pushing the pervert quotient a bit far. I may carry a ruler so I can smack any wandering hands. *laugh* I'm probably going to freeze to death, but I'll be the sexiest Popsicle evah.

Hey, it could be worse. I could be dressing up as a Congressional page.

Comments

[Pagan Dawn]

I think my most creative costume to date was my "Holy Cow"-- halo, wings, giant crucifix + cow costume. I won a prize for most original costume that year.

This year I'm going as a Domninatrix Fairy. Pleather wings, scourge, bodice and fluffy crinoline. Yeah. Gonna be interesting.