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petit_chou @ : Show me yours and I'll show you mine
A friend of mine just did the same thing on her LJ, and I'm nothing if not a desperate copy cat. What were you for Halloween this year? Did you make a jack'o'lantern? Ur Halloween pix, plz show me them.
Last year, as you know, Mike and I went all out. This year, for a number of reasons, we just weren't feeling it. This was disappointing, given that we're both enthusiastic fans of Halloween and costuming, but for some reason, the magic just wasn't there. Many, many people expressed shock and dismay that we were so unmotivated. We were told we were not allowed to attend the karaoke night we were going to if we didn't show up in costume, which only served to make us MORE resistant to costuming (after all, half-assed, dispirited costumes are so much more insulting than no costume at all, aren't they? Aren't they?). The only pumpkin I carved this year was with Miss Juliet. It was undeniably awesome, but I only got to enjoy looking at it for a couple of hours.
Then, on October 30, when I came home Mike said, "I kinda want to go to Halloween Adventure. Is that crazy?" Yes, I told him, yes it is crazy, but whatever. Let's do it. It was sure to be a mob scene, but as long as we were prepared for the fact that we'd have to wait in line and the supply would be picked over and all that, what's the harm? So we grabbed dinner and then stood in line for 30 minutes in order to be LET IN. The place was, predictably, crowded and full of frantic shoppers and exhausted employees, but it wasn't as heinous as one might expect. Pretty quickly, Mike spotted his prize: a bee costume. Years ago he began claiming he wanted to be "Da Bee" (like Strong Bad. You know, da bee? From nature?) for Halloween one year. This year, it was to be a reality. Me, I entertained a couple of ideas, but many of them required more effort and more specialized supplies than I had available to me. Ultimately, I decided to rework my Zatanna costume from the previous year and make it into something slightly different.
After sitting for Juliet on Saturday, I popped into a couple of fabric stores in the Garment District. I came away with five yards of red tulle, three yards of black tulle, and a bright red feather. Coupled with the cheap felt top hat I'd bought the night before and a pair of red gloves, I got to work. There's nothing like sewing a bustle while wearing only a corset and your underwear. I kept making Mike come out to the living room to try on my dance shorts (onto which I was stitching the skirt) so I could pin the tulle up into a passable bustle; his willingness to assist in such a girly endeavor is part of what makes me love him the most. But I hate him for having nicer legs than me.
We gobbled a quick dinner from Burger Burger, and then I started the lengthy getting-girly process (shower, pin hair, wig cap, heavy black eye makeup, fake eyelashes, lip stick, concealer and powder, glitter, tights, corset, skirt, shoes, bow tie, wig, jacket, pack bag, gloves, etc.). If there's one thing I love, it's walking around in the city on Halloween. We got on the 4 train with a gaggle of X-Men who were in startlingly good costumes (the Nightcrawler and the Rogue were particularly well made). We walked the wrong way for several blocks, but I tell myself it's okay because my costume made a very well-dressed, classy older lady laugh out loud and then call out, "That's just BEAUTIFUL!"
We got going in the right direction and eventually spotted Baly (who was "covered in Bs") and Saj (who was...um...wearing some of her clothes that were vaguely vintage-ish) out front talking to an Evil Teddy Bear. Inside, we found Mike and Rebekkah (the hosts) dressed as Zorro and...a Spanish lady? Or something? Whatever it was, she looked great. And then we spotted the FIVE people in Snuggies. FIVE. SNUGGIES. And they didn't even all come together. People, that is not a costume. F minus.
We sang some sweet karaoke tunes. I assisted on someone's pick of Roxette's "Joyride," and kicked out my own choices of both "Tainted Love" and "Two Princes." Mike nailed Lady Gaga's "Lovegame" because he is hilarious and awesome, though he missed an opportunity to A) sing "let's have some fun this bee is sick," and B) sing Blind Melon's "No Rain." Oh, hindsight. We left after a couple of hours and rode the train home with an awesome Casey Jones who went out of his mind when I recognized him. A drunk hamburger asked if I was Zatanna, which led me to ask him where the hell he was LAST year.
Next year, better Halloween plans. I'm glad we didn't "miss" it this year, but next year (even though it'll be a month after our wedding), we're doing it properly.
Now, it's your turn. Hit me with some photos, yo.
Last year, as you know, Mike and I went all out. This year, for a number of reasons, we just weren't feeling it. This was disappointing, given that we're both enthusiastic fans of Halloween and costuming, but for some reason, the magic just wasn't there. Many, many people expressed shock and dismay that we were so unmotivated. We were told we were not allowed to attend the karaoke night we were going to if we didn't show up in costume, which only served to make us MORE resistant to costuming (after all, half-assed, dispirited costumes are so much more insulting than no costume at all, aren't they? Aren't they?). The only pumpkin I carved this year was with Miss Juliet. It was undeniably awesome, but I only got to enjoy looking at it for a couple of hours.
Then, on October 30, when I came home Mike said, "I kinda want to go to Halloween Adventure. Is that crazy?" Yes, I told him, yes it is crazy, but whatever. Let's do it. It was sure to be a mob scene, but as long as we were prepared for the fact that we'd have to wait in line and the supply would be picked over and all that, what's the harm? So we grabbed dinner and then stood in line for 30 minutes in order to be LET IN. The place was, predictably, crowded and full of frantic shoppers and exhausted employees, but it wasn't as heinous as one might expect. Pretty quickly, Mike spotted his prize: a bee costume. Years ago he began claiming he wanted to be "Da Bee" (like Strong Bad. You know, da bee? From nature?) for Halloween one year. This year, it was to be a reality. Me, I entertained a couple of ideas, but many of them required more effort and more specialized supplies than I had available to me. Ultimately, I decided to rework my Zatanna costume from the previous year and make it into something slightly different.
After sitting for Juliet on Saturday, I popped into a couple of fabric stores in the Garment District. I came away with five yards of red tulle, three yards of black tulle, and a bright red feather. Coupled with the cheap felt top hat I'd bought the night before and a pair of red gloves, I got to work. There's nothing like sewing a bustle while wearing only a corset and your underwear. I kept making Mike come out to the living room to try on my dance shorts (onto which I was stitching the skirt) so I could pin the tulle up into a passable bustle; his willingness to assist in such a girly endeavor is part of what makes me love him the most. But I hate him for having nicer legs than me.
We gobbled a quick dinner from Burger Burger, and then I started the lengthy getting-girly process (shower, pin hair, wig cap, heavy black eye makeup, fake eyelashes, lip stick, concealer and powder, glitter, tights, corset, skirt, shoes, bow tie, wig, jacket, pack bag, gloves, etc.). If there's one thing I love, it's walking around in the city on Halloween. We got on the 4 train with a gaggle of X-Men who were in startlingly good costumes (the Nightcrawler and the Rogue were particularly well made). We walked the wrong way for several blocks, but I tell myself it's okay because my costume made a very well-dressed, classy older lady laugh out loud and then call out, "That's just BEAUTIFUL!"
We got going in the right direction and eventually spotted Baly (who was "covered in Bs") and Saj (who was...um...wearing some of her clothes that were vaguely vintage-ish) out front talking to an Evil Teddy Bear. Inside, we found Mike and Rebekkah (the hosts) dressed as Zorro and...a Spanish lady? Or something? Whatever it was, she looked great. And then we spotted the FIVE people in Snuggies. FIVE. SNUGGIES. And they didn't even all come together. People, that is not a costume. F minus.
We sang some sweet karaoke tunes. I assisted on someone's pick of Roxette's "Joyride," and kicked out my own choices of both "Tainted Love" and "Two Princes." Mike nailed Lady Gaga's "Lovegame" because he is hilarious and awesome, though he missed an opportunity to A) sing "let's have some fun this bee is sick," and B) sing Blind Melon's "No Rain." Oh, hindsight. We left after a couple of hours and rode the train home with an awesome Casey Jones who went out of his mind when I recognized him. A drunk hamburger asked if I was Zatanna, which led me to ask him where the hell he was LAST year.
Next year, better Halloween plans. I'm glad we didn't "miss" it this year, but next year (even though it'll be a month after our wedding), we're doing it properly.
Now, it's your turn. Hit me with some photos, yo.