I love making costumes. No, to be more precise, I love to imagine and plan and design costumes. Making them is actually kind of a chore, and I usually get carried away and spend way too much money. But the dreaming, the planning is pure pleasure. I love the fabrics and the colors and the shapes and, most important, the story the costume tells.
Ipso facto, it stands to reason that I love Halloween. I'm fortunate enough to be invited to a number of parties and pub crawls and I have wonderful friends who enjoy the same silliness. This year, however, I have a problem: how in the world am I going to top Pot Brownie?
Halloween in Tampa is HOT. Like, over 90 degrees hot. And humid. And there's usually alcohol involved. And I'm way too old to do the slutty costume thing anymore. And I'm way too chunky, but we won't go there. The first year I was invited to Ethan and Erin's famous Halloween party, I took their Cirque du Carnivale theme seriously. I decided to go as Lucrezia Borgia, poison ring and all. Because I can't do anything the easy way, I found gorgeous silk brocade online and my mother and I made this stunning Renaissance gown, complete with silk camicia. I nearly fainted from the heat and had to run home and change after less than an hour. When the next year rolled around I racked my brain to come up with something comfortable and clever when it hit me: Pot Brownie. Khaki skirt, Blue shirt, a real Brownie sash, hair in ponytails, all the proper badges and pins and troop numbers. The piece de resistance was the string of doobs (oregano, sadly) my neighbor rolled for me, sewn neatly on the sash like a round of happy ammo. It was epic. No one know who the heck I was, but everyone still talks about Pot Brownie. The State of Colorado patch and my Achievement patches (Brownie Cooks, Brownie Scientist, and Brownie Makes Friends) were nice touches. I even used my actual Brownie troop number. Put a joint and a beer in my hand and suddenly I was the life of the party.
This is an actual Brownie sash. Just how big are 8-year-olds these days?
So how do I top that? I went as Isis last year - the 70s Saturday morning TV show super hero, not the terrorists - and it was OK but hardly stellar. This year, after a few hours of head scratching and aimless searching, I decided I wanted to be Pennywise. Tim Curry's Pennywise. In 90 degree weather while not looking any uglier than is absolutely necessary. I searched online and saw a female Pennywise costume that was cute but not really me, then I found the most amazing makeup example and I was hooked. It's Pennywise for me this year. Now if I can just pull it off.
I'm currently researching hair and makeup and designing a costume that will be comfortable and still make me feel somewhat attractive. I'm thinking a corset with a bustle skirt and lace up fingerless gloves. I'll shrink the ruffled collar so it doesn't overwhelm me. I need to make the gloves from striped fabric to mimic the clown sleeves and use some sequin fabric for the sides and back of the corset to represent the vest. What do you think? I'll report back in a few days after I get back from my next business trip.