My husband and I went to a Ron Burgundy costume party… where all of the men had great costumes, but I was the ONLY woman who dressed up. They all had cute cocktail dresses, and looked very chic while I wore a hot pink pants suit with huge shoulder pads and a side pony tail. I decided instantly that I would never be friends with any of those women. Fun before cuteness!
My very thrifty and creative mom reckoned that she could approximate greasepaint with Vaseline and flour. I will never forget the profound discomfort of that Halloween.
My mom made me a custom witch cape in 2nd grade, and I insisted on being a witch for the next four halloweens I also wore it frequently on non-halloween days.
Just a note that: I really needed a smile today, and this was just the ticket. I hope the feeling of being the coolest kid in the world (pre-party) is the feeling that sticks with you the most!
In 6th grade, the last year I went trick or treating, I went as a picnic table. I got the idea from an American Girl magazine. My mom painted a giant piece of cardboard with red and white checks, I glued paper plates on it, and then cut out food pics from magazines and glued that to the plates. My mom still has the cardboard (she uses it for stretching doilies), but, sadly, there are no photographs of the costume. (Also, the costume was really heavy to carry around. We had straps on it, but they really didn't work very well.)
I do not care for dressing up for Halloween. I rarely remember a Halloween when I got to choose my own costume. My mother was an excellent seamstress so she made my costumes a lot. The one year I LOVED dressing up was when I was Jeannie from the I Dream of Jeannie sitcom. The costume was PERFECT. (In retrospect though, dressing an eight year old girl up as Jeannie might not have been the most prudent choice of Halloween costumes.) I was Raggedy Ann for two years in a row - I was mortified! The final straw was when I had to dress up as Darth Vader in one of those cheap plastic/vinyl costumes that were in abundance during the 1970s (perhaps her sewing machine was in the shop.) I do enjoy decorating my home as well as scary movies and candy, but Halloween costumes are just not for me.
I have a long history of costumes, from my little kid years (when my costumes were chosen by my older brother - who, in retrospect, made me wear atrocious things out of pure bullying) to my pre-teen years, when my friends and me created with our own hands elaborate choreography (once we built the entire ancient Egypt pharaoh court), As an "adult" (am I, perhaps, now?) I'd love to dress up in costumes again, but my friends and people I frequent are too adult, so I simply cry in my closet, surrounded by non-worn glorious costumes I imagine.
This was constantly me every Halloween, where I either felt like I went too over the top (compared to everyone else) or showed up in costume when no one else was dressed up. Including the first Halloween at my new job.
I wore an elaborate Halloween costume my first day at a new job (when will I learn) and only one other person dressed up - and she wouldn't make eye contact with me all day! The nerve, she was dressed up too! I bet you had great costumes.
No cats were hurt, but my friend's cat died of old age and I realized for the first time that she wouldn't get eight more lives with it. They just have the one.
I never dressed up on Halloween as the holiday didn't really exist here in Finland in my childhood (it does these days, my kids love it) . We did, and kids still do, put on witch costumes on Easter to do our version of trick-or-treating.
What I thought seeing your cute picture is that we are from a generation where kids looked like kids! It makes me sad to see my 11 yo already losing the child in her and being concerned with looking a certain way. This without access to social media..
I want to read or hear more about witch costumes on Easter, this sounds so nice! And it's so hard to fight the urge to look and be a certain way, I hope your kid still has decades more of being silly and small and childlike whenever they can.
The last Halloween party I hosted I was newly back in my hometown, or so I felt newly back after five years away I’d been back maybe a year and a half.
My house mate and I decided to host a Halloween party, I was dressed as the ice queen with spray painted white hair in a back combed into an epic doo, blue corset, white puffy skirt and a white face with carefully applied fake lashes. My house mate had gone to great efforts to decorate and make Halloween themed food.
The party was supposed to start at 9, note supposed to. We had two friends staying over night so there was me, my boyfriend at the time, my house mate and our two mates sat dressed up with our pre drink in hand. 9 came and went, it’s okay it’s not cool to be on time. 9.30 came and went, 10… then 10.30 at this stage we were nervous drinking and were pretty tipsy. 11 came and still no one. I’ve never felt so ridiculous in all my life, dressed up in a decorated house on our todd. May I add we had three friendship groups (who didn’t know each other) between me, my boyfriend and housemate where people were invited from. Not one person at 11.10, nor a message.
We were just about to implode with shame when the door went and what felt like EVERYONE arrived at once. The house filled, but after waiting so long and the belly feeling of rejection plus the drinks we were in utter shock and I don’t think we ever recovered!
Sheila this is scarier than any almost every horror movie I’ve watched. Two hours with no guests and spray painted hair! It sounds like it looked so cool though!
Hahaah yeah! I think I thought I looked cool till I was sat on my sofa waiting for people I I didn’t know if would come haha 😆 I’ve not recovered almost 10 years later!
I love this ... the retrospective humor of the memory (for surely now it seems funny though it didn’t then) and the childhood interest in clowns. So cool!
jester costume flashback. mine was red and black but same style, i was same age. so many bells. people in our neighborhood were not jester-aware. "hi honey, what are you?" always homemade costumes that mostly involved wearing boxes. i just wanted to be a ghost...not with my sheets, young lady.
My husband and I went to a Ron Burgundy costume party… where all of the men had great costumes, but I was the ONLY woman who dressed up. They all had cute cocktail dresses, and looked very chic while I wore a hot pink pants suit with huge shoulder pads and a side pony tail. I decided instantly that I would never be friends with any of those women. Fun before cuteness!
My very thrifty and creative mom reckoned that she could approximate greasepaint with Vaseline and flour. I will never forget the profound discomfort of that Halloween.
This is the best comment ever.
My mom made me a custom witch cape in 2nd grade, and I insisted on being a witch for the next four halloweens I also wore it frequently on non-halloween days.
I love that - if I had a cape I'd be wearing it this second.
Just a note that: I really needed a smile today, and this was just the ticket. I hope the feeling of being the coolest kid in the world (pre-party) is the feeling that sticks with you the most!
Thanks so much Sam.
In 6th grade, the last year I went trick or treating, I went as a picnic table. I got the idea from an American Girl magazine. My mom painted a giant piece of cardboard with red and white checks, I glued paper plates on it, and then cut out food pics from magazines and glued that to the plates. My mom still has the cardboard (she uses it for stretching doilies), but, sadly, there are no photographs of the costume. (Also, the costume was really heavy to carry around. We had straps on it, but they really didn't work very well.)
PICNIC TABLE is so good. I'm so into costumes that only work for standing still to take the photo in a magazine, and otherwise make no sense at all.
I do not care for dressing up for Halloween. I rarely remember a Halloween when I got to choose my own costume. My mother was an excellent seamstress so she made my costumes a lot. The one year I LOVED dressing up was when I was Jeannie from the I Dream of Jeannie sitcom. The costume was PERFECT. (In retrospect though, dressing an eight year old girl up as Jeannie might not have been the most prudent choice of Halloween costumes.) I was Raggedy Ann for two years in a row - I was mortified! The final straw was when I had to dress up as Darth Vader in one of those cheap plastic/vinyl costumes that were in abundance during the 1970s (perhaps her sewing machine was in the shop.) I do enjoy decorating my home as well as scary movies and candy, but Halloween costumes are just not for me.
I have a long history of costumes, from my little kid years (when my costumes were chosen by my older brother - who, in retrospect, made me wear atrocious things out of pure bullying) to my pre-teen years, when my friends and me created with our own hands elaborate choreography (once we built the entire ancient Egypt pharaoh court), As an "adult" (am I, perhaps, now?) I'd love to dress up in costumes again, but my friends and people I frequent are too adult, so I simply cry in my closet, surrounded by non-worn glorious costumes I imagine.
This was constantly me every Halloween, where I either felt like I went too over the top (compared to everyone else) or showed up in costume when no one else was dressed up. Including the first Halloween at my new job.
I wore an elaborate Halloween costume my first day at a new job (when will I learn) and only one other person dressed up - and she wouldn't make eye contact with me all day! The nerve, she was dressed up too! I bet you had great costumes.
What's with cats having only one life? That makes me worried... please tell me no one was hurt
No cats were hurt, but my friend's cat died of old age and I realized for the first time that she wouldn't get eight more lives with it. They just have the one.
I never dressed up on Halloween as the holiday didn't really exist here in Finland in my childhood (it does these days, my kids love it) . We did, and kids still do, put on witch costumes on Easter to do our version of trick-or-treating.
What I thought seeing your cute picture is that we are from a generation where kids looked like kids! It makes me sad to see my 11 yo already losing the child in her and being concerned with looking a certain way. This without access to social media..
I want to read or hear more about witch costumes on Easter, this sounds so nice! And it's so hard to fight the urge to look and be a certain way, I hope your kid still has decades more of being silly and small and childlike whenever they can.
Not really the same but costume related…
The last Halloween party I hosted I was newly back in my hometown, or so I felt newly back after five years away I’d been back maybe a year and a half.
My house mate and I decided to host a Halloween party, I was dressed as the ice queen with spray painted white hair in a back combed into an epic doo, blue corset, white puffy skirt and a white face with carefully applied fake lashes. My house mate had gone to great efforts to decorate and make Halloween themed food.
The party was supposed to start at 9, note supposed to. We had two friends staying over night so there was me, my boyfriend at the time, my house mate and our two mates sat dressed up with our pre drink in hand. 9 came and went, it’s okay it’s not cool to be on time. 9.30 came and went, 10… then 10.30 at this stage we were nervous drinking and were pretty tipsy. 11 came and still no one. I’ve never felt so ridiculous in all my life, dressed up in a decorated house on our todd. May I add we had three friendship groups (who didn’t know each other) between me, my boyfriend and housemate where people were invited from. Not one person at 11.10, nor a message.
We were just about to implode with shame when the door went and what felt like EVERYONE arrived at once. The house filled, but after waiting so long and the belly feeling of rejection plus the drinks we were in utter shock and I don’t think we ever recovered!
I swore I’d never host a Halloween party again 😆
Sheila this is scarier than any almost every horror movie I’ve watched. Two hours with no guests and spray painted hair! It sounds like it looked so cool though!
Hahaah yeah! I think I thought I looked cool till I was sat on my sofa waiting for people I I didn’t know if would come haha 😆 I’ve not recovered almost 10 years later!
We didn’t have much. Casper the ghost for years.
I love this ... the retrospective humor of the memory (for surely now it seems funny though it didn’t then) and the childhood interest in clowns. So cool!
jester costume flashback. mine was red and black but same style, i was same age. so many bells. people in our neighborhood were not jester-aware. "hi honey, what are you?" always homemade costumes that mostly involved wearing boxes. i just wanted to be a ghost...not with my sheets, young lady.
Same - my parents acted like our sheets were a thousand dollars. How are we supposed to make ghost costumes without access to sheets?
Sooooooo cute thank you for sharing 🫶🏻🫶🏻
Such cute pictures!!!