Trick or Treat!
T-28 days until Halloween. More importantly, T-24 days until Fox Fest and T-25 days until Deadweird. And most importantly, T-16 days until 13 Days of Halloween on Freeform.
When I was a kid, I used to really enjoy dressing up for Halloween. At least I think I did. My parents have some pretty embarrassing photos of me in costumes (prime example below).
When I became a teenager, I was “too cool” for Halloween. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I really got into wearing Halloween costumes again and it was all due to a last minute invitation to attend Fox Fest in 2013, which is a Halloween party hosted by the local classic rock radio station. My husband and I rushed around the day of the party and scrambled to put something fun together. The result turned out pretty hilarious if you ask me.
We called ourselves “Dueling Guitarists.” Allen was Slash, who was the former guitarist for Guns N Roses at the time (and is currently playing with the band again). I was DJ Ashba, one of Slash’s successors in GNR. Nobody but the true Guns N Roses fans knew who I was—I was called Criss Angel or Bret Michaels (really?!). I’m pretty sure Slash was the only reason why we ended up winning the couples’ costume contest at Fox Fest, although our attention to detail with the temporary tattoos and fake piercings could’ve also been a factor.
Flash forward to following year. We dressed up as an iconic couple I’m sure you’ve probably seen more than once on Halloween night. Mrs. Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction.
Any costume that allows me to wear yoga pants is all right in my book. And those sideburns on Allen crack me up every time I look at them. These were easy costumes to put together. All we had to buy were the wigs, since we owned clothes that worked for the looks.
Our 2015 costumes are hard to top. Wait, let me correct that—Allen's costume is hard to top. Very few people knew who I was (yet again), but together we were Prince and Apollonia a la Purple Rain. We even borrowed my mom’s motorcycle to recreate the photo from the movie.
I’m glad we chose to do it when we did, because Prince had passed away several months later and there were quite a few Prince costumes that following Halloween. I have to toot my own horn here, because I did a pretty good job making the purple coat from scratch. Also, Allen sewed some sparkly buttons down the sides of his skinny jeans. I may or may not have been slightly impressed with his sewing skills. Allen formed a new appreciation for the effort it takes to apply eyeliner then, too.
After our tribute to the Purple One, we decided to go a little more cosplay for our next costumes and re-created a couple of characters from the old school Mortal Kombat video game. Allen went straight for the big guns and morphed himself into Raiden, while I was Jade (the character, not myself).
We ended up winning two costume contests last year. Evidently someone at Fox Fest had complained that people with store bought costumes shouldn’t be allowed to compete. I took that as a great compliment, considering I made both of our costumes. Well, Allen made the glasses for his costume, but I made his sash/stole, armor (out of craft foam, paint, and elastic) along with my shirt, mask, and staff. The base for Allen’s costume was just a pair of white sweatpants and white long-sleeve shirt. I wore black jeggings with my top, because let’s be real, I wasn’t about to go out in just a bodysuit.
We’ve already been working on the costumes for this year. It'll probably be another year everyone recognizes Allen, but not me...that's okay, though. Stay tuned for the ridiculousness that will no doubt ensue and please share any of your favorite Halloween costumes with me, too!
