Memorable Halloween Costumes

Following up on yesterday's Reverb 10 post, I can finally finish posting this entry which has been sitting in my drafts folder since Halloween.

When I was younger, my mom always made my Halloween costumes. This has carried over to the present, in which my mom still makes my costumes (when I ask) or I attempt to make something on my own.

I'm not very good at sewing. I do not own a sewing machine. My mom has tried on numerous occasions to teach me how to use her sewing machine, and it just doesn't end well - for the fabric or for our relationship. So I stick to the good ol' needle and thread.

Anywho, my costumes have usually gone over pretty well. Here's a look at a few memorable ones:

*****

Senior Dress Up Day, 2001
This might very well be the most memorable costume I have ever worn. In high school, seniors got to dress up for Halloween. My mom and I had "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" permanently paused in our VCR for about a month as we tried to study every piece of the Oompa Loompa costume. While my mom sewed the white jumper, I painted the cheap $5 Wal-Mart shoes brown, painted brown stripes on the white socks and white stripes on the brown turtleneck. My mom added the brown and white yarn poof on the shoes. I also had white gloves.

And my friend Heather came over to tease the crap out of my hair to give it the Oompa look. Yes, that is my hair...teased, curled, bobby pinned, twisted and sprayed green.

this was at the end of the day, so I took my white gloves off

at the Pep Rally with Winnie the Pooh and Punky Brewster

 *****

APO Party, 2003 
I believe this was Outsider Halloween party...maybe? There is nothing memorable about the design of my nun costume. My mom was confused when she helped make my habit. I didn't tell her what I had planned. After it was sewn and my mom was safely back in Corpus, I hacked up the bottom and shortened it...added some fishnet hose...
 
and passed out condoms to all the guests at the party. Given the reputation of some peeps in APO, the condoms were a smart idea.

TP happened to show up dressed like a priest. A sign that we were meant to be best friends.

you can see some of the condoms I passed out in Gloria's dress strap & above Kim's badge

*****

Work, 2008 
During my first year working at my current job, I was surprised to see that so many coworkers got into the Halloween spirit. Since I had only been working there for about 2 1/2 months, I decided not to dress up. The following year, I wanted to partake in the fun, and I knew just what - or rather, who - I wanted to be...Ugly Betty.

I loved that show, and I thought it would be a fun outfit to put together. I was going to Puerto Vallarta the week before for Derek and Denise's wedding, so I was thinking maybe I could find a poncho. I figured it wouldn't say Guadalajara but maybe just find a red, authentic one and then I would sew on the rest of the designs.

No such luck finding a red poncho, so I bought some red felt type material. There was a bit of a disaster as I tried to cut the hole for my neck and then as I tried to trim the arm area (while wearing what was left of the poncho and looking in a mirror - yeah, not a good idea). I finally gave up and went and bought cheap red cotton material. I added some blue fringe. For the designs, I created similar images on the computer and printed them out on iron-on transfer paper. A lot of I bought a black wig and then hacked it up to give it some Betty bangs. I found a pair of red glasses in the $1 bin at Target, so I popped out the lenses. In the craft section, I found a pearl strand and a letter B, so I made the necklace. And I honestly can't remember how I made the braces - I think I ended up buying a cheap pair of whitening trays and then drawing braces on. I do remember that I couldn't talk with the "braces" in, so I only put them in for pictures.

my officemate dressed like Steve Urkel. nerds in da house!

 *****

Vegas/Julia's Bachelorette Party, 2009
When Julia got engaged, one of the first things that was decided was that we were going to Vegas for her bachelorette party. After trying to find a weekend that worked for most of the girls, it was decided what better way than to celebrate on Halloween weekend. We decided to have a costume theme and be "women in uniform."

I knew right away I wanted to be a cop and found a picture of a costume on (of all people) Heidi Montag. My mom came up from Corpus to help me find material. I was incredibly picky when it came to deciding on the blue fabric. I didn't want it to look cheap or be flimsy. I finally settled on a navy blue satin material. And then there was the great debate between my mom and I as we tried to find a pattern. I kept insisting that the top needed to be a corset style and that the skirt needed to be short - but not too short - and full, just like Heidi's costume. At long last we found a pattern that was similar enough. I also found a regular newsboy type hat at Target in the women's accessories section on sale for $3 that was the perfect shape for the cop hat.

My mom headed back to Corpus and started on the costume. Once she worked her magic, she brought it up to Austin for me to inspect. Lordy, doesn't that lady know I have a big booty?! If there was any breeze in Vegas, my booty would be on full display for all to see! I found a black petticoat at Frederick's of Hollywood and added it underneath to give the skirt the fullness and lace (and to cover my booty). My mom started covering the hat with the blue material, but then I took over and finished sewing it. Cop badges from Party City were pinned on to the top and the hat to complete the look.

I loved the finish product. I guess someone else did, too, because while walking on the Strip, some guy said "you can lock me up any day." Diiiiirty!

costume inspiration (photo credit)

Women in Uniforms theme