Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
Fall may not yet be officially here, but it's starting. The days are getting shorter, the mornings and evenings cooler. It's time to think about a Halloween costume.
Last year, I was a geisha and the year before that, Marilyn Monroe (mistaken on occasion for Mae West, which I didn't mind).
Over the years I've been such varied things as a gypsy (at left), an angel, Wonder Woman, the Mad Hatter, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, a vampire, Bunnicula, a faerie, the Snow Queen, and fire.
One of my best costumes in recent years was a lounge singer: polyester dress, tacky shoes, carrying a microphone and a book of lyrics which I could belt out. I was the hit of the party.
I just got a brilliant idea. I'm not sure if, however, in the follow-through it will seem all that brilliant. I could be a ghost writer. I could find some ghostly clothes, paint my face white, make my hair askew and carry a quill and parchment. I even have a quill.
The only thing I don't think I'd enjoy would be explaining it to people every time I see them. However, creative costumes can go over quite well. I'll let this idea circulate in my head and see how I feel about it after a week or two.
Halloween costumes tend to require some form of production to seem worthwhile to me. There has to be a little bit of a challenge. Glamour is also good when you can do it, but I've gone glam a couple years now and it's time, I believe, to give something else a try. The ghost writer idea would be easy, if high concept.
I could, of course, be Alice in Wonderland, but I usually resist such easy ideas. One year in high school I went as the Mad Hatter, just to resist the obvious.
Last year my dog Una was a pumpkin, and everybody loved it, including her because she got lots of attention. Of course, Una probably also loves Halloween because it's the week of her birthday and she gets treats. This year she's turning four. I wonder if she'll put up with another costume.
As the weather gets colder, I'm sure the ideas will start arriving. Maybe I'll take a jaunt through the local Halloween store and see if anything jumps out at me. An idea, I mean. Anything else jumping out at me would just be freaky.
Moral:
High concept costumes are fun until the 10th time you explain it to
someone.
Copyright
2003 by Alyce Wilson
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