Now is a good time for Halloween Costume Ideas!
I can never think of a good one until it's too late to do it right. That's why I'm going to put these down now while they're still fresh in my mind.
Note that these aren't costumes I saw today on other people, these are ideas that I had (too late), or ideas that I had last year or the year before, also (too late) but I somehow managed to forget them by the time it wasn't (too late) anymore.
Group costume: Christmas Carolers! So many people are very sensitive about "rushing" the Christmas Season. How great would it be for them to open the door for the next group of same-ol' trick-or-treaters, only to be confronted with a bunch of angelic kids in choir robes with songbooks, singing "Gloria In Excelsis Deo"? The only problem would be, I think that it would have to be actual kids to do it right, and I think kids might be too senstive to put up with the kind of reactions they might get from some of your real Grinches out there. I'd hate anybody to start crying.
In a related semi-Christmasy costume suggestion, I think you could do an Elf, like one of Santa's Elves (pointy toes, leafy fringe, goofy hat), but instead of green and red or yellow the elf could be in black and orange elf-garb. The Halloween Elf. This might be a more subtle way to reconcile the two warring factions.
Goth Businessman! Nothing Christmasy about this guy. Black suit, black tie, black-dyed hair (optional blue streak), pallid complexion, black nail polish, black eye makeup, silver clip-on skull earing/other deathly accessories (GO EASY ON IT. He's a businessman!), black shoes and socks, white shirt (but should be something antique or Victorian), black briefcase with silver-studded pentagram and borders. The studding would be easy, a friend of mine makes jewelry and funky accessories, and she has a studding-gun. Ideally the briefcase should be full of white pages covered with one ominous typewritten phrase repeated over and over. Don't show anybody what's in the briefcase! It's just there as a hidden character bit, to help you with your motivation.
This next one is a really good one, and I actually thought of it early enough to do it, except that I have no idea where to procure a giant apple suit. Still, I figure anything's possible with a year's lead time. What you'd want is to start with something like the fruit-of-the-loom-guy's apple suit. A big red apple. Then, you construct a number of big razorblades (scaled to fit the size of the giant apple). Then you put the razorblades in the apple! Leave it so there's enough sticking out to identify them as razorblades. It's The Halloween Razorblade Apple! That's a bold warning to children and adults alike, and there's nothing like a strong social statement to drag in the votes at the inevitable costume pageant.
This last one is what I'm almost certainly going to be next year: Dark clothes. Long, dark coat. Gray scarf. Long hair, pulled back into a pony tail. A bloody gash on the head (nothing too serious). Sort of a bronze ancient-looking armor breastplate (carried, not worn!). Dazed look, bizarre enthusiams; wandering around appreciating things like the color of objects and the smell of hot coffee. Possibly, stalk anyone dressed as a gymnast or circus acrobat. It's Damiel, from Wings of Desire of course!
Anyway. Happy Halloween.
I can never think of a good one until it's too late to do it right. That's why I'm going to put these down now while they're still fresh in my mind.
Note that these aren't costumes I saw today on other people, these are ideas that I had (too late), or ideas that I had last year or the year before, also (too late) but I somehow managed to forget them by the time it wasn't (too late) anymore.
Group costume: Christmas Carolers! So many people are very sensitive about "rushing" the Christmas Season. How great would it be for them to open the door for the next group of same-ol' trick-or-treaters, only to be confronted with a bunch of angelic kids in choir robes with songbooks, singing "Gloria In Excelsis Deo"? The only problem would be, I think that it would have to be actual kids to do it right, and I think kids might be too senstive to put up with the kind of reactions they might get from some of your real Grinches out there. I'd hate anybody to start crying.
In a related semi-Christmasy costume suggestion, I think you could do an Elf, like one of Santa's Elves (pointy toes, leafy fringe, goofy hat), but instead of green and red or yellow the elf could be in black and orange elf-garb. The Halloween Elf. This might be a more subtle way to reconcile the two warring factions.
Goth Businessman! Nothing Christmasy about this guy. Black suit, black tie, black-dyed hair (optional blue streak), pallid complexion, black nail polish, black eye makeup, silver clip-on skull earing/other deathly accessories (GO EASY ON IT. He's a businessman!), black shoes and socks, white shirt (but should be something antique or Victorian), black briefcase with silver-studded pentagram and borders. The studding would be easy, a friend of mine makes jewelry and funky accessories, and she has a studding-gun. Ideally the briefcase should be full of white pages covered with one ominous typewritten phrase repeated over and over. Don't show anybody what's in the briefcase! It's just there as a hidden character bit, to help you with your motivation.
This next one is a really good one, and I actually thought of it early enough to do it, except that I have no idea where to procure a giant apple suit. Still, I figure anything's possible with a year's lead time. What you'd want is to start with something like the fruit-of-the-loom-guy's apple suit. A big red apple. Then, you construct a number of big razorblades (scaled to fit the size of the giant apple). Then you put the razorblades in the apple! Leave it so there's enough sticking out to identify them as razorblades. It's The Halloween Razorblade Apple! That's a bold warning to children and adults alike, and there's nothing like a strong social statement to drag in the votes at the inevitable costume pageant.
This last one is what I'm almost certainly going to be next year: Dark clothes. Long, dark coat. Gray scarf. Long hair, pulled back into a pony tail. A bloody gash on the head (nothing too serious). Sort of a bronze ancient-looking armor breastplate (carried, not worn!). Dazed look, bizarre enthusiams; wandering around appreciating things like the color of objects and the smell of hot coffee. Possibly, stalk anyone dressed as a gymnast or circus acrobat. It's Damiel, from Wings of Desire of course!
Anyway. Happy Halloween.
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