Friday, October 17, 2008

Halloween Costumes of Days Past

One should either be a work of art,
or wear a work of art. ~Oscar Wilde

I ran across some photos that I thought might be fun to share - photos of Halloween costumes past, many moons ago. Since it is getting to be the time for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties, maybe one of these will spark an idea. All the costumes you're about to see are hand-made, which is very obvious in the earlier shots! Please click on each photo for better details.

There were four of us who used to dress as a group, in some kind of theme. The bottom photo in this group of two was actually our first attempt: we went as The Four Seasons. My ex-husband (left) was Summer, I was Winter, Chris was Autumn, Scott was Spring. It's very hard to tell, but our hats lit up. We hid battery packs inside the hats to run the lights.

The top of the two photos was the next Halloween. Our theme was The Las Vegas Strip. We each went as a hotel: Brian was The Aladdin, I was The Stardust, Chris was Caesar's Palace, and Scott was The Flamingo. I think I'm probably dating us here because I'm not sure that all these hotels exist any more! Again, it's hard to tell but not only did our hats light up, but so did our costumes. In the photo, you can perhaps see the twinkle lights in my skirt, but when we'd walk down the street, we lit up the night!

Finally, the last year we did a group theme - well, it was the pièce de résistance! We recruited friends and family to take part, and we became The Seven Deadly Sins. Scott knew a professional photographer, who took a few shots of us in all our sinful finery!

From left to right: Greed (Brian's hat said, "Money is the root of all evil," and he had play money and coins popping out everywhere); Anger (my hat said, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!" and my sash was a red dragon); Envy (aka Jan Brady from the Brady Bunch. Kim went around the entire evening saying, "Marsha! Marsha! Marsha! It's always about Marsha!"); Vanity (Claudia wore a gorgeous peacock headdress with hand-mirrors for a necklace); Sloth (Lisa dressed in pj's with a pillow behind her head, covered in candy-bar wrappers); Gluttony (that's my sister Marilyn, with food and drink all over her hat and clothes); and finally, Lust (Scott's costume speaks for itself, and you don't want to know what's in his hat!)

Here's another shot:

Once again, the hats and the costumes lit up, thanks to those hidden battery packs. With seven of us all lit up, you could see our glow coming from a mile away! We won first place at the parties we attended, although we had to duck through every door frame. Those hats made us mighty tall!

* * * * *

As I said, this was a long time ago, in a different life. My Halloween costume these days resembles a tired housewife at the end of a long day. I'm no longer covered in lights and sequins, but rather in pet fur and quilting threads! And I wouldn't have it any other way.

But it is fun to look back, and remember! Thanks for joining me on a trip down memory lane.


Until next time...

20 comments:

Natalia said...

Wow those costumes are great! My favorite is the Jan Brady from the deadly sins. Too funny!! :) Looks like you guys had a blast.

new*me said...

Those are some great ideas Pattie!!!! Such imagination! It looks like a lot of work went into them. About all I do is wear all black and put on a pretty witches hat with built in long pink hair! I like the cute side of Halloween. It's my least favorite holiday but I love to dress the kids up in cute outfits. This year we have a princess, a pumpkin, Tigger.....still working on Jacob. He's 7 now so ...........so much opinion and attitude!!!

Manuela said...

Those are some wild looking costumes and terrific ideas. Thanks for sharing those great memories and pictures!

(I may be volunteering for a Halloween party for a children's org--maybe you'll give me some ideas?)

Ms. Fairway said...

Hi Pattie! Those costumes are fabulous and I just love the whole theme thing going on! I can't even remember the last time I put on a Halloween costume. I'm thinking it was the last time my mom made a costume for my dance recital and that was when I was in the 5th grade!

wonderwoman said...

you certainly looked like you enjoyed yourselves and those costumes are brilliant.

x

Wendy said...

Pattie, those costumes are amazing! They look like something a Hollywood professional would concoct. (I mean that as a compliment! LOL)

Thanks for sharing the pictures, and the good ideas for costumes. We're still figuring out the Sweet Girl's...(sigh)

Kathy said...

Those are awesome costumes! How fun!

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

Please don't post anymore photos like these. They make me soooo sad I don't live near you so that we could hang out together. :)

Susie said...

What creative costumes! I'm not surprised that you won the prize!
My dressing up days are pretty much over too, other than a hat or wig, but I'm totally content with that too!
xo

Deborah said...

Thanks for taking us down memory lane. I really enjoyed it. You really did elaborate costumes.

But I think I like your costume this year the best too.

Again thanks for the chuckles.

JC said...

Amazing costumes and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

grammy said...

Really cool costumes. Lots of work! I like to see other people dressed up, but just can't seem to do it. Hmmm, lets see, I think I was a Beatnick(sp?) in 6th grade. So was everyone else. (O:

Kelli said...

Fun costumes, Patti! I don't think Benjamin and the girls have decided on what they are going to be this year. They need to hurry up! LOL
~Kelli

Lora said...

Wow! Those costumes are incredible! Who was the creative genius that designed them? (You I bet!) ps - your stop watch is on it's way!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
carla said...

hmmm. I LOVE THE VEGAS STRIP IDEA.

can you fed ex the costumes?

oh to have one SLIVER of your talent...

Needled Mom said...

Incredible!!!!! Those costumes are absolutely amazing. I love the idea of carrying out a theme like you did. The hotels are hilarious -- lights and all! Thanks for sharing.

Hootin Anni said...

BOO!!!

I have a Halloween Treat for you on my Tuesday Blog entry. If you'd like, come by and pick it up....scroll down.

Megan said...

LOL Oh Pattie. I've seen these pictures enough times to recognize them, and everytime I see your face on the 7 deadly sins, it just makes me laugh! I love this side of you, I know its still there even if you don't have the costumes! Love ya!

prashant said...

those costumes are great!
post free classified ads