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Friday, October 28, 2011

The Costume

Life is one Big Costume Party. All of my Halloweens have been spent at studio dance parties, so I've always tried to make my costumes "danceable."

Halloween. A night of spooks or funny bumbling clowns. I must have been them all . What fun to apply clown make-up. Wearing the clown make-up above, no one knew who they were dancing with. Now that I look at the picture, how did they even know I was a female. Oh maybe it was the hat.

Witches are a hoot. Make-up can do magic and set the mood for any kind of witch. One year I was the "Dead Bride" and that make-up was gruesome. A white lacy dress was covered with dead flowers but after an evening of dancing, I was left with a white lacy dress. (And a floor of scrunched dry flowers) :)
I think the cleaning crew wanted to give me the boot!

This year I'll wear a spooky prisoner costume to give out candy (yes, candy. I ate it and I still have all my teeth) and then drop in at a neighbor's open house.

And what is your choice of costume this Halloween?

48 comments:

  1. Are those photographs of you in costume?

    I love Halloween! I love dressing up and giving out candy to little trick or treaters. I have been a black cat for nine years running and I am wondering if it is time to break out!!

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  2. Your costumes are wonderful. Would love to see this years costume. I used to make the costumes for my children.....never had the time to make one for myself. A costume party would certainly spur me on though. What fun!!! Enjoy!

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  3. For 8 years, the neighborhood kids have referred to me as "the Wicked Old Witch at #13 --- but she hands out Hershey Bars!"
    Frankly, I resent the "old" part.
    :)

    xoxoxo, cd

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  4. Of course you make your own costumes--I wouldn't expect anything less of you! Did you get my "dancing dog" video?

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  5. I haven't dressed up since our daughter was little. One year I was an old woman all in black sitting on the porch..not moving..until some unsuspecting child came too close. One year I wandered up and down the sidwalk out front in a witches costume. Now it takes all I've got to keep getting up and going to the door.

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  6. These costumes are amazing. I'm impressed that you made them yourself. I would love to see videos of you dancing in them. Have fun on Halloween and I hope to see photos of your latest prisoner creation. Julie

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  7. I'm going to walk around covered in red ink with my pockets hanging out of my pants.
    I'll be "College Student Dad."

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  8. I love Halloween but this year will have to pass. I was going to be a pirate again but will save that for next year.

    Thanks for stopping by, I did complete the marathon..on a broken foot! If you want to read that very short post, go to
    coloradobeckersmarathon.blogspot.com
    I have not had the desire to post a marathon recap, but did post a modified version.

    Post a picture of you, in your prisoner costume!! If you need I will bake you a loaf of bread with a chisel in it..just incase you end up in the. "Big House".

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  9. Ooooh you make a gorgeous witch and very spooky clown!!

    Take care
    x

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  10. I have some new red cowboy boots, and a red leather cowboy hat. Top to toe--I think I am set. I will even wear clothing.
    Lovely costumes!

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  11. Halloween is a BIG deal in my neighborhood. More people decorate for Halloween than for Christmas. Now that my kids are grown, I have retired from Halloween, at least until my grandchildren get a bit older!

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  12. I live on a cul de sac and there are not many of us, so we hardly get any Halloweeners.

    This year, we are going to dress up and drive an hour and a half to knock on my Daughters door and pretend we are Halloweeners.

    I have a Kiss costume I will wear and I have an ugly rubber mask that I will have Hubs wear. Not much thought going into this.

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  13. YOU DRESS UP....Love it.
    I am not a big dresser upper for halloween....but my daughter is a champ for it. She and her hubby go to parties and always win the "
    best costume award"

    I worked for a Judge who HATED dressing up for halloween parties, so one year
    he decided to go as a Black Eyed Pea

    he bought a whit t-shirt
    colored around his eyes with black
    put a huge letter P on the t-shirt

    so when people asked "what are you" he'd say
    a black eyed P

    ha ha ...gotta love it

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  14. What great costumes!
    Halloween is my favorite holiday and my favorite costume was that of a flasher. I have never laughed so much.

    This year I think I'll just be me. We don't have a lot of Halloween parties here, that I know of anyway. The devil's handiwork you see.

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  15. Good grief, for a moment there, I thought those were photos of my neighbours.
    Yep, just another 'normal' day in a small English town :)
    And Halloween over here still aint that big. I used to have about 200 kids come to my door in Vancouver. Over here, I had zero. Still, that left me with plenty of candies to eat.....

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  16. Just about every year I decide I won't dress up, but every couple of years a day or two before (or even on that day), I'll scrounge through my costume stuff and come up with something. I tend to wear long skirted stuff a lot, left over from Carousel or Oklahoma or Fiddler on the Roof. I did a lot of shows set in the 1800s!!! :)

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  17. You're good at costumes! I don't bother with dressing up or parties. I will have candy treats ready in case any kids come knocking though.

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  18. Wow, you go all out, girl! Lately, we have not been participating in Halloween. Nobody ever comes up to our house for treats, anyway.

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  19. Great make up job. Can't remember my last dress up though I am sure it made me totally anonymous like your clown outfit. That was always my goal.

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  20. My favorite Halloween costume was my version of the Bride of Frankenstein. Second best was going to work as a frazzled woman who forgot to take her hair curlers off. I enjoy costume parties as I've gotten older. Unfortunately none to go to.

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  21. Lovely post!
    I think I'll just be me this year. There won't be any "trick or treat" darlings in our apartment building, and I don't have any parties to attend.
    Still,
    From ghoulies and ghosties
    And long-leggedy beasties
    And things that go bump in the night,
    Good Lord, deliver us!

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  22. Wow, what great costumes! Sadly Hallowe'en isn't big in England, so I'll be dressing as myself. That's scary enough!

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  23. I will be an old person, hiding in my house with our lights off, dodging trick-or-treaters...

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  24. My best one was Mary Poppins when I was, like 25, and lived in Princeton, NJ. It's been downhill since then, I'm afraid, and living as isolated as we do, no one comes by and we don't go anywhere. I do notice, however, that a lot of candy gets consumed by my hubby, so he still has the spirit.

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  25. What a great costume that is!

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  26. Happy Halloween Hop from a fellow costume die-hard!
    My personal favorite was the year my boyfriend dressed up as a man dressed up like a woman to snag a seat on a lifeboat off the Titanic and I went as the drowned woman who’s seat he stole. Yeah, nobody got it.
    Nice *meeting* you, Manzanita ;)

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  27. Love the costumes. Are you trying to tell me I need a costume to hand out candy? :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  28. I think i'm gonna lazy it up and just paint white/silver lines on my fro and say i'm the bride of frankenstein.

    Stopping by from the Halloween Hop:

    My favorite Halloween movie is probably Rocky Horror Picture Show, but my favorite Scary movie is Nightmare On

    Come check out all kinds of Writing, Movie and other Miscellany over on WRITE READ WATCH. I’m also looking for authors and nanowrimo failures and winners to write guest blogs for November! Any takers! Lolsz. Enjoy.

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  29. Love your costumes. It's weird reading so much about Halloween when it's not part of our tradition. It's only beginning to be 'celebrated' because of the supermarkets shamelessly promoting the sale of sweets. Hope you have fun! Sue

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  30. Amazing costumes. Love reading all about halloween.

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  31. I'm sure it was the pink in your clown costume that gave you away as being female!

    I haven't had the opportunity to dress up in a long time. Kind of miss it.

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  32. I don't have a costume. Lame, I know. My children would love for me to dress up with them...we'll see. Happy Haloween!
    Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

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  33. I want to thank Jeremy Bates for the chance to participate in this blog hop.

    My Favorite monster movie - Hellraiser
    My Costume - Dragon (well the wings of a dragon and the rest is my sexy self)
    And I am now following this Blog (yay)

    I have read quite a few of the posts on this blog and I do believe I shall
    be reading more as I have found them interesting to say the least. I hope that my participation brings this blog more visitors and that thos turn into more readers for this blog's future. Thanks for being a participant and for thos visiting this blog for the first time. Please comment, that is what we bloggers live for. :)

    ****Promoting my own Blog****

    Free Book Reviews is a blog that reviews indie books, interviews indie authors and generally talks about whatever amuses them in the literary world. If you are an author please feel free to submit your book for review and/or an author interview. If you are a reader feel free to check out any book listed on our blog. In any case please share this blog with as many people as you can!

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  34. I was usually a pink haired witch at school when I taught 1st grade. I guess I haven't been in the Halloween mood here in Hawaii this week since we're still recuperating from our Illinois trip.

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  35. Love the amazing costumes! Seems you had a fantastic time!

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  36. Very cool costumes!

    I’m here visiting from Jeremy Bates' blog hop, and I love your blog!

    My favorite scary book is IT (scared the crap out of me as a kid), movie that horrified me most was Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween, and I did not dress up this year, because I suck. One of my favorite costumes in the past was "Dead Baby Roller Blades."

    Happy Halloween!

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  37. Hehee, both these looks..(!)Great! - just can't believe it's you! :D

    P.S. Am I the only one who's scared of Halloween or is it the right effect it should cause on people?? ))

    Happy Halloween, dear Manzanita, and I'll love to see your newest creation!

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  38. Dear Manzanita, first I'd like to thank you for commenting on my posting today--the first in two weeks. It's so good to be back.

    And second, I want to tell you that your clown outfit made me laugh out loud. A true delight!

    As to my costume--none I'm afraid except the usual sweat pants and shirt and the turtle neck. I spent the evening at the hospital with my sister-in-law who had to go to Emergency yesterday and stay overnight. All is well and for that we are grateful.

    Like you, I treat myself to the candy that's meant for the trick-or-treaters! It's nice being the same "vintage" as you!

    Peace as ever and always.

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  39. stopping by late bc something took me out of the city for a couple days, but hope u had a good weekend--and hop!

    i was a soldier... not original but easy to put together!

    my favorite horror movie is the shining, or alien...they're too different to only pick one!
    c u around online!
    best!
    jeremy

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  40. Suse : Yup... Tiz me, your friendly clown-face.... "El Booppo." A black cat costume sound sleek and most appropriate for a cunning young writer on Halloween Eve.

    Ann : Making costumes takes time. I used to sew them for my kids too and sewing was NOT one of my favorite pass=times. Hope you got your costume. :)

    Clare : OOOWWEE, I know how high the kids rate the houses that give out Hershey Bars. They are No 1 on the list.

    Fran : That dancing dog was the funniest thing but some dogs must be easily trained for dancing. I remember in Minneapolis years ago, there was a group who performed with their dogs in square dancing. That was fun to watch too.

    Delores : We must think alike. I was a witch one year and sat outside on my daughter's porch swing, really still too. I tried not to scare the real little kids too bad but I'd wait until the older ones got close and then speak and they would usually run screaming.

    Julie : Thanks for stopping.Halloween brings out the playful little person inside of us.

    Jane : Thanks for stopping and the nice comment.

    Al : Ha ha .... And after 4 to 6 years you'll be walking in your costume of "bag man" or "homeless." But by that time your son should be able to buy Dad the condo in Florida. :)

    Shawn : We did discuss your broken foot on your blog and I do so much admire your spunk for completing the marathon in spite of a broken foot. Real determination, lady.

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  41. Kitty : Happy Halloween. You have the cat and that is always a symbol of Halloween..... don't paint Charlie, black!!! Ha

    Susan : Oh My.... You will be the cat's meow in red cowboy hat and boots. Do a little 2-stepp'n in those fancy duds. :)

    Galen : I can relate to decorating more for Halloween than Christmas. I cleaned the garage recently and threw away 2 pick-up loads of Halloween decorations.

    Terry : You didn't tell me how your drive to your daughter's went. I'm curious if she recognized you at first. I can almost picture you and hubs at the door with your candy baskets. Ha

    Wendy : That black-eyed pea is really funny and it did take a lot of thought ( to be so simple. It was a great idea. I suppose you don't get any trick or treaters at the ranch. You can go into town and watch the crazy costumes.

    Rubye : A flasher. Do you mean as in a raincoat without anything under? Don't get too warm dancing or you'll want to remove your coat. Ha ha

    Klahanie : You poor soul, you do have some weird neighbors. :) You practically have to bring your candy home from the store in a wheelbarrow for 200 kids. Some years, you just want to turn off the lights and eat the candy.

    Mellodee : I bet you DO have a lot of costumes left from your performances. Me too. I had bins and bins but i've recently tossed a lot out. It's so handy to just be able to go into a costume box and put together a costume. Ha

    River : Sounds like you don't get too many kids either. This neighborhood that I now live in is mostly adults, too. Are they not making kids like they used to or did we live in different neighborhoods?

    Gigi : Same as I was saying to River (above) Where are all the kids?

    Patti : It's always fun to be invisible. I don't like wearing a mask because I can't see and they are hot. Therefore, I try to make my face as inconspicuous as I can. Hope you are feeling better by now.

    Su-sieee : Oh Bride of frankenstein sounds delightful. I love those goofy, spooky themes. Too bad we don't live closer. We could have a costume party and invite all the weird people we know. Ha

    Rob-Bear : Thanks for the poem and Halloween good wishes. Hope you enjoyed your reading time at home and got all your candy to yourself. (kidding, of course)

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  42. Talli : You would have to add a red nose if you want to look scary or weird because you always look so glam in your pictures.

    Sidney : Sounds good to me. A good time to take a break, hole up, and hide out. :)

    Inger : Mary Poppins sounds like fun one. Don't lift any wigs off with your umbrella. Ha I'm glad hubby still has the spirit. Candy is good!!!

    Madge @ the view from the Right : thanks for stopping and the comment. Happy to meet you.

    Shelly : That was complicated to follow but I got it. Clever thinking, you have to admit. To be a drowned person, do you have to keep spraying your dress with a water bottle?

    Jules : Hope you got the candy given out, without a costume. Only kidding. I saw all the smashed pumpkins in the streets yesterday as I was driving to the store. Like the aftermath of one big party and the clean-up. Ha

    Poetry of the Day : I'm happy to meet you and thank you for stopping and commenting.

    jenniferthewriter : Always happy to meet someone who is into the scary part of Halloween. Hope your bride of Frankenstein went well. I'll be by to visit you.

    Sue : I keep forgetting that this is mostly a US celebration and a big one, I might add. Even growing up, we thought of our costumes from the time we started back to school in the fall.

    Nas : You probably don't have little trick and treaters coming to your door either. We simply have tooooo many holidays. Ha

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  43. Bish : You are sweet. Even if you don't dress up, I loved your Halloween story for your blog-hop. It sounded like a fun hop and I wish I could have participated. That is, had the guts to participate. Ha

    Miriam : Yes, the kids like for the Mom to dress up when answering the door. Sometimes, after getting the kids ready, I just put on a silly wig or a red nose or a beard and glasses because Mom's get too exhausted to fuss much about their own costumes.

    Free Book Review : Thanks for stopping and the wonderful comment. Sounds like you are a person who appreciates the fine points of Halloween. Ha Ha It's nice to meet you and I'll be by your blog.

    Kay : Yummm Pink hair sounds delish, like cotton candy. I'll bet no one ever recognized you. Yes, trips and flying can be exhausting. Get rested.

    Riya : So very nice to meet you. Thank you for visiting my blog. I'll be by to visit you too.

    Carol : Fun but silly holidays that we keep up, even though, they seem to be mostly for the kids. I do like the spooky Haloween stories. In fact, I turned on Turner old movies Halloween day and watched the old, old scary movies. They are wonderful with the spooky music and the dark creepy cemetaries.

    Amberr : Dead Baby Roller Blades. Even the name made me laugh. I would have liked to see a picture of that one. I've never read It but I would like to if it's that scary. When pages get too scary in a book, I can't read them..... I skip pages. Chicken, me.

    Zara : I don't know if people are really scared of Halloween because often we wear just funny costumes. I'm scared of a lot of spooky stories that I read and then I think about them at night and can't get to sleep. Thanks for the interesting comment.

    Dee : Thanks and you always write such heartfelt comments. Sounds like our daytime costume is the same. Sweats. I have to feel free to move about during my household chores and sweats work the best for me too. It's wonderful to be vintage.

    Jeremy : Soldier is good. As you said, easy to put together, especially now with all the camouflage fabrics. The shining is one of my favorite movies too. Jack N. looks really young in it now.

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  44. Love the outfits!

    Hope you had a lovely Halloween.


    Fiona

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  45. Hi Manzanita .. wonderful costumes - just such fun to look at .. hope your Halloween was horrendously happy?! Cheers Hilary

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