Monday Give Away: Pink XI!
There are just over six weeks left until the eleventh Pink Carnation novel, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, hits the shelves– and I have two ARCs left.
Let the give aways begin!
Here’s the official blurb:
In the latest Pink Carnation novel from national bestselling author Lauren Willig, rumors spreading among the ton turn deadly as a young couple unites to solve a mystery….
In October of 1806, the Little Season is in full swing, and Sally Fitzhugh has had enough of the endless parties and balls. With a rampant vampire craze sparked by the novel The Convent of Orsino, it seems no one can speak of anything else. But when Sally hears a rumor that the reclusive Duke of Belliston is an actual vampire, she cannot resist the challenge of proving such nonsense false. At a ball in Belliston Square, she ventures across the gardens and encounters the mysterious Duke.
Lucien, Duke of Belliston, is well versed in the trouble gossip can bring. He’s returned home to dispel the rumors of scandal surrounding his parents’ deaths, which hint at everything from treason to dark sorcery. While he searches for the truth, he welcomes his fearsome reputation—until a woman is found dead in Richmond. Her blood drained from her throat.
Lucien and Sally join forces to stop the so-called vampire from killing again. Someone managed to get away with killing the last Duke of Belliston. But they won’t kill this duke—not if Sally has anything to say about it.
The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla comes out in August, but, really, it’s my Halloween book. It’s my ode to October, to orange leaves and plastic pumpkins and, of course, vampire fiction. There wasn’t Halloween per se in Regency England, but it’s Halloween in Cambridge (the American one), where Colin is visiting Eloise for a long weekend.
So, although it does seem a little odd to be thinking of Halloween in June, here’s your question:
What was your best– or worst– Halloween costume?
One person will be randomly chosen to receive a copy of The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla. The winner will be announced on Wednesday.
The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla appears on shelves on August 5th. To learn more or read an excerpt, just click here.
I was Cleopatra one year, complete with a wig, slinky dress and snake armband. It was definitely an improvement over my typical pirate costume for Halloween, although I have acquired a sweet life-sized fake parrot in the last few years.
I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in years – my “best” is probably back when I was just on the border of “no candy for you – you are too old” age. A group of friends dressed up as Men in Black complete with black suits, shades, Will Smith blasting on the radio, and a “neuralzer”. We certainly thought we were the “best”.
Probably the first – and only! – time my Husband and I did a couple costume: He was Jack and I was Sally, from A Nightmare Before Christmas – it was awesome!
I went once as a bunch of grapes. I wore a brown bodysuit and tights and pinned purple balloons to myself. It was awesome, except I couldn’t sit down!
In 4th grade, I dressed as a box of orange Tic Tacs. It was a big hit; I gave out orange Tic Tacs of course!
My best costume was in college – me and two fellow classicists dressed as the 3 Fates. I was Lachesis and carried an eyeball around all evening. The only problem was that most people didn’t know who were supposed to be and thought we were the witches from MacBeth, which was probably close enough.
The second best costume was when I was Velma from Scooby Doo – I even found an orange turtleneck and a red pleated skirt at Goodwill!
At our Halloween office party in Seattle Reservations sales, I won the top prize for best costume. I went dressed as Merlin the magician complete with conical star studded hat, white hair and beard and flowing robe. People didn’t even recognize me the transformation was so complete.
Hmmmm. I had awesome costumes as a kid because my Grandma was a fabulous seamstress. But my favorite in recent years was probably the year my fiance and I dressed up as a 1920s gangster and the gangster’s moll.
Being a compliant 7 year old, I went along with my father’s idea of dressing as a toilet for Halloween. We made it out of paper mache and hung a sign from the back saying something to the nature of: “And you thought YOU had a cr*ppy day” (except I think it was worded in a slightly more kid-friendly day). I wanted to be a princess for Halloween that year and was secretly dreading the toilet costume, but now looking back, I cherish the memories of designing that costume with my dad. I just won’t be convinced to do it again!
I haven’t dressed up in years, but I think my favorite was probably the year in elementary school, when I had a very cool home-made pumpkin/jack-o-lantern costume. It probably wasn’t very comfortable, because it was very poufy, but I was too young to know that, and I loved it.
I only dressed up when I was very young and then I was only a french maid.
Several years ago, I wore a witch costume for Halloween, I wore a long light fluo purple wig! Love the cover of your book!
I was a die one year (I think that is the correct singular for dice – what a lapsed English major I have become!) This required me to walk around wearing a giant box I had dutifully painted white with black spots. Keep in mind, I grew up in the northeast so I was wearing a giant box with a snow suit on underneath…not my finest Halloween moment but still one I love to remember!
I think my best costume was the year I dressed up p as a flapper. As a kid I never had good costumes. Mom always slapped a rainbow wig and a clown’s nose in me. And now I’m terrified of clowns!
I was once a “Lady of the night” . I made a poem and wore it on my dress. “i’m a sleaze. I may tease. But I please!”
Yikes! What was I thinking?
My Mom made costumes for the 4 of us every year, and at the time we begged for the “store bought” ones. Now I can honestly say that each one she made was my favorite 🙂
I went as Carmen Sandiego a couple of years back- red trench coat and hat. It was fun, but needed to be explained more than I’d hoped.
I attempted to be a ninja once in college. I used my Best Buy Geek Squad t shirt inside out as a sort of turban. The photos are unfortunately in the interwebs for posterity.
I’m in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and although my official persona is 16th century French, I made a 11th century Scottish outfit solely because at Halloween I could add a crown and some fake blood on my hands and be Lady MacBeth.
The costume I remember the most (as a kid) was when I dressed as a bum. My mother and father (which was unheard of in itself; maybe that’s why I remember it) both helped. An old shirt of Dad’s, a day-old “beard” colored in with charcoal, and a pair of old pants.
Boring but I remember it well.
The best Halloween costume I wore was a blue genie outfit that was hand sewn by my mom. I was still in school at the time. As a working mom who also went back to school for her to find the time to make the costume was amazing and it turned out beautiful. I still have the costume – I can never part with it!
My BEST Halloween costume was when I was in kindergarten. I was a gumball machine! It was adorable. I can’t believe my mom was creative enough to make that costume for me. =)
Probably my two best child Halloween costumes were 1) the time I dressed as a vampire using a black leotard and long floaty ballet skirt that I then painted silver cobwebs all over at my godmother’s workshop (she paints theatrical costumes). The other was an old (it couldn’t have been original to the 18th century…could it?) colonial style dress that we bought in an antique store: I dyed my hair red (temporary if course, I think I was about 10), and went as Felicity from the American Girl books.
When I was about 5, I think, I was Rapunzel, complete with floor-length braids of yellow yarn and a princess gown. But my favorite feature was the fake nails and mascara my mom let me wear so I’d look “princessy”!
My husband and I always dress up together. We’ve been Little Miss Muffet and Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, cop and convict, sheriff and bandito, you get the idea. Last year the tv show Dexter ended, so we had the brilliant idea to dress up as Dexter and his victim. My husband looked the part of Dexter and for my victim costume, I had a skin colored slip that we wrapped in tons of plastic wrap. We looked awesome. Only problem was, no one knew who we were supposed to be, so people kept calling me “wrapper girl”– Fail.
About 15 years ago, my husband and I dressed up like surfers, complete with boards made from cardboard and spent the whole time at a party under a huge net. It seemed like a good idea at the time we thought of it, but really turned out to be one of our worst ideas.
We were ‘internet surfers’….
My best (and favorite) costume of all time was when I dressed up as Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Halloween trick or treating.
When my son was born I still looked young enough to be IDed for R movies. His first Halloween, I put my hair in pigtails, used an eyeliner to give myself big freckles, and wore a long Mickey Mouse nightgown with a pacifier attached to it. So I was a little girl and he was my Tigger doll. We were pretty cute.
Two years ago I dressed as a gypsy. It wasn’t anything crazy unique but it was just fun to dress up as an adult (it had been many many years) and it turned out looking adorable. Now I just want to find an excuse to wear it again! LOL
Snow White .
My daughter’s birthday is right before Halloween. We had a Halloween themed party and I wore a Snow White costume. I curled my hair, put a blue ribbon it in and wore makeup.. My daughter was delighted.
Everyone loved it and I wore it for years on Halloween when I gave out the candy
My worst one would be when I dressed as Madonna. The dress was too tight. The shoes hurt. And the hair and makeup got ruined on my way to a Halloween costume party.
Last year my family dressed up as the characters from wreck it ralph!
Childhood fail – a ghost costume made of out a pillow case 🙁 I do remember dressing up as a nurse wearing my mom’s uniform complete with cape.
A couple of years ago for my office costume contest, I dressed up as a female swamp monster, full face paint, complete with scales, gills and flippers. It was awesome, because nobody could tell who I really was underneath, and the patients at the office lived it!
My personal favorite was this past year. We had an in-building get together with some other people in our apartment building, so I stole my roommate’s footie pajamas and spent the night as the world’s most comfortable sock monkey!
When I was in first grade, my mom told my sister and me that she was tired of buying expensive costumes we only wore one night, so that year, we would be figuring out costumes from stuff we already owned. My sister decided to be a hippie–perfect timing since this was the nineties when bell bottoms were back in style. I chose to be the heroine of my favorite TV show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wore a burgundy top that tied at the throat with a pair of jeans and around my throat hung a green plastic rosary my grandmother gave me. I remember ringing the doorbell of an old gentleman. He asked me what I was supposed to be. When I told him I was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he couldn’t stop laughing as he gave me my candy. Best Halloween Costume.
I dressed up last year as a party goer from “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and went to a midnight show! It was blast! Tons of people took pictures with us. Best Halloween!
I was Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls and my best friend was Dorothy. The best, and worst, part of my costume was the wig of gray curls. The moment I put it on and looked into the mirror I saw my grandmother. It was a rather alarming moment for 32-year-old me to look in the mirror and see my future!
I dressed up as a flapper in honor of Daisy Buchanan, but given how well stocked the hosts’ bar was, Zelda Fitzgerald might have been a more fitting choice.
When I was ten, I decided that being a dead hippie was much more interesting than a boring “living” hippie. There’s a greasy picture of me with all the neighborhood girls wearing their lovely princess costumes and then me on the end looking like a zombie in flower-print polyester.
Best was last year! I sewed Woody & Jessie outfits for my fiance and I to wear to the Halloween party at Disney World. They were a huge hit. Even had pull strings sewn to the back. I was very proud of them!
My best (and favorite) costume was Rainbow Brite. My mother handmade it. She modeled exactly off my doll. It had the padding in the dress, puffy “boots” that covered my sneakers. She even made a wig out of orange yarn just like the doll. It’s been over 25 years since I wore that and I still have it stored away. I just had my own baby girl in May and I will certainly pass it down to her, even if she never wears it for Halloween she will still have it for playing dress up 🙂
My best costume could also be considered my worst (to wear at least) I guess haha! In middle school I bugged my mom so much she drove me all the way from Philadelphia where we lived down to Jersey just to go to a costume rental place and I got a tudor style dress complete with a large petticoat and while I rocked it, it was not the best dress at all to run around the neighborhood in up and down the hills
One year I was a football player, pads, helmet and all! It was not my most flattering look to say the least.
I dressed as the Evil Queen from Snow White a few years ago. It was so much fun, and there is a lot to be said for wearing a cape. I felt so powerful!
My best Halloween costume was definitely last year’s when I went as Cleopatra. I had been reading a lot of Elizabeth Peters novels and was inspired to be an Egyptian for a night!
I was dressed as a gypsy or a hobo. Being one of 5 kids it was easy for mom to grab stuff from the closet. This was WAY before store bought costumes.
My best costume was Silken Floss, a villain from The Spirit comic books. My husband was dressed up as The Spirit. It was a great Halloween!
My best costume was a Bard from the Renaissance – a leather vest, a frilly blouse, boots and a book of poetry.
My favorite Halloween costume was my pink poodle skirt my mom made for me, I wore it for like 5 years in a row! But my most creative was when I dressed up as Melissa McCarthy’s Megan from Bridesmaids, complete with stuffed golden retrievers.
The year I dressed in my period colonial outfit was the most fun. I took my friend’s son trick or treating 🙂
The worst Halloween costume I ever had was an Oscar the Grouch costume. This was back in the day when they had those horrible plastic masks that you couldn’t see out of and were hot and claustrophobic. My mom bought it because it was the cheapest one at the store (shocker that people didn’t want to dress up as Oscar the Grouch!).
I was a pirate here at work a few years ago (I work at Penn). I had a great red wig, was dubbed Captain PENNelope and they made me a Penn ID card. Turned a few heads, let me tell ya!
I love October! It’s my favorite month. My worst Halloween costume was probably the last-minute mad scientist getup I threw on, including flour in the hair. A word to the wise: don’t do it. What a gooey mess!
I was a dinosaur when I was about 9? Costumes have never been so good since!
My best was when I dressed up as Slash from GNR. I found the kinky hair wig and top hat. I had the tight jeans and I bought a cheap jean vest. Since I didn’t have an electric guitar I used my Rock Band guitar. 🙂 My friend went as Axl Rose.
I won a competition with a friend as two people on a roller coaster. The costume was heavy but very awesome!
The best costume I ever had was the time I went as a Starbucks barista. It was just a fun costume and was especially priceless because I worked in an office full of coffee fiends!
One year in college three friends and I were deviled eggs ( devil horns and yolk shirts). We got seconded place in a contest!
Like every other kid in 1990, I was the Little Mermaid, and to the scandal and ire of my classmates who all had the store-bought “official” Disney costumes, I won our elementary school costume contest, even though my wig was blonde (all the stores were sold out of red ones!) and my infinitely-better costume was homemade by my superhero of a mom.
My best costume was when I was about 10 years old, I dressed up as Peggy Sue. My mom even suggested and helped with using balloons to fill out my short sleeve red sweater 🙂
My worst Halloween costume was the year I was going to go as Pocahontas. I was 5 at the time and I had gotten my costume months in advance. I was so excited! I kept bugging my grandma and grandpa to come home early from their trip because I really really wanted my grandma to see my costume- I had long hair at the time as I had let my hair grow since I was a baby.
Just before Halloween, my grandma passed away suddenly. She had been in a wheelchair since age 14 and had lingering medical issues. This sounds really petty, but my 5 year old self was hung up on the fact that she would not get to see my costume. I cried and cried when Halloween came- I must have really bummed out the people whose houses we trick-or-treated at!
My mom made me a genie costume in 8th grade. Great costume, but it ended up being so cold that year that I had to wear layers inder it so I didn’t freeze. But it was still a great costume!
My best costume was Sir Lancelot of the round table, complete with baldric and sword. My friends and I decided on a theme Halloween party since we were told we were getting too old for trick or treat. This costume beat out my Biker Fairy, complete with striped stockings, mini dress, black biker jacket and fairy wings.
I actually think about Halloween during the whole year! My best costume was 2 years ago when I dressed up as Alice in Wonderland. I wore a blue miniskirt with a knit top with puffed sleeves and my Auntie sewed an apron for me that tied in the back. My accessories were amazing because I had a pink headband with a miniature teacup in the middle of the bow and I had a vial necklace that had the label read “drink me”.
My best costume was dressing as Professor McGonnegal from the Harry Potter movies. I had a Hogwarts robe made by someone who sews clothing better than I can. I bought one of the wizard hats with a big feather. I wear rectangular glasses so I used those as part of the costume. I made a wand. It was lots of fun! The neighborhood kids were very entertained. And my son was in middle school at the time so he was massively embarrassed that his mom dressed up. Always a bonus!
Don’t know if it was best or worst but I remember being Butterbear from the Wuzzles when I was three or four. I loved her but it was one of those cheap 80s costumes with the plastic face mask on an elastic string and I just remember being very sweaty–did I mention we live in Texas where October can go either way? One year I wore long johns under my Cleopatra costume…
I dressed up as Raggedy Ann in college. 😀 I’m not sure if that is my best or worst costume, though it was a good costume. 🙂
My favorite was dressing up as a lawyer when I was in middle-school. Had a skirt suit, leather briefcase and even printed out a business card which I proceeded to give out to all and sundry. It was quite fun.
Best costume was the last time I dressed up a few years ago with friends. We’d decided to do a bar crawl dressed as 80s cartoon characters. We had everyone from Rainbow Brite to Smurfette and Scooby Doo.
I went as my all time favorite character, She-Ra. I made my own costume (and I have only limited sewing skills here.) I managed to alter plans for a strapless short prom dress to make her white dress, made a red cape (not recommended for crowded bars), and spary painted some boots gold. I was so proud of myself and rocked that outfit!
I dressed up as Jasmine when I was a kid and fell in love with the huge wig, which I insisted on wearing for months after even when it got ratty.
My favorite costume was a Peter Pan one Mom made for me in 6th grade
Worst was dressing up as a hard boiled egg… my mom thought it was a cute idea (and it was all her idea). Best was Dorothy Gale- I love the Wizard of Oz, so it was the best Halloween!
I didn’t grow up in a great neighborhood so no trick or treating for me until I was too old to really enjoy it. I’m compensating my making awesome 80s themed costumes for my kid. So far he’s been Dr. Venkman and Maverick.
I have red hair and my college best friend (who’s a guy) has black hair, so one year we went as Lucy and Ricky from I Love Lucy. I entered every party with a big wail and he would follow me saying “You got some ‘splaining to do!”
My best costume was an accident- I was studying abroad in the UK and had forgotten a costume, and the only place open last minute was the local grocery, which carried children’s costumes. The only thing they had left was a tutu-clad pumpkin with wings. I added green tights and long sleeve shirt under it, and voila! I was… some sort of cozy, winged pumpkin 🙂
I think my best costume was the year I was a black widow spider complete with black nylon ‘legs’ filled with newspaper. My gypsy costume is much easier to walk around in.
The best costume I ever wore was a honey badger costume, complete with stuffed dead snake! I has the claws, the tail, the whole nine! My friend and I worked at a vets office and she came as honey Boo-boo, so we were honey badger and honey boo-boo! It was the most fun I’ve had on Halloween.
My best costume was definitely when I was a peacock. I made the costume myself by using fake peacock feathers from a craft store. It got a lot of attention and wasn’t hard to piece together at all.
SO EXCITED FOR SALLY’S STORY!
My best costume was part of our family trunk or treat. We decorated our minivan as an Arabian tent. (favorite comments of the night, “Is there even a car under all that?”) My daughters and I dressed as belly dancers and my husband was the sheik. The only odd thing was my son decided he had to be Thor so we had to create a time warp so he had to reason to be in the Arabian Nights Theme. The worst was a pun on “flower child”. I cut the bottom out of a large plastic flower pot. I wore a green top and brown plants and but flowers in my hair.
I was Gollum from Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fame(complete with “dead skin” foundation, black leotard, and hair dyed six different colors to get the disgusting look I wanted) when I was a teenager, and then Puck(full blown fairy/brownie glitter, and everything)the year after that–makeup nightmares, but so much fun!!!
When I turned 10, we stopped dressing up for Halloween, but I remember my last costume was a Bobbie Soxer. I had a grey circle skirt for which my mom made a poodle, and I got to wear my Nana’s letter sweater from University of Arizona. (Here’s a brag on my Nana – In the early/mid-80’s, she’d gone back to school at 56 and was studying to be an interior designer. So proud of her for that! )
My best was Elphaba from Wicked. My worst was a clown.
I was in the seventh grade when the gameshow “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” was new and popular, so that Halloween I wore one of my dad’s old suits, made a poster board check, and went as Regis Philbin… I even found a rubber Regis mask to complete my costume! I have no idea what possessed a twelve-year-old girl to want to go as Regis, but that costume was very popular among my friends and other kids in the neighborhood!
I created a Queen Amidala costume using Pepsi cans stuffed in pantyhose for the headdress. It had a red robe with a gold lame overlay and white face makeup with the bright red lips. I actually won a prize at a costume contest!
Can’t wait for the book!
My best costume was a
pirate outfit I wore. I
blinged up the hat with
pink and added pink
armbands. Looked really
good!
Carla from Utah
I once dressed up for Halloween as a German Kellermaid, but didn’t realise that my embonpoint was dramatically enhanced by the peasant blouse & corselette. I spent the night being chased around by a very short Welsh rugby player who insisted on addressing “the girls” instead of me …. I’d love to tell you that it ended happily, but after he yelled “Touch down”,& made a grab for me,he landed up wearing a pint of Brain’s Dark, & I went home in a strop !
I think my best was Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. A costume-making-inclined friend of mine custom made me Belle’s blue “provincial life” dress, and several little kids pointed at me excitedly. Lots of fun 🙂
One year my mom must have gotten a tip about cardboard box costumes. My friend and I went as a pair of dice (each of us was a die made of the cardboard box) and my little brother was a jack in the box. His was actually super cute!
I found a pair of black rights with smiley faces on them, and made a ginormous smiley face out of felt, which I wore over a black turtle neck. Not sure it was best or worst, but I was mighty proud of it at the time!
Worst was probably a dog catcher costume. I usually go crazy for Halloween (it’s my favorite holiday!), but my son was 2 1/2 months old (dressed as a dog), I had just gone back to work after maternity leave, and nothing fit in the chest 😉
My best (and worst) was when I was about 12–my mom cut the bottom out of a giant plastic flowerpot and attached suspenders, and I wore a green turtleneck and brown tights with a blue tutu around my head as the flower “petals.” Adorable but very unwieldy, especially getting in and out of cars…
Best-I was a Christmas tree at age 7. Complete with a a styrafoam cut out tree shape why I wore over my shoulders that went all the way past my knees. Painted green with actual ornaments and battery powered Christmas lights strung on it. What put the outfit over the top was my headband that had a foot tall yellow styrafoam star that was lined with white lights. My mom was too creative.
Well I have been sewing costumes for years for a community theater company. I make my niece & nephews costumes every year as well. My favorite Halloween costume so far is the steampunk vampire costume I made several years ago for a huge Halloween Party in Salem. Fangs, tattoos, corsets, and all. But I think out of all the costumes I have made my favorite was my niece’s pirate costume and my nephew’s ghost with make up…he looked creepy!
I love dressing up for Halloween. Typically I try to dress up with others… I’ve been Cher (from the 70s), one of the 3 Amigos (lots of foil to make that costume), Jan from the Brady Bunch (spray painted a wig, oh the fumes), Tweedle Dee. I was a Rabbit in a Hat, which was so big I couldn’t get through the door, and Rainbow Brite. But my favorite was dressing up as Pippi Longstocking, singing the song and doing the dance.
Hub & I did the whole monk/nun thing. It was only costume that fit him after procrastinating to get one. It was HOT, and not in a good way. Tho, I will admit that hub as a monk with his biker goatee sitting at the bar drinking whiskey did make a pretty funny picture.
My best costume was in college when I went to a young single adult Halloween dance dressed up as a Hines 57 ketchup bottle! I had a one piece red fleece footie pjs and had the label on my chest and the label that goes around the neck of the bottle going around my head. People kept asking ‘Where’s Mustard?’ And I would reply ‘He had an accident. He got squeezed to death!’ Even thought about reusing it next year, only go as either Thing 1 or 2 and say the other had an another engagement or something.
My worst was when I was younger, shorter and some what Skinner, I went as witch. It was a VERY last minute costume so I only had a black plastic bag over my undergarments and a broom!!
A bumble bee. Black sweat shirt with yellow tape, and black tights. Not cool!
My favorite costume was my dad, dressed in my mother’s full and hooded long raincoat, as he accompanied us around the neighborhood. I don’t remember what I wore.
I was a Greek goddess one year for Halloween. We reused one of my drama costumes. It was a lot of fun!
Two years ago I went as Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey in her very scandalous “pants outfit!” I made the whole costume in about three days – complete with corset – and had so much fun having people guess who I was! The people familiar with Downton Abbey knew it right away, of course 🙂
One year for an ET themed party I dressed as Scully-pants suit, ID badge, flashlight, etc. while my husband had green face paint, pointy ears, and dressed like a human to try and blend in. That was fun. More recently I’ve been aging hippie, Lizzie Borden, and Sailor Moon. All with my wardrobe, thrift shop add ons and Walmart Halloween wigs that shed!
In college I was a Christmas tree. Wore all green, wrapped some lights around me, and made ornaments out of paper.
I LOVE Halloween! It has to be my favorite holiday and I take my costumes very seriously (even now when my age is closer to 30 than 3). My best had to be Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly (opening scene, black ensemble), complete with a bouffante, tiara, and Tiffany’s bag as a trick-or-treat receptacle. I even had a replica necklace and a REAL cigarette in a long holder (which I promised not to actually smoke, since I was only 15 at the time). Authenticity is my strong suit.
My mom made great Halloween costumes for us when we were kids I recently came upon a photo of me in a costume I had forgotten. I was a 1920s flapper. The dress was pink taffeta with rows of fringe. It must have been quite the challenge to sew this.
My favorite costume was dressing up as a “smarty pants” with smartie candy rolls hot glued to flannel pajama bottoms. Worst consume was dressing up with friends as the CREST team (remember that old commercial?) but the C decided to go home early. Somehow the REST team wasn’t quite the same.
My best costume was probably the year I recycled my nun’s costume from our high school production of “The Sound of Music”. I was so convincing that nyone who’d been to parochial school jumped a foot if they saw me unexpectedly.
Didn’t dress up for Halloween much after that, but I was in a medieval recreation group for several years. You know you’ve been in the SCA too long when you come to a flight of stairs and try to lift the hem of your blue jeans.
My freshman year of college, my roommates and I dressed up at the three blind mice, canes and all.
We only lost the costume competition to the Beauty and the Beast pair featuring two boys, with on in drag as Belle.
I went as a black cat one year with a unitard on and I loved it bc my mom painted my face with a nose and whiskers 🙂
My best costume was the year I wet as an ice queen. I had an awesome blue wig, tiara, slinky white dress & gloves and I sewed sparkly snowflakes all over it.
One year I was Little Bo Peep; no idea why!
In my early twenties I dressed as a very tremory old lady with grayed hair and make-up lines. My guy was a little old man with the same makeup and my grandfather’s clothes. It was terrific. Nobody knew how old we really were.
My cheekiest costume was South East… the “evil twin” of Kim and Kanye’s baby.
In Jr High, I dressed as a package of M&M’s – simple brown sheath dress and then cut out the M & M’s from felt then glued on. My younger sister dressed as a kid with chocolate all over her face…. It was great fun. My mother also wore the dress and made my father dress as a little kid in short pants and a propeller beanie….
I think my most creative one was when I was Happy Gilmore. I wore jeans and a tshirt and borrowed my dad’s flannel and a golf club.
well I have 2 of them…. I was a cowgirl from Hat to boots and then I dress in the 50s poodleskirt and all!!
Back in my single days, I went to a party as a stuffed grape…purple tights and a silky purple top designed by one of my students. Stuffed it with newspapers, draped grape ivy all over my head and neck. Very funny until I realized I had to get into my car and drive. Neighbors had to push and shove me into the seat. Then I had to stop at a liquor store for my prop…wine…It just hadn’t occurred to me what a problem getting in the door and out would be. Won a prize, though, but can’t say it was very sexy…
When I was in grade school my parents “made” me wear a bunny costume from a ballet recital for Halloween. I was really unhappy about it until halfway through trick or treating when I decided that I was actually Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit, at which point I loved it!
I love Halloween, but I haven’t had the opportunity to dress up in a few years. Before that I was Alice in Wonderland, though. That was fun. I wore a blond wig, though I do not look good as a blond and I carried around a stuffed animal white rabbit that I had made a little jacket and bow tie for and a bag of cookies label Eat Me.
Snow White, as part of a group dressing up as snow White and the seven dwarves. Im very short, so “joke” was that all the “dwarves” were taller than I was
My most best-and-worst costume comes from childhood. I spent a good month one formative pre-teen year decorating a large cardboard box so I could be a jukebox. “Just like Fonzie’s (from Happy Days)!” I would tell everyone. Though I didn’t win any cool-kids awards that year, I definitely will never forget it!
My favorite costume “Wonder Woman”, from age 6. I had the long dark hair, the golden lasso, the little white-starred bottoms…but it was October in Illinois which means wet, grey weather. My mom required me to wear a white turtleneck under my gorgeous WW costume: I was outraged and appalled, as only a 6 year old can be.
My favorite costume was a Steampunk Mulan complete with Mushu and Crickee. It was really easy to make, and I actually won a costume contest on Halloween! 😀
I went as Jane Austen to a party once…..no one got it.
I was always a gypsy or witch as a child but when I grew up I went as a queen in a velvet dress with a tiara and gold shoes!
I made myself fit into a ten year old boy’s hedwig costume!
When I was 8. An old dress of my grandmothers to which I added alien antennas. Horrible.
When I was pregnant with Boy #2 I was a knocked-up fairy. That costume was awesome and I got to wear fairy wings.
My best/worst (you decide) costume was as Scarlett O’Hara (or a princess because my preschool students didn’t know who Scarlett was). I wore a pepto bismol pink brides maids dress that was dripping with lace. The only one of my 3 brides maids dresses I swore I wouldn’t wear again…and the only one I ever did wear again, many times, but for costume events, not formal.
Was a bag of jelly beans. Clear plastic trash bag cut leg holes in bottom and arm holes on sides and filled with small balloons. Gathered top of bag at neck. I popped all night long!
I love October and adore anything pumpkin.I must drink my weight every year in pumpkin lattes. I have a pumpkin cake for my summer birthday. I am happy to think about fall and to have Sally’s book take place during my favorite season!
This is so much fun to read about everyone’s costumes! My favorite to put together,so far,was Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.
I’m so uncreative when it comes to Halloween. I think my favorite was Greek goddess because I felt pretty 🙂
The worst costume was my last minute “construction worker” costume. I wore my dad’s flannel paint splattered shirt, paint splattered “best dad” baseball cap, tool belt with hammer, and drawn on mustache. Everyone asked me what I was and if I knew I had dirt on my upper lip. Some people even refused to give me candy because they felt I was not wearing a costume!
My best costume was when I was in college and my boyfriend (now husband) and I wore pirate costumes that his sister made for us. She’s a whiz with a sewing machine and our costumes were so awesome we could have been extras in Pirates of the Caribbean!!
At work Halloween was a big event with food, decoration and costumes. One year our group dressed in rubbish bags with underware on our head. It was gross to wear that all day. I have no idea what we were thinking.
We don’t really do Halloween in England the way you do, so I’ve never worn a Halloween costume. Also, I don’t like scary things, and that seems to be an important aspect of Halloween. But i really want to win this ARC so can’t let that deter me! Does Eloise dress up as the ghost of Marie Antoinette?
One year dressed up as a cheerleader when I was younger. Had to do a cheesy cheer to get candy.
My best costume was 2 years ago when I went as Marie Antoinette, complete with full wig lol
My best was a few years ago, when my wife, my best friend, and I did a “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog” group costume. I was Captain Hammer, my friend was Dr. Horrible, and my wife was Penny.
WORST: A freak. I don’t even know what my friends and I were trying to accomplish, but we dressed in all black and each picked one color for accessories. I was purple so I put purple streaks in my hair and wore purple jewelry. The things we come up with in 7th grade…
BEST: Amy Pond complete with long red hair, red plaid shirt, jeans, and tally marks. The costume got me pulled on stage to be an assistant for a freak show. Wait. Somehow this freak thing came full circle…
The one and only time I dressed for Halloween was when I was about 7 and my school had us dress up. I went as an Arab. It’s not really a big thing in New Zealand, and was even less back in the late ’70s.
When I was in elementary school I dressed up as a hippie, complete with john Lennon glasses and a long blonde wig, and went to a midnight skate at the local skating rink. There was a costume competition and I won! I suspect the contest was judged by real hippies.
I went to a party as Marty McFly from Back to the Future. No one knew who I was supposed to be.
I was never allowed to celebrate Halloween as a kid, but I did make a hershey bar costume out of a brown pillow cse for a party once.
I haven’t dressed up in years and I can’t remember any from when I was a kid. Growing up in the Midwest, I mainly remember having to wear snow pants over my costume to stay warm.
Carl from Good Dog Carl. I loved that book and my mother still laughs about it to this day 🙂
I think my best costume was when I was six and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was released. I went as Princess Leia, complete with buns on the sides of my head (thanks to my long hair). It was definitely my most memorable costume.
I don’t really remember my own costumes, but the “best” I ever made for my kids was when our son was 3 and our daughter 1 1/2 – and they went as the shepherd and the lamb. The lamb was created by gluing tufts of cotton batting (using spray glue) all over a little cotton shift that I made. Add a bell on a red string, and a little headband also covered with said cotton batting, and ta-da. The sheep stayed in costume all evening – the shepherd “shed” his costume within minutes of arriving at the party.
I think the worst one I ever had was ” a baby” when I was way too old to go trick or treating. My boyfriend and I were taking my little stepbrother out so we figured we would dress up. It was pretty cringe-worthy.
Probably the best was when my husband and I used sheets for togas to dress as Romans at a Halloween party we hosted while stationed on the island of Cyprus – another place where Halloween was not celebrated – just leave it to crazy Americans to carry on their traditions at a home away from home!
I rocked it out as a flapper one year. I had the black bobbed wig and telescoping cigarette holder. It was awesome!
I made the mistake of wearing a homemade red crayon costume once during elementary school when Halloween coincided with a nor’easter…about 10 minutes I was in tatters!
Oh man, I’m kind of the lame one in my friend group, in that I’m generally opposed to costume wearing. It leads to my friends choosing costumes for me, which so far has yielded: a sexy librarian (yikes), a gypsy, and one of the powerpuff girls. Sigh.
best halloween costume was Jem from the cartoon Jem and the Holograms. I’d been wanting to be her for years and finally made the costume last year. it was a lot of fun. truly outrageous!
Best was Wednesday Addams…. Worst was the orange sweatshirt I cut to look like a jack o lantern and wait over a blank tank.
My best Halloween costume was as Pippi Longstocking. My mother helped me arrange my hair in braids around hangers so they could stick out sideways from my head.
My best Halloween costume was definitely when, as a child, I was obsessed with Star Wars and wanted to be Princess Leia for Halloween. My aunt made me a Princess Leia costume — the white dress from Episode IV. It was great. I looked just like Princess Leia.
My worst Halloween was probably when my cousin and I were teenagers and decided we wanted to go trick or treating. So, we went out and bought scrubs and were truly sorry excuses for nurses…
The Wizard of ID. Absolutely nobody knew it was me. Of course now people say “who’s the Wizard of ID??”
I absolutely love, love, love Halloween. So, I try to go out every year! One physician office I worked in allowed us to dress up. I took the Mad Hatter and turned it into my own little Mad Hatter. I wore shorts that I had ripped at the bottom, wore mismatched knee high socks with some platform Mary Janes, a brightly colored top, with a trenchcoat that I owned and bought a steampunk hat that is similar to what was portrayed in the movies. I found a tutorial for the makeup that Johnny Depp wore in the movie and did my makeup in that style. It was a hit with the staff and patients!
My best Halloween costume would be my genderbent interpretation of the 11th Doctor from the BBC sci-fi series, Doctor Who. I wore it around my community college, and I was just smothered by people wanting pictures of me, despite other Doctors running around. Apparently I was the only genderbent Doctor on campus.
My favorite costume was when I dressed like a Flapper. My worst costume was me as some generic fairy princess.
My daughter was into Sesame Street so I found a COUNT CHOCOLA costume to wear as I too her around. She was dressed as ELMO. Because I’m so short, people thought I was a kid too and gave me candy also. Double score for my kiddo!!
4friends and I were the crew of the Starship Enterprise – The Trouble With Tribbles episode. I sewed pieces of a fluffy feather boa all over our matching uniform shirts.
It was a riot but the hosts of the party were not pleased when we used glitter to beam aboard.
We don’t really do Halloween here but I did get to go to a Halloween party once. I dressed as Witchy-pooh from The Adventures Of Puffin-stuff, with striped socks, frizzed out hair and my old primary school recorder sprayed gold with coloured hairspray as Freddie The Magic Flute. It was really fun.
Although it did turn out to be a very wild party. I could smell the wacky-tobaccy wafting out of the house as I walked down the driveway. We were very lucky that we weren’t raided. I have never spent a night in the nick but I suspect is not very pleasant.
Little Bo Peep was one of my favorite costumes of late. My husband went to the party as a lost sheep. Great pictures and we had so much fun!
My personal favorite would be the year I went as Punky Brewster. Did I mention I was 20 at the time? Lol
When I was little and dressed up as maleficent. Someone asked if I was supposed to be a black bunny rabbit!
My best was probably when I went as Belle from beauty and the beast as a kid. I loved that movie and apparently wore the costume for weeks afterward.
Large Marge from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Great-NO ONE knew who I was. Not so great-I about DIED of hot under all that costume!
My best was Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials. My worst was a blue Crayola crayon, simply because I didn’t grow for three years and had to keep being it.
My favorite was when I was about 10 yrs old. I was dressed as Juliet from Romeo & Juliet in a gorgeous crimson satin & velvet gown that I found in a costume consignment shop. It had been worn in a stage production of the play, and I had saved up my chores allowance to purchase it. In fact, I still own it 30 years later!
I have to say that my favorite memories of Halloween costumes are from childhood. I am one of seven, and we never bought ours, largely because my parents couldn’t afford to. We had the costume box full of old clothes from previous generations, and a lot of creativity. One year my brother started out as the mummy … strips of old sheets mixed with ace bandages, but we had to make a stop at home halfway through the evening. He had started to unravel … unwind??? Anyway, he ended the night as the ghost of the mummy … fabric strips around his legs and an old sheet with eye-holes over his head and body. It was fun!
Can’t remember any of my former costumes, but my daughters’ best costumes were worn the year they were matching lady bugs!
As one of the Greek Chorus!
All I needed was a black outfit!
My favorite costume was from when I was in third grade. I dressed as a book! My torso was encased in a large cardboard box which had been fitted up with “covers” and a “spine” and the whole thing was painted to look quite realistic.
My family was never really into Halloween but my favorite costume is still the first one I remember wearing. I went as a University of Michigan football player. I was about 5 years old and I wore one of my dad’s t-shirts over my winter coat and my mom painted black semi-circles under each eye. I remember being upset about it at the time (I think I wanted to be a princess or something like that), but looking back at it – going door to door, just me and my dad – I’ll never forget that special memory.
I was a bride with a veil and everything. I was 8 years old.
worst costume ever.
my best costume was when I went as Mulan for halloween when I was 8. I had a cricket and everthing!
Six weeks….. almost a lifetime!!!!
My best Halloween costume wasn’t mine, but my boyfriend’s… He wanted to have a makeup that gave the impression that his face was zipped open… It took me one whole hour to apply the zipper and makeup to his face… but the result was really scary! 🙂
Best halloween costume was a childhood flamingo costume. I decided to go method and spent all day standing on one leg. The worst was a gypsy costume with loose elastic in the waist (I’ll let you imagine the downside yourself).