I have a costume that makes me look exactly like a six year old. Get some kid’s clothes (including a hooded sweatshirt) and shoes, pin them together and stuff them to form a body but leave the head empty. Then get a hooded sweatshirt for yourself, cut a slit at the base of the hood, put some stuffing in the chest and add a fake head. Arrange the small body on your back, like you’re giving a piggy-back ride, but stick your head through the slit in the large sweatshirt and into the hood of the small one. Only trouble is I haven’t been to a Halloween party for a few years so I haven’t had a chance to wear it.
I thought of another one, but don’t have the materials yet. I want to wrap myself in a huge sheet of paper or white foam rubber, cut a hole for my face and go as Bill.
My best costume was when I went as Foghorn Leghorn. I knew this girl who made her own costumes, so I bought her all the material and helped with the glue-gunning. She did such a terrific job, it looked like a cartoon come to life.
My head was inside Foghorn’s beak, so in drinking my beer, I looked like Foghorn was sticking his fist down his throat. I went to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill NC one year wearing this getup, and these bunch of Mexicans singing songs came up to me and carried me off, like I was the king of their parade or something. And least they didn’t cook me.
The best costume I saw was also on Franklin Street. Six people wore yellow body suits, wedged giant lemon slices on their heads, put themselves in a big cardboard rigging, and went as a 6-pack of Coronas.
One year I went as the man from the Magritte painting. Black derby with a realistic drawing of a fluffy white cloud on a stick attached, big drawing of a green apple that I held in front of my face.
About half the people at work got it, but I won second place in the costume contest.
I’m thinking of going as Riff from Sluggy–ponytail, shades, trenchcoat, sheaf of notes, BFG (a VERY large laser I built in college), and a rabbit with a switchblade.
It’s funny, though–I often go to Halloween parties with my IFGS (LARP) friends, and no one dresses up. We spend so much time together in costume that seeing them in mundane clothes seems weird enough.
And there go the last scraps of canvas from my image of Eve as the refined woman in satin gown, opera gloves, diamond pendant, with a cigarette holder poised rakishly in one hand.
[Sigh]
I’ve been to the Henri David ball the last 2 years. The costumes there are to average costumes what the SDMB is to average message boards.
-A green Atlas body suit with padded muscles, plus globe.
-A wizard costume, with 2 18" blacklights in the collar.
-A 10 foot tall At-At(the 2 legged tank from Jedi) with jointed legs.
This year, I'm revising and simplifying last year's cyber-knight costume. The staff was clumsy, and the wiring kept pulling loose. This year-lucite cylinder sword with a single blinker LED in the pommel. Plus clear shield with crest. I revised the bracers and greaves to be smaller and more durable. Nearly the entire costume is common household items-various styles of trash cans, metal tubing to protect wires, an old bath robe, and lots of GOOP(I strongly reccomend the stuff. It is the most effective and durable adhesive I've ever used.)
If any Dopers will be attending Henri David This year-I'll be the chrome knight with the purple hawk emblem.
Similar to Robot Arm’s, the coolest costume I have ever seen was on Conan O’Brien.
It was a man riding a chicken. His legs came through the bottom as chicken legs, fake legs were drooped over the chicken body’s sides, and he had reins going to a chicken bridle. The chicken’s body and head came out about 2 1/2 feet from the front, and about 2 feet in the back, which would make sitting down next to impossible, but it was hilarious watching this guy run around, trying to control his chicken.
I remember once going to a high school Halloween party as a punker. Spray painted my hair red and yellow, then found a tub of my dad’s moustache wax in the back of the hall closet (little did I know it had been around almost 20 years by then…). Spiked my hair, grubby jeans, etc…
Learned a valuable lesson from this however… When one puts 20 year old moustache wax in one’s hair, do not expect it to come out immediately when washed… I washed 3-4 times. Mom poured almost boiling water over my hair. Spent hours combing out globs and globs of the stuff… Ended up going to a barber the next day who took great pains laughing at me and spending hours torturing me to get the garbage out … saying he was going to have to shave my head… then coming up with another experiment of goop to remove the wax… Needless to say, that was the last time I did something like that!!
Now I do things the easy way… I own (proudly may I say) a full length fuzzy Eeyore suit. It has a head with mane, and a removable tail. Just add black shoes and a bit of face paint if you want
A few years ago I went to a big Haloween party. As I was talking to a friend, I see this guy walking my way wearing a fuzzy black suit from head to toe with something sticking out the top. He was getting a lot of attention. As he got closer, I noticed some type of television screen on his belly playing soft(really soft)-core porn — PornoTubby!
When I was in high school, my mom made me this great outfit–an electric blue marching band uniform. We hung red drapery cords on it and I put medals on it, and went as…Paul McCartney on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Lots of people recognized the outfit, which is pretty impressive being that I’m a girl. I’ve reused that outfit about five times since then.
The best costume I’ve ever seen a picture of was a Transformer one… that TRANSFORMED! Aagh.
Must… finish… beadwork… today…
I’m going out Hallowe’eening with another Transformer, a generalized medieval guy, and another bellydancer. This year I’m going to stay at the club until the costume competition, dammit!
Go as her, and she realizes how fat and big she has gotten, and she takes a gun to her head and shoots herself.
She has a bullet hole at her temple and blood streaming down the side of her face, white-pale pancake face with the blue eyeshadow, eyelashes, and red lipstick, but her skin is turning blue, and she has the dark-dead look under her eyes. She has the trampy-slutty outfits, that she wears, and of course she has the dog, and really has a reason to slur and talk really slow. She also has her Playboy or Guess Pictures with her, like Why/How Did I Get The Way I Was.
Grim Reaper cloak, with hood and scythe. Add some or all of the following:
Disposable camera
Airline ticket
Passport
Flip-flops
“Hawaiian” shirt
Carry-on bag
Lets Go: Europe guidebook
You are now: Death takes a holiday.
Years ago, Mr. Rilch and I were Agent Cooper and Audrey. For me: bullet bra, turtleneck sweater, string of pearls, plaid skirt, red pumps with ankle socks, hair in a flip, and, of course, bottle of maraschino cherries and one knotted stem. For him: black suit with tie, trenchcoat, slicked hair, poker chip and portable cassette recorder.
This year, we’re thinking of going as Jack the Ripper and a potential victim. But people might not get it.
One year, I went as the Angel of the house. Draped a white sheet into a facsimile of an angel’s robes, added some foil and wire wings, shoved a pair of Playtex rubber gloves and a (clean)toilet brush in my belt, and added a 50’s conformist curled and sprayed head of hair, vapid smile, and June Cleaver pearls.
Once I got to the party, however, the can of Stag beer in my hand tended to spoil the effect. (Hey, I was an impoverished student.)
Since June? I’m impressed. I’ve only been working on mine since the end of August. I’m going as Rogue from X-Men, but I’m using a variation of the movie costume. I made a tight black satin* jacket from a modified suit pattern, and I’m sewing black satin pants today. I’m connecting the two with a black satin belt. Throw on an “X” logo I made with some metal rings from the notions bin at the fabric store, a pair of black leather gloves and some white hair paint, and I’m a superhero! I hope. Like I said, I’m still working on it.
My other idea was to get a plain jumpsuit, dye it a dark color, embroider a Gizmonics Institute logo on it and go as the next captive on the Satellite of Love. Which would have worked if:
Anyone in my office watched (or even heard of) MST3K; and
The Tom Servo parts weren’t so expensive and hard to find. I couldn’t be a captive without a little robot friend, now, could I?
[sub]* Yes, I know the movie costumes were leather, but do you know how much leather costs?[/sub]
Fans of “Los Bukis” tell me I’m a dead ringer for el Buki Numero Uno himself, Marco Antonio Solis. All I need is to scan a few album covers for a costume, learn a few of his better know songs and I’m all set. IIRC the costume should be pretty easy: black cowboy boots, black jeans, black jean shirt and black cowboy hat.
Should be interesting to see how many “recognise” me.
I once went to a party as a can of cat food. Chicken wire frame, with two pieces of posterboard around the outside, painstakingly colored with Crayola markers into a reasonable facsimile of Friskies’ “Mariner’s Catch” can. Held onto my body by suspenders.
Still one of the best costumes I’ve ever worn. I’ve still got it in the basement; I even got the barcode correct.
I’ve reused that outfit about five times since then.