My Greatest Costume Accomplishment to Date!

Halloween Recap.
**Caution this is a long one**
Whew! I'm just now coming around to a full recovery from the insanity that was Halloween weekend. If I had tried to pack one more thing into my weekend, it could've ended in full blown Halloween madness (similar to Space Madness) or even a Halloween induced coma!! Thank goodness that was not the case. At any rate, I had a blast and I got to show off my Greatest Costume Accomplishment to Date!
When I found out we were going to an Edward Gorey brunch Halloween morning I wanted to make something victorian, goth, Tim Burton like. So I found a Simplicity pattern waaaaaay back in August at Wal-Mart and modified the design with different fabrics to create the vision I had in my head. I didn't sketch this one at all. Then in September my Mom and I went shopping my favorite JoAnn's in Albany @ the Northway Mall. Great store, lots of deals. I spent about 6 days on the dress, working probably 2 hours a night on it. I finished almost 4 days before Halloween which is the earliest I have EVER completed a costume. I spent approximately $75 on the whole thing. I saved money by going to JoAnn's early and shopping sales and going to Michael's and using their 40% off coupons. Also I went to a Halloween sample sale in NYC and found the wig for 2 dollars!! Still thrilled over that find!

The wig and makeup were their own project all together. I wired most of the eyeballs, spiders, beads, skulls into the wig but had to secure the top hat+crow with a multitude of bobby pins simply because it was getting rather heavy. The red lights around the hat were a random thing I found in the "AS IS" section of Ikea a year or so ago. They are a short string and run on 2 AA batteries which I hid inside the hat. I didn't get a good picture of it but there is a skull on back of the wig that I just love. It was a styrofoam painted skull I got at Michael's for $1.50 that I cut the back off of and wired into the mesh of the wig.
My makeup looked great but was mostly obscured by all that was going on with my wig. Using a great piece of trim Erin bought I sponged black face paint around it and got a flower design using negative space. I added a few stick on gems from the scrapbooking section of Michael's and Matisse Elite lipstick in bright red (specifically the color is called Blow). Black face paint faded down my neck made me look extra creepy. I added black glitter and some red glitter on my lips as a finishing touch! Voila!


Ok so on to the event - Dances of Vice Presents PhantasmaGorey. We arrived at the Highline Ballroom, running late cause it takes time to look that good. In attendance were Erin, Aaron and Erica and we really didn't quite know what to expect. The very first thing we noticed though was that we were NOT the best dressed there. Which frankly Erin and I are not used to! Dances of Vice is a club in NYC that throws fanciful parties and they do not eff around! Most of the costumes were completely hand made and elaborate as all hell. Please check out their photo gallery on the Dances of Vice website and be completely blown away.
Also let me describe the entertainment. First was a very cool band that played jazz music from the 1920's specifically from Chicago and Harlem. They were called Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra. They consisted of brass instruments, a banjo, some fiddlers, and even a saw player. They played 6 or 7 songs, then there was a short break and we ordered brunch. The food was "Meh". They served sliders with some sort of sweet and spice ketchup which Erin did not care for and my wings were completely tasteless.
ANYWAY there were also performances by burlesque dancers, tap dancers, an illusionist and ariel artists. My favorite was Bride of Frankenstein burlesque performed by The Flying Fox.


The entertainment was capped off with a fashion show by PUREVILE Fashion. Erin and I were very excited because we recognized the designer from our neighborhood! We always see him on the 7 train and wonder what he does. Now we know, he hand makes one of a kind fashion items with antiques... Heirlooms... Bones... Doll parts... Keys... Lace... Oddities and Curiosities of all shapes and sizes. Next time we share a train car home together I will have to say hello.


My raven who I named "Pecky" was getting a little restless by this point and took to attacking Kevin for no good reason. Could also be that he was drunk... the raven and Kevin.
Next on the agenda was a little relaxing before the big evening events. At 8pm Dresden Doll at Irving Plaza! So I met up with my friend Kevin and we headed over to the venue. The Dresden Dolls have not played together for about 3 years so this was very exciting. At this event, unlike the morning soiree, I was definitely the best dressed. YES! Lots of pictures were taken with me and strangers. Dresden Dolls played all of their songs and a couple covers including their own Double Rainbow song. Complete with rainbow balloons falling from the sky! Great show.

Double Rainbow Song Ending at Dresden Dolls - Irving Plaza

We walked out of the show and Kevin headed home to watch "Walking Dead" that new zombie show on AMC. I debated going home for a few seconds, but this was the one day for this costume to shine so I hopped right on the subway and headed down to VooDoo Boogaloo. When I first got there, I didn't see any of my Kostume Kult crew and thought ah well I'll have a drink, mingle a little then head home. However after hanging out for a little bit and talking to an annoying guy without a costume that bought me a beer I spotted Boris and Lori and headed over to the side dance floor to say Hi. There were lots of Kostume Kult people to catch up with and I met some new people too. I wanted to hear all about the parade and our float. VooDoo was the perfect theme for our float and party. We should always have themes that people can go so crazy with. Jungle's pictures from Facebook already looked amazing. The float was extremely professional and a complete party-on-wheels. Sad that I missed the parade. Next year!


Halloween was a tremendous day. New York City is THE best city for this holiday. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.