Friday, December 30, 2011

KostumeGirl's 2011 Wrap Up

As I look back on my posts from 2011, I'd have to say this was my best year for costumes yet! Through practice and good old fashioned trial and error I've learned how to build costumes that are comfortable without losing any WOW factor. I've also learned what can be built and what you should just purchase ready made. If you will oblige me, I'd like to take a trip down memory road and recap my favorite costumes of 2011.

The year was off to a running start in February with a very daring and clever (at least I thought so) costume that I wore to Kostume Kult's 5th Annual Alt. Oscars, the wildest costume Oscar party out there. Attending this year were flocks of Black Swans, Tron, Pixar characters and myself as the 2010 epic film Piranha 3D. How this film, NAY this work of art, remains yet un-nominated for an Oscar is a great travesty. Briefly, the movie is about an underwater tremor that releases millions of prehistoric piranhas from their dormant state. This unfortunate event happens to coincide with Spring Break at Lake Victoria where hundreds of coeds are letting loose in the water as well. The two make for a deadly mixer. So basically I was dressed as a college spring breaker who met an unfortunate piranha feeding frenzy demise. To read my detailed recap click here. For more photos from this raucous event, check out this great album of photos of the event by my friend Loren Darklyng. It won't be long before this event comes around again and the Kostume Kult red carpet is rolled out so start thinking about your favorite movies from 2011 and which one would make a great costume. You could win yourself a coveted Atly!


April brought spring flowers and an AMAZING event called Horned Ball 7: Road to Valhalla. Kostume Kult hosted this event at Santo's Party House this year. The Party House was transformed back in time to a viking wonderland with a ship, ice, fire and animal hides. Really an unbelievable transformation and the set up crew deserves lots of props for a bang up job. Oh and if you do not know, Horned Ball is a spring event with a horned or mythical beast theme. For the past two Horned Balls, I have dressed as a unicorn. The first attempt was pretty amateur with a paper towel roll horn but in 2011 I got it right. I found a Christmas ornament for my inspiration that was a white and red spiral and happened to look a lot like a horn! I mounted it on a headband and set to work on a red and white spandex body suit. I'm very happy with the results. Read my previous post for full recap for more pictures.

In June the NYC weather finally warms up and the sea creatures get their chance to shine at the Coney Island Mermaid Day Parade. I must admit this is the event I tend to get the most attention at. There are a LOT of great photographers there and I love finding my photos online after the parade. The event organizers have got this parade down to a science now since it has been going on for more than 10 years and there is even a family friendly section of the parade where the nudity is less brazen and the mixed drinks don't fly quite as loosely. Anyway I went to the mermaid parade with my wonderful college friend and co-creator of the "More is More" mantra, Erin. Also attending were our friends Melissa and Natalie, both Mermaid Parade first timers. The weather was great and we had an absolute blast. Read about it in my previous post recapping Mermaid Day 2011. If you are looking for an event that celebrates costumes without the debauchery of SantaCon give the Mermaid Day Parade a try. Coney Island is a bit of a trip but I love to do it once a year.

In July I was "featured" in a photographic list of "48 Things You Will Only See in NYC" on Buzzfeed.com. The photo is actually from 2010 when I was riding the train home from the Mermaid Parade. As you can see I was resting between some of my neighbors on the 7 train. As usual I was not thinking anything odd about the way I was dressed as strangers stared at me and took pictures! Anyway I'm proud to be part of the NYC spectacle. Living here never gets old that's for sure.

July was also when I debuted my first makeup tutorial! I did face paint for my Cheshire Cat costume for the Massive Mad Hatter Tea Party in the West Village. As I was getting ready I made a little tutorial to help out people trying to recreate the look or get some inspiration. I hope to add many more tutorials on makeup, sewing and costume crafting.

Skipping to October, I attended NYC Comic Con for the first time. There are some very serious cosplay and costumers at ComicCon so I was ready to be out dressed for sure. I went as Minnie Mouse since I've been a fan since I was about 4. I sewed my costume the week before and got a great pair of tights from work.The ears I found in the costume dome out at Burning Man. Thank goodness I held on to them! We took some fun photos at Comic Con, walked around all day and bought some great original art! I think I am ready to upgrade to San Diego Comic Con!

Such a busy October! Only two days after ComicCon was ZombieCon. I found my inspiration for my outfit this year at Mood Fabrics. I was buying plain fabric for a sewing class when I spotted a beautiful black and white striped thick jersey. INSPIRED, I went home and started thinking about how to sew it into a horrifying zombie dress. Luckily I stumbled upon some help when I found a video on YouTube for How to Sew a Morticia Addams Dress. It was exactly the silhouette I was looking for. Then I bloodied it up with some fabric dye and paint. This picture is silly and I have no idea what I was doing, but I like it. For some reason I do not have a lot of photos from that event. I'm sad cause I don't think I got a good full length one of the dress. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to go out and have an experience and not worry about documenting every second of it.
I also did a Zombie makeup tutorial that got a lot of views on You Tube right before ZombieCon. This video was much more complete and polished. It even had the music from 28 Days behind it. Hopefully it helped some people achieve the sexy zombie look they were going for.

Then of course, the Grandaddy of them all Halloween. This year was a special circumstance however since I had been in California Halloween weekend for a wedding. My flight back to NYC landed at 3pm the day of Halloween so I had just enough time to go home, throw on something and head to the NYC Village Halloween Parade! It was worth it to walk along side the Kostume Kult parade float which looked insane and great with its Eye-Kandy theme and rocking sound system. Check out some of the video I took. Also a highlight my friend Erin @erinokeefe5 won the costume contest at the W hotel on Park Ave! She was a Sexy Porcupine. Spiky!

Rounding off the year was SantaCon. This event has grown to proportions that are simply epic. Telling someone you are going to SantaCon hardly requires any explanation anymore. I was a Sexy Candy Cane and I think it turned out great. The wig and headpiece required a great deal of work but the leggings thankfully I reused from my Horned Ball unicorn costume. I love the bold red and white stripes and the long length of my wig. Right as I arrived at the South Street Seaport one of the most exciting events in my creative career happened. Bill Cunningham took my photo! He is a NYC fashion and street photographer for The New York Times and was recently the subject of a documentary. He took some photos of me, I said Hi and gave him my card and prayed my photo would show up in the Times. Then low and behold a few days later, there I was in the Times Sunday Style section and even in a video of the photos he took called Reds. So very exciting! I will have to save a clipping and put it in my portfolio.

So there you have it. The many events and many costumes of 2011. As always I have ideas brewing for the coming year so check back for more updates. Happy New Year!

-KostumeGirl
Twitter @Kostumegirl

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Group Costume Ideas for SantaCon

Group costume ideas for Santa Con!

Snowflakes:
No two are alike after all but you and your friends could be a blizzard of fluffy white snowflakes! I've seen big foam snowflakes at the Dollar Store which you could attach to your white outfit. Of course if you are participating in SantaCon NYC your whites wont stay that white on the subway! Sorry.

Santa's Reindeer:

Of course you will have to fight over who gets to be Blitzen cause we all know how he had a problem with the egg nog. Extra points if you manage to tether all 9 of you together to a sleigh and drag it around town all day.


12 Days of Christmas:

Ok so the first few days are easy. Just hope you don't get screwed and end up having to come up with 11 Lords a Leapin'. *This is for very ambitious costume groups only.*


Home Alone


Nuff Said


A Christmas Story
Lots of good costume opportunities here. Raphie in the pink bunny suit from his Aunt Clara. There is even directions on making your own pink bunny suit on Instructables! Ralphie in his cowboy outfit with BB gun. Then again, leave the BB gun at home. The NYPD can be a little uptight. What about being "Blind Ralphie"? "It... It 'twas... soap poisoning!" Then they will be sorry!! Also someone has to be the most rotten one of them all, Scut Farkus. Someone could be the lamp! I saw on a blog once a girl with one leg and a great sense of humor who was the leg lamp for Halloween. Way to laugh about it! Fra-gee-lay! That must be Italian.

Check out some of my previous SantaCon posts for tips and MORE costume ideas!

Santa Says: "I'll be sending periodic bulletins through the rare North Pole twitter-bird at twitter.com/santacon."


Monday, December 5, 2011

SantaCon Wig Progress

As SantaCon NYC draws closer still, my costume preparation is in full swing. Usually I procrastinate till the last few days before, but this year I'm almost ahead of the game! So with my motivation I've decided to write a little post about my big wig for the event.
With every costume it is important to pick a color scheme and really adhere to it. Otherwise your outfit can look a little haphazard. This year I am going to be a Sexy Candy Cane so my colors are obviously white and red. I found a lot of good Christmas decorations at dollar stores this year as well as my favorite store Michael's Craft Store.
*Side note: If you have a smart phone download Michael's app. They can scan weekly coupons right off the phone so you never have to be annoyed you forgot your 40% off one item coupon at home. I love it!*
Anyway the wig I had envisioned in my head was white with red stripes which would have to be custom made. However I'm not Lady Gaga and commissioning a custom piece is not in my wig budget. If it were, I would by wigs from PoshFairytaleCouture an amazing seller on Etsy with mind blowing headpieces and wigs.

Inspiring indeed.

So to realize my wig vision I had to do a little improvising. After reading lots of Amazon reviews I bought a long white wig that a lot of people had purchased to be Storm from the X-Men for Halloween from ToyNK.com. Its a very long wig for how inexpensive it was and it has little threads of sliver tinsel in it that you can't see well in the photo online but in person is very cool. Then I bought red hair extensions at Wigs and Plus (152 W 32nd St btw Avenue Of The Americas & Penn Plz). Great store for wigs, extensions, lashes, contact lenses at very good prices. The extensions are Kanekalon braids in bright red. They are not attached to a weft or a clip so its basically loose hair. They are kind of hard to work with since once you remove the rubber band the hair goes everywhere but I found a way to make it work. I took a needle from my knitting kit with a large eye. Then I threaded a small amount of hair through it, pulled it through the mesh of the wig and attached with a slip knot and a dot of hot glue. I tried to evenly space the red so it looked like stripes on a candy cane. It was a pain, but the results are amazing. I will wait to reveal the completed wig. This is after all just a tease. In order to add all the fun glitterly goodies I wanted to, I needed a base to attach them to my wig. So I took a styrofoam cone that would be used for a floral arrangement and bobby pined it to the wig but pushing bobby pins into the bottom of the styrofoam cone from inside, catching the mesh. I swirled the hair around it, pined it to the styrofoam and then went crazy with glitter picks and dollar store tree decorations. It looks as though Christmas has exploded on my head. Another Sneak Peek...
Meet up with me at SantaCon NYC on December 10, 2011 to see the final look. It's gonna be Candy Cane-riffic!
I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Group Costume Ideas for SantaCon

So you and your friends have decided to embark upon the magical journey that is SantaCon. Here in NYC the costumes can get pretty impressive so if you want to stand out you're going to have to be very clever. A group costume is a great way to showcase how cool and funny you and your friends are! Here are a few ideas I came up with. Start planning NOW, go! Also start getting ready early on December 10th. Now that does not mean start partying hard early cause SantaCon a marathon not a sprint. What I mean is start getting dressed and meet up early cause the most fun is had in the day light hours of SantaCon.

Wandering pack of Zombie Santas and Elves

Ho Ho HOLY CRAP! Santa was bitten by a zombie and is devour the innocent children who want to sit on his lap!! Found a site with lots of scary Santa Zombie art. Guess thats a thing! So you and your friends could terrify normal Santas as a pack of Holiday Zombies. Do it!

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made you out of…WHOA!!
MayFaireMoon on Etsy


Why not have you and your friends go as each symbol on the Dreidel?! Get Cute dresses and paint the Hebrew words on the front and back. For your reference here are the 4 sides of the dreidel.
I would also like to point out that why researching this I came across a sexy group of burlesque dancers called Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad. Hilarious!

The Rockettes

Love the Rockettes! They are so adorable. I believe Leg Avenue sells a Santa Baby costume that will do quite nicely or you could go for the outfit from the Toy Soldier number. Remember to do your hair up the same and wear the exact same shade of lipstick. Perhaps there is a male friend of yours who would like to be Santa. Practice your kick line cause it's going to bring the house down!!

Luxury Brands
You and your friends could embrace the commercial side of Christmas and be luxury gifts! Pick brands with very recognizable logos and colors like a blue Tiffany Box or the brown Louis Vuitton bag.

Its a Wonderful Life

While I was thinking about characters you could be from Christmas movies I thought why not be It's a Wonderful Life, one of my Dad's favorite holiday movies. You could go to the vintage clothing store for outfits, THEN use face paint and baby powder to make yourselves black and white. Its super ambitious and hard to pull off, but wow that would be cool.

I'm really looking forward to this years festivities. I'll be getting up early and meeting up with Santa at the 1st stop! Here's a look at my costume so far. I'm going as a Sexy Candy Cane. *wink *wink

Check out some of my previous SantaCon posts for tips and MORE costume ideas!

Santa Says: "I'll be sending periodic bulletins through the rare North Pole twitter-bird at twitter.com/santacon."

I'm gonna be tweeting our whereabouts too. @kostumegirl
I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

NYC SantaCon 2011 is coming to town!



My trusted sources say that SantaCon NYC 2011 will take place on Saturday December 10th, 2011.

It's definitely not to early to start looking for a great Holiday spirited outfit for the most insane pub crawl of the year! Party City, Ricky's NYC, Toys R Us all have Santa outfits and accessories. If you have time to plan ahead, hit up Amazon for cheap Santa suits and customize one. Bedazzle it! Glue on extra fur! Make it your own!



My favorite SantaCon outfits are always the ones with a dose of cleverness. Some of the favorites that I have seen in Cons past are Run DMC Santas, Santa Khan (Genghis's Merry Brother), and Clark Grizzwold (with rogue squirrel on his back).
What's that you say? You are Jewish? That's no reason to not join in the fun. I have lots of Jewish friends who like to dress up and represent. All you need to bring is your spirit and a comfortable pair of shoes!


If you are a lady who prefers a sexy SantaCon look then I suggest you look no further than Katy Perry for inspiration!She really rocked the holiday costume at Z100's Jingle Ball in NYC. Frosty never looked so good!

The morning meeting places will be announced only a short time before the actual Con so keep checking the website for updates and sign up for text alerts. Once the Santas meet up for reindeer games it will be on to Manhattan to spread cheer. Singing carols and lots of HO HO HOs are in store however I always say "Don't be that Santa!". Pace yourself and remember to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its a merry occasion and being inappropriate in front of kids is not the Santa way. Be nice, pass out candy, pose for photos. If things are getting to be too much for you, break off from the group for a bit and take a water break. You will be able to find them again later with the text message updates.

Kostume Girl at last years SantaCon


Here are some videos of past SantaCons in New York City. The tourists in Times Square were definitely not expecting all this when they came for a holiday in NYC!


Santas on the move! The MTA might not let you travel between cars, but they have no problem with carol singing!


So grab your jolly friends, pack a thermos of egg nog and get there early because the most fun is during the day light hours of SantaCon.


I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!
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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Last minute Halloween costume ideas

You've done it again. You put off getting your Halloween costume together till the last hour and now the line at Rickys and Halloween Adventure is around the block. Fear not loyal reader! I have come to your rescue with last minute costume ideas that won't require braving a Halloween mob scene. 


Ke$ha
America's trashy sweetheart. All you need to do is listen to a song or two and  Ke$ha will helpfully describe her outfit for you. "Stockings ripped all up the sides" OK that easy enough. Go in your hosiery drawer, grab tights  (fishnets if you have em), and a pair of scissors. It's best to put them on first then CAREFULLY do the ripping. "We've got our hot pants on and up" Sure thing, Ke$ha! For your sake I hope you own hot pants (AKA bike shorts) if not just stop by Target sportswear or cut a pair of old black leggings into short shorts. "Throw some glitter, make it rain on 'em!" This is definitely a must mention in every awesome Ke$ha song. Can you believe this girl doesn't have a Grammy!?!! You could also carry a toothbrush and a mini Jack Daniels cause as we know that is Ke$ha's toothpaste of choice (recommended by 0 out of 5 dentists).


Those Wacky Kids from "Signs" with tin foil hats on
Go to your kitchen, grab the tin foil and start crafting a work of art! Best not to tell the roommates or Mom what you used a lll the tin foil for. Craft an amazing tin foil topper then wear regular clothing. So easy. 


The Big Bang Theory
Brightly colored comic book character shirts and a pair of corduroys.  Bazinga! 


Dental Dam
I saw this at a bar one year and was equally amused and repulsed. A dental dam is a little utilized piece of sexual health safety that is basically just a square of latex. A shower curtain looks just like a huge version of a dental dam. Fold a shower curtain in half like a poncho, cut a hole in the top for your head and staple along the top edge to keep square shape. At least people will know you are educated in the prevention of STDs!

traffic light dog costume
Traffic Light
A quick do it yourself costume. Dress in black. Cut out Green, Yellow and Red circles out if felt and safety pin to the front of you in the correct orientation.

Monday, October 24, 2011

NYC Best Halloween Party - Kostume Kult & Choice Cuts* present EYE KANDY



Kostume Kult & Choice Cuts* present

EYE KANDY
A sexy sweet NYC Halloween disco

KK & CC are back together with their unique blend of edgy bad-assness and playful sweetness...
An after-party for the Kostume Kult Halloween Parade Float or a Parade Alternative. Going Late!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Monday, October 31st
9PM - 4AM+
@ TAMMANY HALL
152 Orchard Street betw. Stanton and Rivington
F/M Trains to Delancey or 2nd ave stops

$15 limited PRESALE TICKETS

Limited capacity- presale strongly encouraged.
$20 at the door
$10 after 2am
Drink specials all night (details below). Good Food!
21+

Please RSVP


DJ's on TWO FLOORS mixing
ElectroPop and hands-in-the-air House Music featuring:
ALEX FUNK
MIA DANGERFIELD & TERREYL
LEZ VAN HALEN and
DJ SOOZEE

Sexy Sweet Undead Gogo's
Powdered Sugar Burlesque
Photos by Maro
Fantasy Flora by Skolozdra
Cha-Cha Balloons and
Projections by VJ Krunch

DRESS TO EXPRESS
Costumes (of any style) required
Sexy or Sweet encouraged
Neon or Black Light Reactive (much black light!)
Day of the Dead Skeletal Sexy
Kandyland Princess
Gumdrop Girls
Zombified Frida Kahlo
Body Art &
Anything Lickable
COSTUME CONTEST W/ PRIZES AT MIDNIGHT!!

BLACKLITE BODYART LOUNGE
By Hadara and Transformational Bodypainting
COME EARLY to get bodypainted!

PICS from Last Year's KK+CC Halloween Party:

DRINK SPECIALS
$5 Tecates
$6 Vodka Well Drinks
$6 Cuervo Shots
$6 Beer+Whiskey Shot special

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Halloween costume ideas for couples!

A couple costume with your significant other can be fun! Below are 3 ideas for couples costumes. I start with easier ideas meaning little preparation and money and move towards more involved costumes.
Scientist & Lab Rat
Rather than be a doctor and sexy nurse why not be a scientist and his lab rat? Both costumes are very easy. For the lab rat just get some ears and paint some whiskers & a nose on with black eye liner. The scientist just needs a lab coat, maybe a clip board and a plastic syringe. The syringe can be filled with booze throughout the night so that the scientist can "run more tests" on the rat. 

Sexy Lion Tamer & Lion
I thought of this idea while preparing for Kostume Kult's FreaKKshow party. Lion costumes are pretty easy to come by but if you want to make your own try buying some faux fur and making cuffs for your wrists and ankles. Maybe your hair can be teased into a mane. Paint whiskers and a nose on your face with face paint or even eyeliner. The lion tamer wears a jacket and top hat and also gets to carry the whip. You and your partner might want to enjoy a little role reversal here.  By the end of the night you will know who really wants to be the Boss!  

Chucky & Bride of Chucky
Chucky scared the living day lights out of me as a child (most people my age can probably relate). If you and your mate are horror movie fans, consider Chucky & Bride of Chucky as a couples Halloween costume. These costumes are a little more involved with the makeup and all but I really think it could be a lot of fun.

So get creative and really go for it with your friend or partner. Remember, as always More is More!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Group Costume Ideas! Original & Unique! Don't dress like all the rest.

Even more Group Costume Ideas! Read on and gather your friends for an epic Halloween.

Group Walk of Shame: It's 8am or some ungodly hour for a Sunday and you are wearing your club clothes and highest heels. An outfit that was perfect for the velvet rope club you were shaking your thing at last night but now doesn't seem to be blending in with the neighbors walking their dogs and getting their mail. You bear no resemblance to the goddess you were a mere 6 hours ago. Engaging in an awkward "what happened last night?" conversation with your momentary romantic partner is out of the question so you high tail it for home. What neighborhood is this even!? Even celebrities get caught on Walks of Shame. Well since we've all been there why not band together and have a Group Walk of Shame? Messy bed head or romp head is a must. Try teasing or a good old fashioned roll in the hay. Be sure you give your makeup a good "I didn't wash my face last night" look. You can go with the rumpled mini dress from last night or even add his too-big-for-you team dodgeball shirt on top. Come on ladies, band together because it's not the Walk of Shame, it's the Stride of Pride!!Here's a funny video about a costumed Walk of Shame.



Real Housewives of Insert Your City Name Here:This is an easy idea sine you might already have the needed clothing in your closet. Take 4 of your friends and dress up like privileged upper class cougars. Gaudy jewelry (Dollar Store), age inappropriate mini dresses and too much makeup. Then carry around an apple, orange, peach or if you are from Maine maybe a snowball like they do in the TV promos. Done!


Fly Girls:The sketch show In Living Color was totally hot in the 90s. So were the girls who did sweet dance routines during the opening theme and between commercial breaks. This is a great group costume if you couldn't bare to throw away those neon orange bike shorts that were totally rad in 1994. Make sure your outfits don't completely match but try to have a color scheme going on between all of you. Get together before Halloween and create a fly dance routine. Then bring your mini ipod speakers and download the In Living Color theme song. This will win over any crowd!
Here is a video for costume inspiration.



Sexy Snow White & 7 Dwarfs:

*This image is fairly disturbing*
Maybe you are a female with a lot of male friends. Well then this group costume is for you. The dwarfs all wear a different color shirt and slouchy winter hat. Fake white beards are easy to find at a costume store. I would not recommend making your own with cotton balls here because I could just see that being a huge mess. You can rename the dwarfs of course. Stupid, Horny, Smelly, but you don't need me for that.


Sexy Chimney Sweeps:Hear me out here! I love the "Step in Time" number from Mary Poppins and I'm guessing a lot of you do too. Dress in black, get a drivers cap (see left), add black face paint or eye shadow for "Soot" and a chimney brush. Where you find one of those I have no idea. but I'm pretty sure you could make something that looks like it with a wire scrubby brush and a wooden dowel.




Band Geeks!
"This one time at band camp..." Tall Oaks Band Camp is the actual name of the camp from the American Pie movie series. Why not make some Tall Oaks Band Camp t-shirts and carry around some instruments? Fake ones would be best and the real deal is kind of expensive to risk a wild night like Halloween. You can draw straws to see who gets to be Petey the trombone player.


Cereal Mascots:Tony the Tiger, Sugar Smacks Frog, Lucky the Leprechaun, The Corn Flakes Rooster, The Trix Rabbit, Cookie Crisp Dog, Cap'n Crunch, Snap, Crackle, Pop!! All great cereal spokespeople or spokes-animals. Sometimes they are motivational like Tony, other times eternally tormented by tricky kids and the agony of not being able to get their hands on some sugary breakfast foods! Why not go as a pack of cereal mascots. This is a more challenging costume. I would give it an 8 out of 10 on the Kostume Girl's Closet scale of challenging costumes. Bring along a box of your cereal and hand out some snacks!
(On a side note: Why are Cap'n Crunch's eyebrows on his hat?!)

Need even more ideas?
Check out my last few posts for more Group Costume ideas and Half Way to Halloween.

You can follow on Twitter me @Kostumegirl.