Skip to main contentHalloween's upon us, and along with it comes the annual "what are you going to be?" costume quandary. Whatever you do, don't freak out and rush to get on board with the current "no scary costumes" policy being peddled by well-meaning "family journalists." Yes, living amid a real scare makes us revisit the topic--good! But Halloween's raison d'être is a one-night fling with our darker aspects, a yearly visit with the spooks and ghouls among and within us. Scary costumes are designed to drive the baddies away, to put to flight the restless souls who are given one night to prowl the human world before All Saint's Day shuts 'em down. Even if you don't buy the religio-historical roots of the holiday, most of us can appreciate that getting in touch with your dark side is a darn healthy exercise.
Costume-wise, this doesn't automatically mean bleeding eyeballs and severed limbs. Each of us has a different demon to drive away. On a diet? Dress as something from your menu of temptations. Technopho-bic? Come as a diabolical device. It's just that easy. And my E-Z costume helper will coax you toward greater understanding of your personal bogeyman, with suggestions from inside, outside and beside the costume canon. These simple steps are designed to get you suited and suitable within half an hour, with minimum prep and expense. And do hold or go to Halloween parties. Haunt your friends' houses and howl at the moon. Give the chiaroscuro complexity of Hallow's Eve its due.
FOOD COSTUMES
It takes only basic craftiness to go from civilian to comestible. Options abound in the food pyramid.
Slice o' pie/pizza: Two pieces yellow posterboard (cut into triangles), stapler to affix them to same-colored shirt. Use red spray-painted paper plates for pepperoni, or wear a contrasting-color shirt for luscious fruit filling.
Buncha grapes: green or purple balloons, same-color shirt, neutral pants, safety pins. Not for the skittish--wags and rascals will pop you. Bring spares. Optional felt leaves add realism.
NEW TWISTS ON OLD FAVORITES
Basic costumes, often passed over as too obvious or overused, can make a mighty presentation if you add some tangy zip.
Holey ghost: Remember It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, when ol' Roundhead goes berserk with the shears and ends up with a Swiss-cheese sheet? You laughed then, you'll laugh again.
Witch/Bitch: Add some personality to your pointy-hat-and-broom ensemble by selecting a hateable female to lampoon. What formidable femme chaps your hide...Condoleezza Rice? Susan "Stop the Insanity" Powter? Martha Stewart? Let the rancor flow through you by wearing a WASP-y blond bob wig under your hatbrim.
SUPERNATURALS AND SEMI-DEITIES
Lesser characters from the catalog of fantasy deserve a second look. These sprites are plenty frightening. Lurking in chimneys and reaching under pillows--yeesh!
Tooth fairy: General fairy froufrou can be fashioned from a few yards of tulle. Coat hangers stretched with nylon stockings make insta-wings. A big felt molar pinned to your chest and a pocketful of quarters seal the deal.
Leprechaun: Green tights, shorts and turtleneck, too-small black blazer, black shoes with gold buckles (painted cardboard), green beard (grow or paint one), black top hat (cardboard), gold chocolate coins.
Santa Claus: Improvised with pillow-stuffed red sweats and cotton batting (fur trim and beard), it's the safest look in the book--no one mugs Santa for his candy.
THINK INSIDE THE BOX
You risk being ditched by mobile companions (especially if it rains), but cardboard-box costumes make maximum impact. Instead of going for Robot or Raisin Bran, consider honoring some of our less-lauded but essential cubiform inventions. The Smokeeter. The swamp cooler. The jukebox. For accuracy of detail, you might need to make a visit to the Sandy Hut (that's scary!), but once there, you might forget you even needed a costume.
For vintage masks you can download and print, visit www.retroactive.com/sept97/hawmasks.html .
upcoming events:
Holiday Fragrance Fest
Smell good just in time for Halloween at Nordstrom's Holiday Fragrance Festival. Enjoy wine, hors d'oeuvres and olfactory indulgences.
Marriott Hotel, 1401 SW Naito Parkway, 287-2444, ext. 1071 to RSVP. 7:30-9 pm Friday, Oct. 26. $16.
Ride 'Em In, Move 'Em Out
Desperado western boutique is having a moving sale before relocating Nov. 1 to the Gregory Building. Everything except boots and buckles is 20 percent off. 1321 NW Hoyt St., 294-2952. Through Oct. 27.
To let us know about special events or sales, send information to Elizabeth Dye, WW, 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205 (fax 243-1115), at least 10 days prior to publication.
WWeek 2015