I tried to be really tacky one year.  Wore a sweater with lots of gold appliques and leopard patches,  pink stretch leggings and ankle boots.  I put on a  phony red, long hair wig and got some crazy '70s glasses from the thrift store.  Lots of junk jewellry -- dangly plastic earrings, and thick makeup (bright blue eyeshadow).

The trouble was, nobody thought it was a costume....

(Aside to ninja - one year I went to a "Tacky Tourist" party - it was just hilarious, all the crazy gear people wore to it!  Tacky can be fun!)

lol ninja

TL

Not dressing up this year...but ? can we turn this thread into your 'favourite hallowe'en costume"?

We were invited to a friend's house for an adult halloween costume party.  Now Mr. Seeler is rather shy, and he had never been to a costume party since he was a little boy (maybe not then).  He wanted to go - but he had no idea what he would wear and any suggestion from me was vetoed. 

Finally, two days before the party, I took an old green sheet and sewed up a mad-doctor costume for myself:  pull-on pants, shirt, haircover, face mask and shoe covers.  I hung a stethescope around my neck, and filled my young daughter's toy Doctor Kit with things I would need, including a bottle of water with scrapes of black cloth that looked like leeches. 

I wanted him to be my nurse but he wouldn't agree.  So I made him the patient.  Pajamas, housecoat, bedroom slippers,bandage around his head, arm in a sling,  And lots of blood painted on dripping from the bandage.  Then, to change his appearance he actually shaved off his moustach.

We had a ball at the party.  He won a prize for best costume.

or we can combine it.

I did a great Morticia Adams once year (wife from the Adams Family.) 

Another good one that I had fun with was Alice Cooper from the Welcome to my Nightmare album. Tux, top hat, hair, makeup, ta-dah! It was fun. (Of course Alice doesn't have my womanly curves...)

At this same party I saw an excellent Al and Peg Bundy too (Married with Children)

Now I get to pour my creativity into my children.  The five-year-old is still pretty conventional but my eight-year-old I can sway to my will as long as she still looks pretty doing it. 

I would like to dress as one of Henry Vlll's wives, probably Ann Boleyn.  Do the attire and make my head look like it got sewed back on. ewww.

I dress up as a Witch each year

I like the idea of home made costumes.  Anyone with a bit of money can go to a store and pick out a custome that catches their eye.  Use some imagination - what can you make at home  (I'll allow some dollar store props because a plastic ax is probably much safer than the one out by the woodbox, and also not so heavy to carry around). 

What can you make with an old bed sheet, your husbands old coveralls, spiderman pajamas (duh), or the old black dress that is so out of style, the bridesmaid dress with the full floor length skirt?   

 I shopped thrift stores to put together my costume.  The store that carries the lower priced stuff (Hospital Auxillary types), musty smelling and out of Grandma's closet, seems to have the best stuff for costumes. 

My son made a Bart Simpson head with chicken wire and paper mache. It was grea.

Halloween was always my favourite time as a kid.  Growing up on a military base 95% of the houses give out candy, so it was a great time.

I loved to challenge my mother into making very original costumes, and later began to make them myself, now we make them for our kids.

My favourite costumes I had were, Ronald McDonald (won 3 contests with that one), a Smurf (some kid asked if I was god, I don't know maybe he was Hindi?), and Tin Tin.

So far we have made a bear and a duck costume for the kids, and this year they are going to be robots.

Best costume for me:  bedbug

Best costume for my husband -- a pig (long johns died pink with baby bottle nipples sewed on.

Best costume made for others --  accident victim (easy to move in), robot (awesome, but not very practical), 

best overall

    signboard guy (? sandwich board?) -- with recipes available at a hallowe'en ghoulish restaurant.   Made for my little sister, ..she had a painted on moustache and bowler hat -- kind charlie chaplin-ish.

   She complained as everyone made her come into the house, so they could read it, and laugh...which slowed down her trick /treating.

Man! Those are awesome! I too very rarely buy a costume...one year I painted a barrel to look like a can of Coke...my daugher loved Hairspray so we went through some old clothes and did her hair as a bee hive...she was Tracy Turnblad!! Thanks for the feedback, you all ROCK!!!

ahem....in my drinking days.....and shortly after flashdance was out...my boyfriend at the time & i went on a hallowe'en pub crawl.

He went as a flasher.   He was quite good, including  a little red light triggered from a button in his coat pocket; however....the costume was a wee bit too r-rated to describe here.

I went as the "rubber lady".   I was umm, quite slender back then, and of course young.  I had rubber boots...a yellow rain coat..and the appearance of nothing else...oh, and I had a rubber hose...  don't ask.    We were definitely the hit of the bars.

My youngest's favourite costume was when he was a werewolf.

We took an old shirt..and old clothes...dirtied them up...ripped them a wee bit..and under it..stuck fake hair.

His face was covered in false hair as well....with spirit gum, and he had a fake mouth extension we also picked up at a costume place. ..we have reused them time & again.

My oldest has to dress up once/week for camp, and has had quite a few, but, they really loved the bearded woman.  He wore a wedding dress and we got a pirate wig and turned it into a beard 

LOL! Those are great!! I love that!! One year a friend of ours showed up at the party with a hammer, a slice of cheese and a quarter...yep...he was a 'Quarter Pounder WITH Cheese' ....

I think my favourite one was Frodo.

I'm short and have curly hair which was about the same length as his at the time. I got an old pair of black pants and cut them to knee length and made them look jagged, took an old short sleeved tan shirt of my brothers, a green cape we'd already had and a cheap necklace with a cheap plastic ring and hung it on my neck.

oh, bethany, that is awesome.

The last time I wore a "costume" I actually just wore my actual gi. When people complimented me on it my daughter very quickly and proudly corrected them and said we really did take a martial arts class. Sadly the dojo has since closed eventually we will again. The best I remember was in high school one guy was a female flasher with paper mache breasts and everything. It didn't last long before the admin stopped that.

We were in Hawaii one Halloween night and they really go all out ,as we were told Hawaiians will use any excuse for a party. One town even shuts down main street for the evening. Someone at our hotel told us where to go to a party, so we went and  had a really good time.......the costumes were awesome. Turns out it was a party for the staff of the hotel, lol!

Three costumes come to mind.

1) A young woman came to our door dressed as the Statue of Liberty.  The statue was under construction that year, so she surrounded her costume with scaffolding.

2) Two young women came to our door dressed as Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  As I opened the door, Tonya hit Nancy on the knee with a fake iron pipe.  Nancy looked hurt and shocked and shouted "Why me? Why me?"

3) A little girl about four from down the street showed up on Halloween dressed as what I thought was a princess.  We know her and the family well so I made a big fuss saying something like "Oh my what a beautiful princess."  She looked at me with barely concealed exasperation at my obvious lack of insight, brought on by age, and barked back "a FAIRY princess!!!"  A fine distinction to me but obviously significant to her.

That's funny -- I can just picture the little girl's indignation.

Similarily, I went to a "grown up" party with my boyfriend at the time dressed as a medieval lady  (conical cap and long, trailing veil and a fitted blue dress with huge bell sleeves) and he was wearing a troubador's costume I had spent a long time researching and sewing for him.

I thought we looked awesome, but a few people thought we were Mary and Joseph?????

ninja, that's hilarious.  It was probably the blue dress (traditional colour for Mary's robe).  But Joseph as a troubadour?  I don't get that at all.

One more costume story.  One summer, when my daughter was about 6-7, we were talking about costumes.  She asked me what I would wear on Halloween to take her around the neighbourhood.  I asked her what she would like me to be and she said "a bunny."  I forgot about it completely but she didn't.  A few weeks before Halloween, she reminded me and was quite excited about it.  Well, trying to be a good dad, I had to go rent a bunny costume.  Halloween night, I felt like an idiot and wore a name tag stating "Hi, my name is Harvey"  (some of you will get that) to make myself seem a little less idiotic. 

There is more.  There was a gay couple living near our place that always did Halloween up big for the kids (not scarey, but very flamboyant and outrageous)  We went to their door and one of they guys answered, dressed as a huge yellow chicken.  We looked at each other and completely cracked up.  I almost wet my pants I laughed so hard.  Later that night, my daughter said I was the best Halloween dad ever.  I felt like ... a happy giant bunny!

I have two Halloween stories that I have probably told before. A prominent couple here were invited to a Halloween gathering at someone's home - very swish. They were the last couple to come. Everyone was in costume and they arrived in formal attire - tux, gown etc.

It wasn't until they started to dance that people realized the entire back of their costume was Saran Wrap. Formal in front - gotch in back. Of course, they won for best costume.

A guy I know dressed as a Cop a few years ago. Very authentic looking. he was stopping traffic and asking for id. He stopped a cab driver that didn't have a driver's licence. How scary is that?

OMG! Those are totally awesome!

Let's see

Last couple of years I have been Princess Fiona-Shrek's wife, I also have a full length rabbit suit and my old wedding dress plus wings makes a great tooth fairy costume.

Not sure what I will be this year yet!

I was about to say I'll go as T.E. Lawrence, but that was what I was last year...lol

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

For all of us Old Rockers,  I saw an amazing Gene Simmons costume years ago.  It was perfect.

My wife had a leftover beehive wig from a recent play. So, she announced she is going to work as Amy Winehouse. If you knew my wife, you would see the immediate funny of it. Can you sing the Adam Ant song? You know the song --- Goody Two Shoes? ....."don't drink, don't smoke...what do ya do"? 

She will dress up to hand out candy as an 80's girl.

I decorate the yard every year and scare the older ones. They count on it. So, this year I am hopping out of the yard as a rotten fella. It suits my nature LOL

Very Cool! Those are my favorite houses...the dressing up and even a little scary makes the night so fun!

Great costume ideas!

Last year I made a black cape for our oldest pom. He really got into the fun...would run to the door when the door bell rang and bark at the kids. The trick and treaters really got a kick out of him, especially the little ones! The puppies will probably go crazy this year as it is their first Halloween.

lol! cute! My daughter and I went to the costume store, they had a pet section...they had a little Jockey attached to a saddle as a costume! It was very funny!

My daughter told me that I am too old to dress up.  I bought her a cop costume this year.

I read an interview of Michael Chiklis a few years ago where he was just walking around a neighborhood one day and there was some kind of an incident (fire or something) at a house that required a police response. As he passed by an officer came up to him and asked him what they needed to do. He said in the interview that it was a bit frightening if you really think about it. Btw. this was after "the Commish" but before "the Shield".

A rather tragic story about adults in costumes:   a woman fully dressed in her clown outfit was driving to the market very early one Saturday morning to set up her area where she entertained children by making balloon animals.  Ahead of her a car went out of control, down over an embankment, into the river, clowed by branches and mud.  She leaped out of her car to try to flag down motorists for help.  They waved and honked at this silly clown on the roadway - and drove on by and the car sank slowly into the river.

Halloween is becoming dpressing because of this thread ><

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

My youngest is going as a piece of candy  this year and my oldest is going as Link off of the game "Zelda".

Ya, what's with the sad story! I should but a 'Fun Zone Only'...warning on my threads!