let's play dress-up

Top 5 Favorite Costumes of Halloween Past:

5. Nancy Spungen (2000)
I was dating someone who, after shaving his chest, donning tight jeans, and securing a lock and chain around his neck, did bear a striking resemblance to Sid Vicious. I made a pretty good Nancy with lots of eye makeup and pleather skirt. Together we looked great; that is, of course, until he'd walk away to get a beer and without any context, I looked like a two-bit hooker.

4. Alice in Wonderland (sometime mid-1980s)
I loved the Disney animated movie in third grade, and so my Mom slaved away for weeks on her sewing machine, making me the most perfect Alice costume ever. With my long stick-straight (?!) blonde hair, I felt just like her.

3. An extra from "Caligula" (2005)
It was my first Halloween as a resident of New York, but I spent it in Athens, GA. I thought it would be appropriate to be Athena -- or some sort of Greco-Roman goddess. Upon seeing my revealing costume, however, someone (KB?) remarked that I looked more like an extra in the infamous Penthouse flick. And so I was.

2. Pregnant bride (1997)
I had a plastic bouquet of flowers and a garter with a shotgun on it. I went to a party with my then-boyfriend and a stranger remarked (as I stepped outside for a cigarette) in all seriousness that smoking was "bad for the baby". Realistic costuming, I guess.

1. Tippy Hedren from "The Birds" (2003)
I bought an authentic blue vintage suit from Agora and ripped it up, ratted my hair into oblivion, and applied fake scratches, fake birds, and fake feathers to myself. At our annual Yonah H'ween party another girl attended as the same character, but damn if I didn't look better. I'm just sayin'.