Halloween 2014 wrap up: Terrors of the deep?

2014 involved some reasonably ambitious costumes. I started several weeks ago, but still ended up furiously sewing all day the day of the party… Without further ado, here are the final products!

Mantis Shrimp!

So, D went dressed as a mantis shrimp (or disco mantis shrimp, as I have nicknamed the costume). He didn’t actually choose to be a mantis shrimp. It was more of, he was too busy finishing his PhD (which he handed in last Thursday – YAY!!!) to really put any thought or effort into Halloween and didn’t really care what his costume was. So it was all up to me. [MUAHAHAHA] So I decided that he was going to be a mantis shrimp.

Back of the costume

Seriously, this is what a mantis shrimp looks like

The costume is far superior looking from the back. I literally sewed the entire thing on Saturday (the party we attended was Saturday night). Talk about a rush job. It turned out better than I had expected! I really wasn’t sure how the eyes and all the pipecleaners were going to work out. Turns out pipecleaners are super easy to sew on. Who knew?

The most hilarious thing about this costume was the fact that D told everyone all the cool facts about the mantis shrimp all night long…

• Mantis shrimp has 3 pupils per eye
• Mantis shrimp has 6 cones
• They mate for life

Read more fun facts about the mantis shrimp here, on my favourite cartoon.

And now… MY costume! So let’s just preface this with, this was a costume idea that I’ve wanted to do for some time now. To the point where I found the fabric nearly a year ago.

Anglerfish

So this costume was a bit of a nightmare. I was originally going to make a bodysuit. Cut the whole thing out, then decided instead to make a dress. The dress wasn’t very flattering, so I added a peplum. The fishy looking sleeves were D’s idea, and the fishtail skirt was a suggestion from a woman at work. All in all, it turned out rather well considering there was a lot of trial and error.

The mask was actually quite a bit easier to make. Paper mache a balloon, paint, add fins, and D made the light/switch and voila! Terrifying creature of the deep!

The Anglerfish is nearly as intriguing as the Mantis shrimp, read about it here.

Full ensemble – complete with Angelina Jolie-esque leg…

The fish of nightmares!

Hope your Halloween was excellent! Now, to start thinking of costume ideas for 2015 (as I’m sure the mantis shrimp and anglerfish will have saturated pinterest and instagram with their popularity by then…).

Rugby and Halloween wrap-up

Wow, the craziness has subsided.  Rugby World Cup is over (New Zealand – The All Blacks defeated France in the final, in case you live in a cave, under a rock, with earplugs on).  It actually wasn’t the most amazing game to watch (it was intense.  Those dastardly French almost had us!  We only beat them by 1 measly point!).  The NZ v. Australia semi-final was much more exciting – and incredibly brutal, I might add!

RWC fever is over.  The tourists are all gone (we only have cruise ship tourists now.  Ugh.  aka: How to spot a retired American couple from 100 yards).  Graham Henry has stepped down as coach of the ABs now that he has his RWC win.  And it’s another 4 years ’til England (who will be the 2015 hosts).  Four years to save, that is!  I would definitely attend another RWC.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  Maybe it was more fun as a hosting country, but the past 8 weeks have just had this amazing positive energy vibe.  It’s been incredible.  It wasn’t something you could capture on film.  And it’s not something I can adequately convey in words.  You just had to be here to feel it.  2015 probably won’t be the same.  But, I reckon it would still be very fun to follow the ABs through their next RWC campaign.  So save up, I shall…  : D  And I have all that expensive (‘professional grade’) black and white hair paint – I didn’t buy it for nothing!

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Another Halloween has past (yes, I pulled off the matador costume at the last minute.  Not quite as sparkly as I would have liked, but there were only so many sequins I could sew on at the absolute last minute (yes I was wearing my costume at the time).  Sure, there was no Dia de los Muertos party like I wanted (since I am now sans-house), but I went as a matador regardless of the fact that I had no bull.  And in a costume like this, who needs one?!  And of course, there can always be Dia de los Muertos parties in the future!

The Matador

Can I just say how fun it was dressing up as a man?!  My flatmate gave me a big (further) inflated ego by saying it takes a lot of balls to dress up as a man (I think she used the term guts, but I prefer balls, particularly in this context).  Especially since I actually looked quite, er, mannish.  The mustache, in particular, added to the effect (and to think I wasn’t sure if I should wear it or not!).  In fact, many people commented on how well the Mo suited me.  I am slightly flattered and creeped out at the same time.  But man oh man, it was fun pretending to be a Matador!  I always love something a little different or unusual, so to be dressed up on Halloween and not *trying* to look sexy as so many of my contemporaries do was – it felt, well, empowering!  I think I might wear a non-sexy costume every year!  My new motto:

“Thou shalt not give in to the pressure to look and dress like a skank on Halloween.”

Speaking of amazing, non-sexy costumes for women, this is probably the coolest one I saw.  An absolute inspiration!

Shipwreck costume by Threadless.com staff member (from facebook)

Angler-fish costume in 2012, anyone?

OHMIGOD WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH OCTOBER!

AND I HAVEN’T SORTED MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME YET!

I’ve been a little bit busy.  Last weekend I went tramping, which was epic.

Tramping!!!

But we’re really getting to crunch time here, people!  Halloween is a VERY serious business – as you well know.  Last year’s costume is going to be hard (if not impossible) to beat.  I mean, David Bowie.  C’mon!

David Bowie!

So this year I was thinking that I would go as the thing I’ve wanted to go as since after 2006.  A matador!  I also think this would be a great “couples costume” as one could be the matador and the other could be the bull!

Soooo sparkly

Pretty much I just want to sew a whole lotta sequins onto some really tight black pants, wear a jacket with shoulder pads and wave around a red cape…  Thank goodness the weekend before Halloween is a 3 day weekend here in NZ – as I will need all 72 of those hours to make my “suit of lights”.

BUT I am beginning to think that perhaps I’ve waited too long and my matador costume might be a tad too ambitious for this year (and there is that whole lack of a bull… er, I mean, bf, aspect).  So I’ve had some other ideas.  All of them too, are men.  (Halloween.  ‘Tis the season for socially acceptable cross-dressing.)

Alternative #1:

JUSTIN BEIBER!

Can you guess why?!

Yeah.  I can rock that hair.  Actually, I would not just be justin beiber, I was thinking, “justin beiber slightly mutilated”.  Maybe justin beiber zombie?  Or just a Justin Beiber who has been killed in some horrendous way.  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

I think it would be hilarious, but as usual I’m concerned people may not actually know what I’m dressed up as.

Alternative #2:

David Bowie one year, Freddy mercury the next... Noticing a trend here?

There is a nice little post here on how to make your own Freddy Mercury costume.  I think it would be fun.  And I’d get to wear a mustache.  And I could totally rock the hair again (slick it back and add some coloured hairspray – voila!).

SO I guess at this point I’m still undecided.  Which one can I truly pull off with only 2 weeks to go ’til H-day (party, that is)?  I kind of think I might be leaning towards the Beiber plan (just because it would be kinda hilarious, although, would I have to learn his songs?!  *cringe*).  I guess it might all just come down to what clothing items are easiest for me to locate (purple cardigan, anyone?).