the stylist’s notebook | h a l l o w e e n !
So besides Christmas my next favorite holiday (or equally favorite, rather) is, without a doubt Halloween. Throughout the year we are constantly living under the pressure of what is defined as “normal” under social standards – little creativity is allowed (perhaps accepted would be a better word). For the conformists – in no way is this said/written with a negative connotation! – it is Halloween that allows them to break out of their shells. Even if it is just one night.
…’cause this is thriller, thriller night…
My three words of advice? Go. All. Out. Forget inhibitions, forget stares, forget normalcy. Halloween is about exploring the subconscious, embodying the unthinkable, pursuing the intangible, and impersonating another person/entity, mes chéries!
But of course many girls/young women interpret Halloween as the one chance to prance about in négligée under the full moon. Contrary to what Mean Girls suggests, Halloween is not about (excuse my complete bluntness) who is the skankiest of the skanks. There is quite the difference between sexy and tackily trashy, mind you – and let’s not abandon all class for that one night. I am by no means judging anyone who chooses to dress scantily on this holiday, simply stressing that there is a difference between good and bad attention from the opposite sex. Remember: respect yourself and your body, and others will do the same.
[And off I step from my soap box!]
Allow yourself to be swept away by creativity: preparing for Halloween is an art. Makeup, hair, accessories, attire are all open to interpretation and have an infinite number of possibilities that differ from the ubiquitous witch – be adventurous!
Some ideas, if you happen to be in need of inspiration:
♥ Comic-book Superheroes & Villains: Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Spiderman (or girl), Superwoman, Wonderwoman, Storm, Cheetah-woman, Batgirl, Invisible Woman, Elektra, etc. Resurrect your inner nerd, darlings!
♥ Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Greed. Gather a group of seven friends and interpret the sins as you wish!
♥ Greek Mythology: Muse, specific goddesses, or a prominent character.
♥ Model: Pick your [favorite] iconic supermodel and be her – Twiggy, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, etc.
♥ Classic Literature: Be inspired by the characters of classic literature (or your favorite book, whichever is more preferable). Pride & Prejudice would be absolutely lovely to interpret!
♥ TV/Movie Characters: Think Gossip Girl (Blair, Eleanor Waldorf, Serena Vanderwoodsen, Lily Vanderwoodsen, Little J, Isabelle, Georgina), 90210 (Naomi, Annie, Silver, Ade), House, The Vampire Diaries, Glee. And be them.
♥ Lolita: Gothic versus the angelic innocent.
♥ Miscellaneous:
dead/gothic ballerina ♥ vampire (potentially tacky and a tad cliché but imagine the makeup!) ♥ marie antoinette ♥ michael jackson (a tribute, of course) ♥ candy/cupcake themed ♥ dominatrix hello kitty ♥ geisha ♥ porcelain doll ♥ autumn ♥ kat von d ♥ phantom of the opera & characters ♥ carine roitfeld/anna wintour ♥ etc.
What are you being for Halloween?
♥
bisous,
La C.
la couturier 
I’m going as a 20s flapper girl! there’s another idea – inspiration from fashion of past decades! I really wanted to do a literary character but was having a hard time coming up with something I could actually pull off. So I went with a 20’s flapper, which I guess can totally work with the Great Gatsby 😉 so mission accomplished I suppose! 😀
Fun fun topic C! I do have to agree that most young girls confuse Halloween with ”show as much skin as you possibly can”, it’s sad & annoying.
I’ve always wanted to dress as Gogo from Kill Bill, just waiting for the perfect oportunity to do so! I think this year I’ll just work on a bunny ears headband ala LV. Or maybe like the ones the Olsens were wearing not so long ago.
xx,
Ale.
Nice post! I would love to see some MJ tribute costumes this year!
My friend and I found matching flapper dresses on clearance at H&M this summer for $10 each. We immediately bought the dresses, black lace gloves, long strands of (fake) pearls, and red lipstick. Let the Roaring Twenties begin! 🙂
I’m going to be Smurfette. I get to be warm, have fun make up, and not look skanky. Win-win-win situation. =)
I’m going to be Blair! I have the perfect dress 🙂
Wished we celebrated Halloween here Down Under, maybe I’ll dress up regardless, hehe 🙂
xx
Paulette’s going to be … herself.
Beware…
😉
I’m soo sad we don’t celebrate Halloween that much over here, but if we did, I would more than love to be marie antionette! Imagine the hair!!
Great post! Too bad we don’t celebrate Halloween here in the Netherlands..
Have fun!
I’m a pirate this year. I can’t wait to do the make up! It is sad to see that some girls see halloween as an excuse to be ‘tacky’, when it really should be all about having fun.
Two of my friends and I are going as the Three Fates from Greek mythology. We’ve had some fun trying to create dresses out of yards and yards of chiffon and gold cord.
Argh, I wish I had a reason to dress up this year.
Great tips! The 7 deadly sins would make a terrific group costume. Hehe as for Gossip Girl, I could probably muster up a pretty decent Blair Waldorf costume just using my own wardrobe…
I love Halloween! And your post, of course! The seven deadly sins is a great idea, I had never thought of that. And I would love to be someone from Gossip Girl, probably Serena. But I already have a costume picked out! I’m being a raven; think black, feathers, tulle, and pearls. And I made the costume myself, I’m very proud 🙂
As always, I adore your blog!
– laur @ neonmango
Good suggestions! I am being 2 things- a football player (cute and sexy fb player) and a Robert Palmer Addicted to Love backup dancer with a bunch of people for a bachelorette party!
I love this post! what great ideas. i wish I could dress up but the fact is i haven’t for years b/c my hubby is a halloween hater! he can’t stand it at all and when we were in uni, i stopped dressing up b/c i felt silly dressing up by myself. I do miss it though!
btw, you won an award! you can pick it up at my site.
You present so many creative ideas!! I was just thinking of being Kate Moss, blond wigs and all :-)! I also want to try out being Lolita and Roman/Greek Queen! I’ll let you know what I decide on :-DD xxoxooxoxxoo
I love that cover so much!
thanks for sharing.
xoxo
Those are some good ideas, esp the dominatrix Hello Kitty! I’m going to be a ballerina this year for my office party. I have no plans still *sob* for Halloween night, but if I do go out, I’m going to dress as a dominatrix hahah.
Oh, this list is printable! These are wonderful recommendations.
My favorite costume is the witch’s cat. The one that gets the most laughs (and my daughter’s favorite) is wearing a lampshade, a box with drawers drawn on the front, and a doily. Know what it is?
A flat chested one night stand.
Fantastic ideas ! In Europe we don’t really do halloween so much but I’ll try to find a cool halloween-party in the city…. and then I might considerate a costume, it would be quite fun ! What do you plan to wear ?
great post. we don’t celebrate it as much as in the us but it’s definitely becoming more americanised
Nice to see you’re back! This will be my first real Halloween now in London, since we don’t celebrate it in my home country. I’m supposed to go to a party, but don’t know what to wear yet. It will be simple but something cool – I’ll keep your post in mind!
Oh, it’s a real shame we don’t have Halloween in here… 😦
Very nice post!
Perhaps Betty Boop!!
I’ll be attending a wedding on Halloween so I’ll be in a semi-formal dress. Too bad. What will you be?
I like your suggestions for halloween!
I was going to go as Amy Winehouse(as a joke) but I think I decided on Miss Marilyn.. such a classic!
I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to dress up or not. I do always love to see what others are wearing. Some great ideas here. Have a Happy Halloween!
very cute post 🙂 I’m being Sailor Moon! So excited. What about you, C?
As always, super helpful – I didn’t get achance to comment until now but I loved reading your ideas! I didn’t dress up this year though 😦 I feel like I’m to old to!