There is something enchanting about dressing up at Halloween. All the memories we make of putting together the right costume, obtaining goodies and sorting them out later, having your parents put a coat over your outfit even though you’d rather freeze….I couldn’t have been the only one, right?! The night of ghosts and ghouls dancing in the skies is one of pure fun and I cherish those times. I did trick-or-treat until I was a senior; free candy and wearing costumes that made me happy! What could be better?!
I thought for this special post, I would share the ten Halloween costumes from my youth that I recollect the most vividly, to shine some jack-a-lantern light of who I became as a cosplayer and proud geek. 🙂
********************
My Childhood Halloween Costumes:
Bat Girl: I have a vague memory of this outfit. I would have been two or three. My dad’s mom lived about 15 minutes from us in a very tiny country town and I recall wearing this little outfit (they actually were PJs with a cape because kids have the best clothes, lol!) My dad and I walked up and I had one of those classic plastic pumpkins for candy. We sat at her kitchen table and she had a chocolate cake for me. I assume for my birthday since it is the day after, November 1st. I have two photos from this visit; one with the cake and another where my grandma Aggie is bent down, hugging me, my little Batman costume on full display. I sadly did not get to see my grandma Aggie as much as I liked, but this is a fond memory.
Pink Power Ranger: This Halloween I remember WELL! I was four and I HAD to have this outfit! “Power Rangers” just came out two months prior and it was a super hit. I felt so empowered with my plastic mask with the lines to see, typing my suit up in the back around my neck, and adding my Power Rangers action gloves, that I still love and have today, lol! I remember walking down our street in this, my parents on either side of me, holding my hands. This was one of my favorite costumes just to wear around the house, ha! *This is not a picture of me; I found it online.
Princess Jasmine: I had a plastic toy box in our play room that had tons of costumes in it and of coarse, princesses galore! I recall having a Cinderella and Pochantus, but my most beloved is also my favorite spunky princess, Jasmine. I am pretty sure I was Cinderella one year in very young elementary school, but I KNOW I had a Jasmine costume and the very set shown below. That thick plastic necklace around my neck and oddly fitting silky slip-on shoes are ingrained in my mind. No matter what I transformed into, I loved being a princess in a whole new world my imagination created.
Bride: This was in either when I was seven or eight. I wonder how my dad thought about this, LOL?! But, it was clearly a cheap Halloween costume, nothing for him to worry about. I remember it was a slick material and itchy, long sleeves with a ruffle around the cuffs, large specks of silver glitter embedded into the top, and a flowery veil. I was smiling cheesily in it too, ha!
Native American Girl: I hope no one will get offended by this one; I was probably about 9-10 with this one and I was respectful as always. Please understand. My outfit was light tan to my knees, long sleeves, brown fringe, colorful beads in a pretty design on the front, and a headband with a feather. I had a fake painted tomahawk I got on my vacation at Branson, inspiring this outfit, and a small beaded drum on a red stick that had an eagle on it I played with often. My brother dressed up as a cowboy! We had fun with this one, we even having a photo of me pretending to scalp him in the dining room…again, we were kids! Please don’t cancel me!
Classic Vampire: This one is vivid! I was in the 5th grade and I wanted to go scary, which shocked my whole family. I went for a classic vampire, asking for the entire make-up experience. My dad caked on the powder on my face and I doted fake blood for the first time (although I now know how to make fake, convincing fake blood.) I had the staple plastic teeth that hurt in your mouth and the cheap star plastic medal with the red gem. I think I ended up giving that to Miles. I even did my hair in a tight ponytail and slicked my hair back with water to look like a boy. My long black cape blowing in the background mystically was such a surreal feeling and I dug it. My dad let me walk up and down the sidewalk to become one with the night and I even scared a few kids with how realistic I looked. This was the most work I put into my appearance in my Halloween costume and I would love to sink my teeth into this experience again.
50’s Poddle Skirt Girl: Grab a milkshake and rock around the jukebox in this classic, cute number. My mom got me saddle shoes in 6th grade and I wanted an outfit to go with it, us finding one at the store. Adorable pink felt knee-length skirt with a white poodle and a silver, swirling leash to the hemline. Matching silky cotton candy-hued scarf. A sweet white and black blouse and lacy white socks. I recall going to visit my favorite teacher, Ms. Mahan, at her house for trick-or-treating in this sweet outfit.
Cardcaptor Sakura Blue Jester Outfit: The English dub on Kids WB (Saturday morning cartoons) of my now first true and still my favorite anime, “Cardcaptor Sakura,” came out when I was in the sixth grade, and man, it captured me like magic! The best friend of our main sweetie made battle costumes for her when she would capture cards. The one from episode three, I titled The Water Jester since it was to capture the Watery Card, was my favorite and it still is in the top. This was an anime labeled as an anime, not as huge as Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! But, I knew this was what I wanted to dress up as! So how? My first closet cosplay! I took a silky blue with gold trim cheerleader-type costume skirt I had and adjusted it on my head like the hat then had a white leotard with blue shorts. I covered my boots in blue material too. Was it amazing? Not overly. Did I get recognized? Nope! Did I care? Not at all! I loved it! ^_^
Queen of the Nerds: HA! How to I explain this? It all started with a trip to Value City. Does anyone remember those?! Love that place! Anywho, my mom was checking out and my brother and I saw these long Halloween props for $1 each; they were 3.5-4 feet tall with foam tops, one a devil fork and another a black and silver axe. We had to have them! Mom rolls her eyes and says, “Unless you find a way to use them, I am not getting those.” So, we found a way to use them! My brother and I were good at coming up with ridiculous ideas together! We had enough whimsical toys, costumes, and accessories to through together a crazy costume so we could be…King and Queen of the nerds! I had a witch’s hat, a black dress, a long cape, my loyal devil pitchfork, and lots of added flare on top of it! We were overly goofy the two years we wore them, surely embarrassing our parents! LOL! But we had a blast, feeding them off each other!
Sailor Pluto: Fighting evil by moonlight, living love by daylight, she is the one named Sailor Moon! I was starting to get into anime, researching on my old dial-up internet. The summers between my freshman and sophomore years, I purchased a burned set of most of the seasons of the Japanese Sailor Moon series, fan-translated, for like $40. And I would watch episodes each day. I became hooked! Why my hair is so long still do this day. There was something about the calm, mysterious Sailor Pluto. So, I asked my momma kindly to make it my costume! She found a sailor school girl uniform pattern at Walmart, which was almost exact to a Sailor Scout with some tweaks. This is from a cosplay company, but my momma’s looks almost identical. I loved it! I styled my hair like hers, used my pitchfork, found some black boots, and the rest was history. My dad was worried though because the skirt was short and it was very light-weight! LOL!
Kimono: Another creation of my momma. ^_^ Started loving Japanese culture, so I wanted a kimono. She found this lovely fabric and pattern. I still wear it today for events. I wore it first for the Halloween party when I joined drama club my 10th-grade year, using this as my final trick-or-treating costume my 12th grade year at 17. 🙂
******************************
Make memories of costumes and candy! Stay geeky!
******************************
Educator of young minds by day, super nerdy savior of justice, and cute things by night, Morgan Straughan Comnick has a love for turning the normal into something special without losing its essence. Morgan draws from real-life experiences and her ongoing imagination to spark her writing. In her spare time, she enjoys doing goofy voices, traveling to new worlds by turning pages, humming child-like songs, and forcing people to smile with her “bubbliness.” It is Morgan’s mission in life to spread the amazement of otaku/Japanese culture to the world and to stop bullying; she knows everyone shines brightly.
For more information about Morgan and her works, check out her website, which also has links to all her social medias: http://morganscomnick.com
