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Costumes, Parties, and Costume Parties
I would have given a Quenya approximation of that subject heading, but, to my surprise, there doesn't seem to be a Quenya equivalent for "costume" or "disguise." Elves are far too direct and stuffy for that sort of thing, apparently.
I have spent the last four weekends (excluding this) wearing a costume. That has to be some kind of record. The first event was the Halloween swing dance. I had an incredible costume idea that dwindled into simply a really cool costume, as the others who had agreed to join me changed their minds. I was slightly miffed. My Halloween party seemed to have been hijacked, but I was determined to wear my costume anyway. The swing dance gave me a chance.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) firebreatherjen, my dancing buddy, went as Bad-Ass Red Riding Hood (her terminology). She was adorable in a red cloak and hood, pigtails tied with red ribbon, a black bodice, basket, and very short red skirt. To complete the outfit, she wore knee-high black goth boots, a fang necklace, and a wolf pelt. I went as Sophia, more popularly known as the purple Fantana (Fanta girl). I knew my ridiculous keeping of strange pieces of dance costumes and other weird articles of clothing would come in handy one day. I had a bright grape-colored leotard and matching tights. Over these I wore very, very short white shorts and "suspenders" (hand-made), accessorized with a big white headband, gaudy white jewelry, and some fabulous high-heeled, platform white boots, in which I stand about a foot taller than usual. My wonderful roommie supermer did my makeup, which a friend characterized as a cross between a Las Vegas showgirl and an oompa-loompa. The hardest thing to find for my costume was, strangely enough, a 20-ounce purple Fanta to carry.
The dance was a blast. The most amazing thing was that I managed to wear those horrible boots all night. I had brought back-up shoes and kept telling myself, "One more dance, and then I'll change." I am now absurdly proud of how much abuse I gave my feet that night.
The next costumed weekend was a strange party hosted at my house by our friend Beaz (Amanda Beasely). I can describe it only as a class reunion come costume party, in which guests were encouraged to dress as pirates in the spirit of Halloween and of our senior-year Cornhuskin' theme. (If you don't know about Cornhuskin' at Meredith College, I'm afraid you simply won't understand. I am not about to try to explain it here.) Because we were pirate-attired and eating hamburgers and hot dogs, it was christened a "hook-out." Of course, intelligent Meredith College graduates that we are, we all agree which side to support in the raging pirates-versus-ninjas debate. Sadly, we couldn't get a ninja pinata to bash. The party was still lots of fun, with games like a potato-peeling race and mini can art (in keeping with Cornhuskin' tradition). We did bash a pirate-flag pinata and got lots of interesting looks from neighbors.
I was very excited about dressing up and worked hard on my costume. It turned out fantastic, and I'm absurdly proud that I didn't purchase a single article of the costume and that I borrowed only one, firebreatherjen's bodice. Under that I wore a big, blousey gypsy shirt and tight black dance pants with red-and-green-striped knee socks and some black, square-toed work shoes with buckles that worked surprisingly well for pirate gear. (Cinching the bodice gave me a very old-fashioned figure, narrowing my waist but emphasizing my hips in a way that wouldn't be considered attractive by today's fashion magazines.) To this I added lots of gold jewelry, a chain-link-type metal belt, and a bright green head scarf.
Imagine my disappointment at seeing that our guests were uncostumed. My pride immediately turned to self-consciousness about my own dorkiness. Of course I didn't take off the costume after all the work I'd done and with no idea of any other occasion to wear it. And we got a few good pictures. Oh well. The party was still fun.
The next weekend was the Charlotte Renaissance Faire. firebreatherjen had been encouraging me to go, having already decided to go with some of her friends. I made a trip to go see brukwurm and shadmere and take them. We met up with firebreatherjen and had a great time. Of course, I was in my Ren Faire costume. shadmere ended up wearing my cloak most of the day. It went quite well with his Ghost Busters shirt. I was surprised to find that Ded Bob frequents the Charlotte Ren Fair as well as the Texas Renaissance Festival. I was told there are two Smudges, which there must be, as the Faires' runs overlap.
If my timing is correct, I think the week following the Ren Faire was roommie supermer's birthday. I planned a surprise party for her. I was so excited. I called around, got an evening on which our good friends could agree, and then called to arrange to have her sister help me abduct her from work that evening. "Will that be before or after Mom and Dad take her to the Cheesecake Factory?" the sister asked. What?!?! I then spent several frantic minutes, maybe hours, trying to get at least one of her parents on the phone to get their permission to steal their daughter that evening. (Did I mention this was all the night before my planned surprise party?) I did finally manage to get her father, who released her with good will.
I kidnapped her from work and took her to the Longhorn Steakhouse where we met friends and gave her presents. It was a lot of fun. I felt excited all day, as if it were my birthday and not hers. I guess it's just fun to surprise Mer.
My final costumed weekend was last weekend when we celebrated the release of the fourth Harry Potter film with a costumed Harry Potter party at our house. Everyone came as a character. Roommie supermer came as Professor Trelawny, with lots of beads and shawls and big glasses. Her sister came as a disgustingly pink Umbridge. I went as Moaning Myrtle, wearing a classic Hogwarts schoolgirl outfit, robes, and white makeup to appear more ghostly. Even though I drew a nice tear on my makeup, firebreatherjen declared that I looked far too happy to be Myrtle, even going so far as to claim I was hyper, which I'm sure my readers cannot believe. firebreatherjen came herself as Tonks, complete with metal-studded collar and pink wig. All of our many, many guests came in costume, but only the four I've mentioned were brave enough to wear the costumes to the 10:20 showing of the film.
Wow, this entry is getting long. I'll top it off by saying that I spent Thanksgiving with my vegetarian sister and rich, Yankee brother-in-law. No turkey for me. It wasn't bad, though. I also got to see my little sister (newly turned vegetarian, I learned) and nephew Isaac, the most beautiful boy in the world.
I have pictures of all of these costumes on disk, but I'm not sure how to post them on LJ. Anyone think he can explain in very simple, Holly-understandable terms?
Current Mood:  happy
Current Music: Harry Connick Jr.'s "Little Drummer Boy"
Tags: costume, renaissance faire, renaissance festival
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