Spooky Season Style Scaries

It's October, and while I'm not a full-fledged Spooky Season Girly I gotta tell you I fucking love October. I love fall, I love Halloween, I love all the basic things people love about this time of year because, you know what? There's a reason people are into it! It's great!

And aside from the allure of spooky, autumnal-ness in general, I have always (shocker) reeeeally loved dressing up for Halloween. Ever since I was a kid, I'd plan my costume for weeks, often make or thrift pieces of it, and couldn't WAIT to wear it to school or go trick or treating or go to a party or whatever. Obviously the actual parties themselves never lived up to my imagined Halloween party that was supposed to somehow be equal parts Martha Stewart Wholesome New England Halloween, Spooky Buffy hijinks, and full-blown Mean Girls Halloween sexy teen debauchery.

I genuinely think I just love costumes. I love dressing up. I love a theme, even if it's not Halloween. So much of what I talk about when it comes to every day styling is about finding style that affirms who you are. Which is why I think there's something so liberating and enticing about the opportunity to dress in a way that affirms who you aren't. Dressing for the negative space of yourself can, in many ways, define you just as much as dressing for the positive space. And I think the costumes we're all drawn to are often characters or concepts that speak to some small, perhaps hidden part of our identity. How fabulous that you have an excuse to tap into someone else's self in order to unleash that part of yourself for a moment. I think every time I find myself drawn to a costume, bringing that costume together, and actually embodying it for a night that I end up learning something about myself that I maybe didn't know. A side of me that's a little villainous, a little sultry, a little playful, a little uninhibited. I think that's a gift.

But guys, I'm also struggling. Because for how much I love Halloween (or any themed or costumed occasion) I'm struggling with how wasteful it all is. I'm struggling with what it means to buy items that don't necessarily speak to us on a regular basis, that don't really have a place in our wardrobe or are useful for somewhat regular wear. Looking at these photos of myself from the past 15 years, I'm struck by how many include outfits and items I certainly don't own anymore (obviously the neon green outfit I still own every piece of and in fact the green dress underneath is my second wedding dress look...) But many of those items got donated with little thought.

So how do we get to enjoy the beauty of costume, the fun of halloween without being the world's biggest killjoy? How do we celebrate sustainably in a way that isn't just not celebrating or raining on other people's parade? I don't have all the answers but I'd certainly like to try to be more thoughtful and to encourage you guys to do the same. Because honestly, I think in some ways the fun of Halloween is about being crafty and scrappy and clever. It's never as fun or gratifying to buy one of those outfits-in-a-plastic-bag and then get rid of it on November 1 as it is to get creative with how you bring a costume to life on your own. That doing that, being a little more thoughtful, actually is a path towards more fun and more joy around this holiday. One that connects you to the things we actually love about it, as opposed to the fleeting rush of dressing up for a party and a picture, posting it and never thinking of it again. That's not what this shit is about anyway!! So here's my Costume Order of Operations for a more fun, more sustainable Halloween:

1. Make a costume using clothes you already have. Get crafty with hair, makeup, and accessories to take your normal clothes to a costume-worthy level. Consider drawing identifying logos on paper or doing some DIY additions to nail the look.

2. If you're missing something you need for your costume, ask your friends if they have anything that fits what you're looking for. You'd be surprised what people have. This is extra true when it comes to kids' costumes. If you're a parent...another parent you know has a costume their kid outgrew that will fit your kid. And you probably have one to hand down as well! Get some parents together for a costume swap!

3. If you need to buy something, buy secondhand! And see how little you can get away with buying to bring the look together. Start with accessories. And if you're buying clothes, try to buy clothes you might actually wear otherwise on a non-Halloween occasion.

4. If you need to buy something costume-y buy it secondhand. Around this time of year all the thrift stores are FULL of donated costumes, accessories, etc... as are places like eBay, Poshmark, Facebook marketplace, Noishaf Bazaar, ThredUp, and more.

5. If you really need to buy something new, at least try to make it something high quality that you'll get a lot of use out of.

6. If you really need to buy a new Halloween costume out of a bag that you'll never wear again, no you don't.

Thanks for reading! And as always, if you’d like to book a one-on-one styling session with me for anything from your everyday wardrobe to wedding or event styling, you can book directly with me.