Halloween Series #6: Halloween Costumes- Sexy or Scary?

Hello All, 

I've written about my peeve with girls using Halloween as an excuse to dress like sluts. The below Mean Girls gif really sums it up, & lets face it, Mean Girls quotes are always relevant

Recently, there was a Halloween fancy dress party. Now, I have to admit, some people did try & be scary with face paint, fake blood & fairly spooky costumes (mainly the boys though honestly).

 But others just dressed up in any old costume, from Minnie Mouse to just plain revealing outfits with no direct origin of who or what they were supposed to me. I just don't get why Halloween is an excuse to get your boobs, bum, or both out. Halloween is about scariness, & while some of those over exposing themselves was a scary sight (sorry for being bitchy!), they are missing the true spirit of Halloween, in a bid for attention.

Then, when looking for Halloween costumes for women online, so many of them are revealing, derogatory &, quite frankly, totally irrelevant to Halloween. Here are a selection of ones that insulted me.

All costumes found on party delights

So...where shall I start? I find the most offensive one the 'Sexy Teen Bride' (I will be referring the the costumes as they are described on the site, just fyi) Not only does it not mention that it is a corpse / dead bride, which would tie it into Halloween, it refers to her as a 'teen' bride. Why does that matter?  Are teens sexier?

A close second come the animal costumes. Skin-tight leopard print catsuits that leave nothing to the imagination, or adding a tail / ears combo to change a normal tight, revealing dress to turn it into a 'costume' have absolutely nothing to do with Halloween. Since when was a lace rabbit scary? Never. 

Next, the 'Sexy Mummy'. Yes, you read that correctly. That is what it's listed as. Egyptian Mummy's are anything but sexy. Firstly, they are dead, thus will smell pretty bad. Secondly, their brains have been removed from their skull via their nose, which is both pretty disgusting, but also means they are brainless. Nice. Now, playing the 'Mummy' game at a Halloween party is fun, there is no doubt about that! (If you have never played it, you definitely should!) But trying to make being wrapped in toilet paper sexy, don't bother!

Finally, the miscellaneous other insulting costumes available including but not limited to the totally pointless red catsuit, the 'Sexy Steam Punk' & the 'Psychedelic Zombie'. Honestly, what?

Now I'm not saying you can't be a bit sexy on Halloween (or any time for that matter!) But at least make it relevant! For example this is my costume:

A Zombie Nurse. Yes the nurse bit is a bit 'sexy', but the make up & fake cuts I'll be doing, plus the Victory Rolls hair style & the fact I won't be flaunting myself around, means that, at least to me, I won't look too 'trying to be sexy' in it!

One last note, I had a moral dilemma when I came across the below:

 Costumes found of party delight

Making Fairytale / Classic Story characters Halloween-ified. Is this allowed? And moreover, is it done well here? I am inclined to say yes. None of them are too 'sexy' & I quite like the idea of a spooky remake of your favourite classic fairytale!

What do you think about sexy costumes for Halloween?

 

Halloween Series #3: High Street Halloween Must-Haves!

Hello All.

Another day closer to Halloween festivities!

I honestly have been so enthusiastic about these posts, I wish it was Halloween permanently as I'd definitely begun feeling less inclined or excited to blog lately. However, starting my Halloween series has really awoken my love of blogging!

Although AW13 trends are largely focused on vampy looks (dark lipsticks, leather, lace, velvet etc a.k.a my style exactly), I've noticed that a lot of high street shops have dedicated sections, both online & in-store, to Halloween inspired pieces. Now some of this is just to re-promote the Autumn / Winter items, such as the aforementioned leather, velvet & lace. But most have specially themed Halloween items featuring 'typical' scary motifs, like bats, black cats or ghosts. 

I've rounded up my 'High Street Halloween Must-Haves' from Topshop, New Look, ASOS & Miss Guided. All have a mix of vampy style pieces, spooky beauty bits & seriously cool jewelry!

 ASOS - 'HELLS YEAH HALLOWEEN' 

 MissGuided - Creep It Real

 New Look - Halloween

Topshop - Ghoul Girls

The first thing I love about these Halloween collections are their names! Ghoul Girls & Creep It Real  are brilliant names for the Halloween collections. The second thing I love, of course, is the beauty products on offer. This time last year, I was working with a big make up brand / company, & was exposed to some amazing makeup artistry especially around Halloween. I've been watching an unhealthy amount of YouTube tutorials so hope to look amazing this Halloween. But I am loving the creepy make up on offer this year. From intricate spooky scenes created on eyelashes to creepy nail transfers, you can literally take your Halloween look from face to, erm foot?

Although I really like everything in my Must Have list, a few pieces really stand out.

My ASOS highlights are the Wednesday Adams inspired monochrome dress & the 'Trick or Treat' top that definitely evokes the much loved 'Celine' tees. Highly commended are the tights with glow in the dark knee skulls!

From Miss Guided I really the skeleton-hands-on-the-boobs crop top, cheeky yet creepy & the skeleton body is great too.

New Look for me triumphed with Halloween accessories for me. J'adore the Halloween cupcake kit (how cute?!) Plus the nail transfers and eyeliner stick ons are fun too!

From Topshop I love the stick on eyeliner, which I would pair with matte black lips and deathly pale skin (so my natural skin shade really...), & also the bat print. I included the asymmetric skirt, but this print is repeated through the collection on jeans, leggings etc. 

It seems this year Halloween is so much more exciting for me, which is saying something as I've always been excited for Halloween. I'm not sure what's different, but I am so excited this year

Halloween Series #1

Hello All!

Being an October baby, & particularly close to Halloween at that, I've always loved & made quite a big deal out of this holiday. In many ways, I like it more than Christmas, because it's full of skulls, black & spooky stuff (aka all the stuff I love) but I still get presents because of my birthday. 

During October, my blog will be focusing on Halloween, from costume ideas & makeup to decorations & food ideas. I've spent an unhealthy amount of time watching Halloween related tutorials & idea videos on YouTube, so have plenty of posts planned!

Now I'm not afraid to go all out on Halloween, from fake blood to all out costuming, but I thought I would start the Halloween series with some more wearable, inspired by Halloween outfits. 'Mean Girls' has taught us all that, & I quote "In the real world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it", but I've been quite tame with the first installment!

I've taken inspiration from characters from Halloween-esque films or series to create outfits suitable for a more sophisticated Halloween celebration.

 Beetlejuice

Stiped leggings - BooHoo | Tuxedo Jacket - River Island | Stiped Heels - MissGuided

 

 Bride of Chuckie 

White Lace Dress - Topshop | Leather Jacket - New Look | Chain Choker - Topshop

 

 Morticia Adams

Black Maxi Dress - Miss Selfridge | Black Lace Maxi Dress - New Look | Cross Necklace - Topshop

 

  Wednesday Adams

Black Dress with White Collar - Lavish Alice | Knee High Socks - Topshop | Monochrome Boots - Lavish Alice

I've got to say, I would definitely wear all four outfits. Especially the Wednesday Adams one! In fact, the dress & boots are now on my Birthday list...

Beetlejuice, or even Jack Skellington from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is a really fun take on Halloween, it's smart but still striking.

Bride of Chuckie is an outfit I'd wear anyway. I love pairing lace with leather, especially light lace. I think it really toughens the look up.

Morticia & Wednesday's were obvious choices! I love Morticia's gothic look, & these maxi dresses give the right amount of sexiness & gothicness. I've always loved Wednesday Adam's monochrome look & pig tails. 

All these outfits are Halloween enough but with a sophisticated edge so that you can channel your inner witch. However, I prefer to go all out, which you'll see later this month!