Bunny Costume
Growing up, my family always had a Tickle Trunk. It was a big black old-fashioned thing with metal hinges and clasps – both my cousin and I could fit inside it. It had some really interesting costume pieces in it: old wedding veils, a couple of wigs, old shirts, ties, skirts, high heeled shoes, scarfs, masks, capes, all sorts of cool stuff. I played dressup alot with my friends, any day of the year, but it was from this trunk that my sisters and I built our Halloween costumes.
Many pieces, like the clown suit and the vampire cape, were sewn by my mother; the rest were built from miscellaneous items around the house, which, when put together, became known as ”the hobo costume” or ”the gypsy costume”. We would each wear the costume that fit us that year. I was the youngest, so I had the most options from one year to the next, but by the time I was old enough to fit into the vampire cape (and fangs), I wasn’t interested. I was eager to create something new, something completely original. I think my final Halloween costume was a white business suit and a garbage bag; I was the Glad Man. And I think I was 12 or 13 when I wore it.
Now, I’m a mum three times over and I still love dressing up. What I love most, is trying to create something from nothing. I look in my closet, and anyone else’s, and I design a character accordingly. Do people always understand my creations? No. But they usually enjoy my explanations.
My new family has its own growing tickle trunk. Much of the collection is made up of my old dance costumes, which my mother didn’t have the heart to toss, including a can-can skirt, a highland kilt, a sailor suit, some harem pants, a 1950′s poodle skirt, several hats and headbands, and alot of spandex. Some of it doesn’t fit, but most of it is good indestructible synthetic fabric that will still be in perfect condition if my grandchildren are interested. To this, I’ve added my old karate gi, a couple of bridesmaid’s dresses (from an era best forgotten), and three heavy fireman’s coats. From these we’ve created a samurai, Little Bo-peep, and a gunslinger.
I’m happy to say the kids have inherited our creativity and imagination. Yes, they do own several store-bought polyester (inexplicably expensive) outfits, that come complete with helmets and props, and these, for the most part, are the preferred costumes on Halloween; but for daily role-playing, they raid their own closets and drawers to create whatever cyber-ninja-jedi look they feel is relevant at that moment. Sometimes, a simple walk around the property calls for bike helmets, shin pads, back-packs, hockey sticks, and ski gloves; thus are we armed and ready for any adventure.
With infinite imagination, though, comes indecision, and with Halloween a day away, not one of us has finalized a costume. The exciting thing is that none of us has ever been a witch, or a ghost, or a goblin, and yet all three ideas are being tabled this year for the first time. I can guarantee that if any of them actually takes shape, it won’t be one you recognize.
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