Halloween in half an hour

Mean Girls 'sexy' Halloween photo courtesy calibermag.org

Hallowe'en. The pressure is on for a costume designer. Especially when that means coming up with not one but two costumes when your boyfriend's in tow.

I will admit now that we had all of half an hour before driving down to Devon for what was a disturbingly brilliant haunted house party. It was an abattoir. a full blown, animal carcass, plastic sheeting on the walls, straw on the floor, blood everywhere abattoir. And that's not even mentioning the UV room *shudders*.

So, what was lying around the studio this year?? Ant managed to create a whole character around a rather eccentric bow tie and became Giles of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. We later found out that the real Giles doesn't even wear a bow tie but hey ho.

photo courtsey of dvdbash

I unearthed a ridiculous 1980's purple velvet spotted number (scary enough on its own) which has come in handy more times than I'd like to admit: it has dressed an Olivia in Twelfth Night and been styled onto a Model in Carly Wong's Hot Air Balloon Shoot.

Ali Barkley behind the scenes on the Hot air balloon shoot

I'd once worn it to an American Psycho party but that was a few years ago and it was tight back then. Fortunately I had eschewed bread and food in general for the days leading up to said party and JUST ABOUT SQUEEZED IN TO IT ONLY IF I DID SHALLOW BREATHING.

it fits!

but what was I? Team it with a comptoir des cottonniers 'puffy shirt' (one for the seinfeld fans)and all of a sudden I could possible pass for a vampire...maybe even Buffy the Vampire (she eventually got bitten in my story) But as someone highlighted for me at the party, "surely you mean Buffy from the 80's film, with that hair?". Yes folks, that hair in those photos has needed little back combing, it's natural, I know I know.  Even my silk scarf pillow case project hasn't really helped.

A few cheap gems and eye liner from Trago Mills (!) and I was just about ready, although it seemed I was morphing into some kind of UFO vampire.

Oh, and I had no fangs.

I think the general birds nest effect supports my argument that I was NOT doing 'sexy halloween' a la Mean Girls.

These photos are a little grainy due partly to the darkness of the abattoir and party to our shake hands as we were genuinely scared when we walked in. An amazing night, but we may need a little more preparatio next year as I don't think the studio holds many more last minute gems.