October is here, and Guy Pearce is single again.

Time to take a trip to Australia!

I am a victim of the Cosplayer's Halloween Curse!

There's no hiding that this month is probably (and hopefully) the stretch of the Great Time of Derp, which has spanned for over a a year of a lot of derp. Despite my rougher looking schedule, I was encouraged by my recent derp of not being able to hit the Highland Games because the weather was so awful to treat myself to looking forward to dressing up for Halloween. Which basically means, what do I want to sew? 

My friends and I don't often have huge plans for Halloween, but we love the novelty of dressing up, yet again, as if we don't nearly three times a month. But it's uniquely fun in its own way, because you get to dress up with friends who don't normally do other than on Halloween.

Given my lack of last year's posting, I didn't get to mention much that I went back and fixed my old Usagi seifuku to attend a friend's party. I made the costume for Comikaze 2012, and wore it once after unexplicably losing my wig, although it's really hard to figure out how I lost it in the first place. Either way, the sleeves hadn't been my best, so this time around I went back and redid them so that they were eons more comfortable. I threw in the towel early on Halloween mostly because PMX was a week later, and I had to finish Shiro and Tsukumo, which had taken up most of my spare up until then. It's also partly why this year, I actually want to make something fun. It doesn't have to be overly complicated or over-the-top, but really just fun, and any other adjective that sums up "fun".

I've fallen however into the cosplayer's dreaded curse: I don't know what I want to be for Halloween.

 I may sound odd, but I don't usually like to pick some <insert niche cosplay here> for Halloween. I have been toying with some ideas, but nothing's stood out to me. More recently, I purchased some new makeup and have been religiously working on skin case and starting some more serious fit goals after my great year of derp, and even if it's small, I do feel like I want to use it as a first checkpoint on my road towards it. I'm really hoping that by Fanime and next summer my real goals shall start showing.

But yeah, so for right now, I don't know if by later tonight or sometime tomorrow I'll have a Great Scott! moment and it'll all come to me. I think I'm on the right track...I want something magical (of course, likely a magical grill) and maybe something with cute makeup. I got new eyelashes, new primers, new shadows and lip shades, more for cosplay but certainly have been working to incorporate them in my daily wear. (I'm weird like that.)

In the midst of my derpin' and looking around for ideas, I ended up making a list of costumes I've worn/made over the years starting from middle school (2004-2005), and high school (2006-2009), and onward, some of which were derpy in their own right, and others that I really have no words for. In elementary school, I wasn't allowed to dress up or celebrate Halloween for family reasons, but over time that changed. I still don't really get into the whole horror since I'm massive squeamish and a fraidy cat, but I share some good times.

(I'll probably at some point update this with some cringeworthy pictures, if I can find them. I can only think of Hermione and Usagi, actually.)

HALLOWEEN CHART THING OF COSTUMES

2004 - Saitou Kaede (Angelic Layer) - This was my first Halloween "costume", using the term super lightly, because I had just gotten into cosplay a few years in from the good ol' Internet. My friend in the 7th grade really loved Angelic Layer and Tsubasa and got me into them. I was instantly hooked and I loved Kaede, so I tried closet rummaging to find the closest items in color and shape to her uniform, plus some little handsewn attempts here and there. No, it didn't look a thing like it, but my friend who I still call Misakichi did my braids while my other friend went as a closet cosplay of Sai.

2005 - Some Sailor Lolita thing - I seriously cannot remember the entire outfit other than wearing a poofy skirt, tights, and oxfords, leading me to believe it was a poor attempt at Lolita, or a princess, or Alice. Or something really girly that I want to recall, but I cannot recall. Or maybe it was Morgan le Fay? Or Guinevere? At the time, I remember trying to make something girly, but I surely wish I could remember. I do remember however the two pranksters in history class dressed as George W. Bush and John Kerry more than my own costume. I'm just glad I never wore that one red Chinese dress for class. Oh, wait.

2006 - Kanon (Pokemon 5) - I was a few years into going to conventions by then, but I had really gotten more comfortable with wearing it for Halloween. I just never associated the two together for some reason...so I picked one of my favorite characters from Pokemon, Kanon. She only appears in the film, although Latias takes her form so we don't end up knowing who's snogging Satoshi by the end of the film. I loved her though, so I put together a Kanon cosplay I had fun wearing on my first year of high school.

2007 - Tosaka Rin (Fate/Stay Night) - So once I got friends, I was excited for Halloween and getting into dressing up and going to my first actual Halloween party after watching plenty of cheesy 90's ones for as long as I could remember on television. I was cosplaying more, so I made Rin to wear for school and for my friend's party. There's actually one hilarious picture I'll eventually share, because despite that it wasn't my best day, this picture brings a lot of memories. I kind of like the fact that we're all really eclectic. I wore my Rin cosplay to other conventions over the next few years, and I've never been shy about my love for both her and Saber. I carried my Saber plushie around because I couldn't leave her behind. I'm thinking of remaking her soon.

2008 - Tenjou Utena (Shoujo Kakumei Utena) // Lacus Clyne (Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) - The big disclaimer about this costume is that it's none of her duelist designs. It's actually a design I made based on the one page in the fourth volume of the manga, in the Akio arc, where he describes her as a goddess. And there's a little picture of Utena in a Grecian gown with flowers and wreaths. So I made her quickly since dressing up had been a last minute decision but I really wanted to be Utena, because I had a pink wig I never let go of. No one knew what was happening, so I told people that I was a jacked-up Aphrodite. I also wore for Halloween for my friend's party my Lacus Clyne cosplay from Gundam SEED. I really have no words, other than I brought my Haro along.

2009 - Hamasaki Momoko (Wedding Peach) // Morgan le Fay - For my senior year, I once again let my power levels obliviously shine, so I made Momoko's school uniform from Wedding Peach. It was quite fun to wear it, since it was a fun school uniform, except my brother kept telling people who asked that I was a seifuku Princess Fiona. For my friend's Halloween party, I had made a simple dress and cape and went as Morgan le Fay faerie witch, not really into the whole creative moment. It's kind of ironic, considering how much I love Morgan, but I was a little uninspired due to my disillusioned first year of college.

2010 -  Kinomoto Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura) - Here's a tale of biting off more than you can chew. I originally had wanted to make Princess Feena Fam Earthlight from the visual novel, Yoake Mae yori Ruiiro na, bbbbuuuttttt I lacked enough time to work on it. I think about this time is when I started to notice that I worked hard to make cosplays for cons, so I overlooked Halloween until it was days away. I made Sakura's school uniform to attend my friend's party, and at the time only had a copper toned wig instead of the one I have now. I don't really have a lot of pictures, but I remember having a good time.

2011 - Leia Organa - Bespin (Star Wars Episode VI) // Stocking Anarchy (Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt) // Katherine McBride (Catherine) - I'll start with Katherine, because it was mostly a gag costume at the time. I was into the video game and had just switched over to my game design major, so I think it was a silly gesture. I wore it for my friend's Halloween dinner. A few days before, some friends had a belated Halloween party, so I went as Stocking, which I had made earlier that year. I had a lot of fun, since my it was a new experience, and I wore better stockings, thank goodness. For my friend's party, I made Princess Leia's Bespin outfit, which I also planned ahead. I made the dress a lot shorter though, so I wore it with jeans. I'm quite happy with the overlay cape piece, which is made of a printed organza with a quilted collar. I was pretty excited to finish it, since I really love Star Wars but also wanted to wear something comfortable.

2012 -  Daphne Blake (Scooby Doo) - I actually didn't celebrate Halloween, but I did finish my costume, which I had planned ahead for once. The group wanted to go as the Scooby Gang, so I made Daphne, and was all excited to use my spiffy new orange wig from AX, but unfortunately Shii got sick that day, so it was a bummer and I didn't feel like going anywhere. It was still a lot of fun making Daphne!

2013 - Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) - This one is available on one of my past posts, but it was also (thankfully) pre-planned. I love Hermione so much, and growing up, I was sort of the Hermione of my classes and my friends group. I love Harry Potter, so I decided to make a Hogwarts robe and her skirt, , and then I purchased the sweater from Whimsic Alley. I wore it to another friend's Halloween party. I even brought my toy wand and was all up in character, which isn't that far from my normal personality.

2014 - Tsukino Usagi (Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon) - I made this costume back in 2012 for Comikaze, but made repairs. I was caught in the busy wave of PMX and cosplay, and I hadn't worn Usagi much. I had a lot of fun rewearing her and going to a friend's party for the while. I love being Usagi, so there isn't much new to say other than it's me being me and running around in a seifuku having fun.

So as I continue my quest, which I'll probably update with, I'll likely pick something I'll have fun in and work on since while times are busy, I do want to make something fun. I failed to mention earlier that last week I made a quick dress for the Highland Games, but I was so bummed out that it was blazing hot (even near the beach), and it just didn't seem like a wise move to go. I will plan on it for sure next year, but surely I would like to enjoy Halloween to make up for all this. Also, past the October point, it's all that good sewing for ALA and Akihabara Expo.

Hope to have more updates!

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