You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.

ZIG ZIGLAR

Life has so many stages, and the same is true for Halloween. As a young child I looked forward to picking out my costume each year. For the most part, my parents gave me free reign, and I ended up dressing as semi-normal things like Sesame Street’s Ernie, witches, and even a hippy.

Some years were more unusual. Around the time of The Addam’s Family movies, my best friend and I were going to dress up as Cousin Itt and Morticia Addams. Since I was going through a “pink phase” and I refused to wear black, the handmade costume ended up looking more like a strange dress.

By the time I was in middle school, dressing up seemed so childish. There was a six-year stretch where I avoided Halloween like the plague. That was until college came around. We looked for any and every excuse to dress up, and there were plenty of sorority parties to test our creativity on. Though, Halloween always stood out as the main event. It was the time of the year where girls wore practically nothing for a weeklong celebration.

I usually took a more humorous approach to my costumes. When Britney Spears was all over the tabloids acting like a hot mess, I just had to recreate it. Shaved head and walking around with no shoes in public restrooms, usually leads to a good costume.

Another one of my favorites was dressing up like Mary from the movie Something About Mary. After finding a short wig and gluing the bangs straight up, I put a stuffed dog in a full body cast, put on a red dress, and called it a day. I liked the idea so much I wore it a few years later as a Bloody Mary costume and just added a name tag and some fake blood to the mix.

Since I looked for any excuse to dress up, a lot of times I created my costumes around things I already had. My boyfriend, now husband, had a large collection of wrestling singlets, so I figured tight, awkward clothing usually makes people laugh and would work as a costume.

Individual costumes are nice, but group costumes are where the fun begins. Sometimes I can talk the hubby into dressing up as a bald Mr. Clean, so I can be a housewife, but when I can’t twist his arm, I can usually get some co-workers to dress up with me. One year we went as the cast of The Wizard of Oz.

Looking back at all of my costumes over the years, there is one that stands out above the rest. Like I mentioned, I prefer shock factor to cuteness when selecting a costume, so my Girls Gone Wild was the perfect creation to provide the most head turns.

I wore a nude body suit, so it was harmless, but it still makes me laugh when I see pictures. With this new bowling ball-sized fixture on my front, coming up with a costume this year should be fun. Hopefully, you’re at a stage in your life where you still like dressing up and this post will help guide you to your perfect costume.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?