Countdown To Halloween: View From The Top
October 29th, 2010
This is a photo of me and my younger sister circa 1995. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and were forced to make our Halloween costumes. Her giraffe costume is made of a Hanes sweatsuit and a piece of yellow posterboard. My terribly awkward “three-headed monster” costume was made of painted styrofoam heads. I looked WAY too tall and old to be trick-or-treating.
(submitted by Kate B)
Tags: halloween
Hmmm… I’m a sceptic…
First of all, I kept looking over the picture trying to find the awkward factor, but like almost everyone responding in the comments, I think the costumes are really quite clever.
Secondly, the poster says that they were styrofoam heads… I doubt that; they actually look like rubber mannequin heads that trainee hairdressers use to practice styling and cutting. They’re usually dirt-cheap at a secondhand store as costume or prop pieces, because they often get thrown out after the hair’s been cut too short. I’ve still got two of them myself from my old apprenticeship days.
Lastly, CD player, NIKE hats, piano and ducted heating (air vent in carpet)? You can’t have been too poor…
Sorry, but I doubt the poster was genuine…
ABSOLUTELY amazing costumes! Super Creative, and SMART!!! wow!
I am so glad you cleared that up, I thought they were real heads!
I’m a banana, I’m a banana, I’m a banana, look at me move!
Wow, MAJOR kudos for the creativity and resourcefulness of these costumes!! You guys look way better than about 99% of the store-bought costumes out there.
Oh the 90′s, how I miss it.
Great costumes! Clever & creative.
When you have your own children, they will
be the hit of the neighborhood on Halloween.
i think those costumes are great why would think they are stupid. so u are one of those ppl who would have preferred ur mom bought u a dime a dozen store bought piece of junk. these are really original
Two things:
1. As one of those people who *really* gets into Halloween, I have to say that the fact that you came up with these ideas and executed on them is awesome. I often have kids come to my door who are indeed too old to be trick-or-treating but some of them actually put though into their costumes and those ones I’ll gladly pull out the “good candy bowl” for. The rest of them get the “loser candy.”
2. Not having money, and not being able to buy the unimaginative, pre-made costumes… consider it a blessing. You’re better for it. Creativity is often the outcome of necessity. And you rocked it!
I think this person is a prophet, she is predicting tiger woods and his infedelity obviously
Freakin’ hilarious and totally awesome. i used to make my kids costumes and sometimes my own. One year I dressed up as David Bowie during his “Ziggy Stardust” years, but everyone thought I was just dressed up as a prostitute. Ah well.
Your sister looks so happy!
You must share all the positive comments here with whoever was taking the picture.
Awkward, no. Awesome and creative, yes!
I made my kids’ costumes, too. My son gets more compliments on his creative costumes than others do in store-bought ones.
Love these!
I have to pile on here and say those are excellent costumes!
No awkward. Yes awesome.
This is one for Awesome Family! not Awkward. You are very lucky to have such talents and whomever helped you was an awesome parent! keep this photo- you will cherish it later in life.
How can i unsee this?
I feel like you were way ahead of your time. You are Tiger Woods with his women. I like the costume
Holy crap I remember that..I dressed like michaelango form teenage mutant ninja turtles that year
And you tortoise a thing or two.
That’s actually a REALLY good giraffe. I mean, someone passed geometry.
These costumes would be great even now, 15 years later! Creativity never goes out of style.
Home made costumes are the best. nice job !! I would never spend hard earned money on those cheap a** Drug Store halloween costumes… A++++ for your creativity!!! I love making my own costumes
Too old to go trick or treating? You’re never too old! lol. I went trick or treating until I hit college age.
I think your costumes are wonderfully creative and oddly adorable! I always scrounged up my own Halloween costumes as a kid…that was half the fun!
Yep, I agree with everyone here. My initial reaction was “How creative” and “I wish more kids took the time and effort to make their own costumes.” I think it’s adorable and sweet.
Perhaps it has to do with the area of the country that you are in or whatnot, but I went to a fancy shmancy private school and no one would be caught dead in a store bought costume. You either made it yourself or you didn’t dress up. These costumes would have been hits! I would imagine getting your three heads or giraffe neck through the door led to quite a few awkward moments.
Love this pic Kate! Sooo creative! You should have won a prize!
Ummm….I know for a fact that if I had made these costumes, it would definitely have cost me more money to make than if I had bought some cheapy plasticky store-bought costumes….I’ll bet your mom had creativity and originality in her mind, rather than frugality, when she made these for you guys. LOVE the results!!
I don’t know, Nora. I can see where these costumes could be pretty cheap. They may have already had the Hanes sweat suit and all they bought was the poster board and the make-up. The older girl is wearing her own clothes, and they may have already had the Nike caps. If they bought the Nike caps, though, you are right.
BTW I love the face on the giraffe.
My mom and grandmother used to make me the most awesome costumes. The main one I remember was the year I went as a kangaroo, complete with a big tail and a baby kangaroo in my pouch. I also remember going as a princess one year, wearing one of my mother’s gorgeous formal dresses altered to fit six-year-old me. We weren’t short on money, but her costumes were professional quality and non-plastic.
you look adorable! and i love how creative you were. nothing awkward at all about this. simply darling.
I think the awkwardness comes from being ashamed not being able to buy ‘real’ halloween costumes.
These homemade costumes are great but as a kid she probably only saw ‘makeshift, stupid & cheap’ in those costumes. And this made such an impact that she cannot look past that as an adult.
Probably, yes, though it’s disheartening to think that this should be the case. In my family it was sort of considered a mark of shame NOT to make your own costume–regardless of how cobbled-together your outfit ended up being, there was pride in knowing you made it yourself (or that Mom made it for you, if you were on the younger side). No one’s going to be impressed by yet another store-bought licensed character costume, but show up in a two-person dragon costume held together by duct tape and determination, and they’ll be all over that.
Whats a girrafe got to do with halloween? Halloween is when witches ride their broom’s, anything else just doesn’t make sense. Like wearing swimming fins on Christmas day….folks would say….’but why?’
What does a ladybug have to do with Halloween? Or a bee? or a sexy waitress? It’s aout dressing up and going out to have fun, Tony.
*getting back on my broom and flying away”
Wearing swim fins on Christmas Day just means you live in an excellent climate.
You win.
Who are you, the Halloween Police? Harry Potter?
She was paying homage to the movie “Giraffic Park”.
LOL! Good one!
I think you can dress up as anything you want on holloween! Jeez.
You guys are too adorable! I love your costumes. So creative.
EXCELLENT costumes!
I think they’re fabulous costumes!
This is awesome, not awkward.
I love these costumes and what cute kids!
It’s nice that the three heads could all agree to wear Nike!
I get the three heads, but why the paddle ball?
I agree home made are usually better in most cases. Especially the old 80s ones with the plastic face masks and smocks. Those stunk..
Especially by about the third year. ugh.
That is the perfect Tiger woods costume for this year. A girl on each side while still selling Nike products. Nice.
Yes! Genius!
I like the kid dressed up as the piano
Don,
Hysterical!
Blue ribbon!
I had to look back up…still laughing…
LMAO! That might be the second funniest comment I’ve read on here to date!
HA! Thats funny
Now that’s funny!
I, too,am fully pro these costumes. No shame or awkwardness here.
Your mom must be an amazing woman. Great picture. Did you get three times as much candy as everyone else?
Great costumes! I don’t believe this photo is all that awkward.
Are you kidding? Costumes that show that much creativity get extra treats at my house. “Hey, Hon! Bring out the full size Hershey’s! We gotta Winnah!”
I concur!
You look like Britney Spears in her Mickey Mouse Club years…
My thoughts exactly! (I searched the comments just to see if someone thought the same thing.)
I was thinking the most awkward part is Kate’s facial expression until I realized she couldn’t smile while her monster heads weren’t! awesome!
Great costumes. I would not be ashamed at all. Not awkward.
Clever n’ creative! Good age to have good clean fun, even if ya are tall! Way ta go~
While you may feel awkward, there’s nothing at all wrong with homemade costumes. These two are fine, and certainly better than some I wore as a kid. I think you and your sister did Halloween proud.
I concur with the other Tim.
Agreed.
I never buy costumes… always always my kids will wear home-made costumes!
Actually, I’m rather impressed with the creativity here.
i am too. you guys did an awesome job and far better looking than cheapo store bought costumes.
I totally agree. You don’t need a lot of money to make a great costume. A+ for creativity!!
I agree–your costumes were great!
These were really great costumes that you made for yourselves!
For someone that says you didnt have a lot of money, you are standing in front of a piano while wearing 3 NIKE hats .. not exactly destitute. I like the costumes a lot and I think they were quite creative and well done.