Girl's Gone Child: Gone Style: Playing Dress Up (Sponsored)

Gone Style: Playing Dress Up (Sponsored)

Posted by GIRL'S GONE CHILD | Tuesday, September 21, 2010

*updated with winners, below!*

One of my favorite things to do as a little girl was dress up in costume and put on child-sized productions with my friends. My mother was (and still is) the music director for a children's theatre group so we always had the most amazing costumes lying around the house, all hand-made and one-of-a-kind.

Growing up my mother made my Halloween costumes as well. I was Rainbow Brite one year, Raggedy Ann and one of my all-time faves, "Kevin" who was my pet rat. (My mom sewed black spots on the back of a white sweatshirt and a giant pink tail on my butt and omg, Kevin and I were SUCH twinsies.)

For the last five Halloweens I've fantasized about sewing my kids' Halloween costumes and although I've learned to sew somewhat (and with training wheels) I'm not quite there yet. But that doesn't mean we can't still play dress-up. Our costumes may be of the purchased-and-gifted variety but they're still special.

I recently went to a birthday party where the child's mother asked in lieu of gifts to bring old costumes to add to a giant chest for her son for make-believe. A great way to do no-gifts whilst still .... well, having gifts. Brilliant! I was thinking we'd do something similar for Fable's second birthday (coming up around the bend) That is, if we decide to have any sort of party for her. In eleven days. I should probably get on that, no?

yes, probably.

...In the meantime, we have a small collection of costumes left-over from Halloween and other such dress-up occasions and are known to bust them out frequently. Because costumes are just clothes. And in my opinion? Always appropriate no matter the occasion.

Tutus for every day? Hooray! Hooray!

Fable rocks last year's Halloween costume (she was a "flower garden") around the house:

I had to pin the straps last Halloween but these days it fits her perfectly:

"ma tutu, pees!"

This dress was a resale find we purchased at a sidewalk sale:

If this was in my size I'd wear it on the daily. I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate it into this year's Halloween costume with little luck. Maybe that's because we're planning on going as a family of Justin Biebers and I don't know if Justin Bieber would wear this dress.

Probably not, I'm thinking.

***

This will be the last of the $150 Old Navy gift card giveaways sponsored by Old Navy. (Thanks, Old Navy!)

To win? Just tell me in the comments, below, about your all-time favorite costume. Mine was probably my chicken costume I wore when I was four-years-old, homemade by my mom complete with tissue paper feathers and dish gloves for feet.

Behold the genius ~~of my mom's fro~~:

For rules and regs, go here. Winners (for all three drawings) to be picked EOD TOMORROW, September 22nd via random.org.

In the meantime, check out Old Navy's Halloween costumes and baby sale, here. Good luck to all and thanks, again, for participating!

GGC

Updated: congrats to Adventures with Addison, Cora D and JWhite for winning the three Old Navy drawings! And thanks to all of you for participating! xo!

511 comments:

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Bailey | 12:18 AM: My favorite costume of all time was Rapunzel...with her tower. Long braided wig, princess attire from the waist up and a too-small plastic pool inner tube around my waist held up a circle of corrugated cardboard decorated with turrets and ivy. I had to be lifted up steps higher than three inches but it was a show-stopper.

That or the time I was a dining room table, complete with place settings. My mom was cool like yours.
Manda | 12:37 AM: My favorite childhood costume was when one year I dressed up as a "ninja" ... I looked like the Karate Kid gone terribly wrong in my blue kimono, black eyeliner, and red handkerchief headband. I had a too-short boy haircut and felt extremely bad-ass that year as I trolled my hood for candy with my dad and younger sis (who was five, adorable, and dressed as Minnie Mouse. And she had LONG hair). I think I was nine. The eighties were so unkind ... To my hair. SIGH.
KPB | 12:45 AM: My favorite costume was a Crayola crayon costume that my crafty aunt made from scratch. Then I broke the tip (happens to all of us, doesn't it) during a fevered search of my sister's Halloween stash.
Stephanie | 1:09 AM: My favourite was the purple princess dress my mom made for me when I was in second grade. I felt magical :)
Ashton | 2:32 AM: This year I am going to be about 5 months pregnant on halloween. Not feeling the sexy-schmexy costumes to say the least. I am planning on wearing a full body gorilla suit and my 16 month old son will be my date in a full body banana suit....
Liliana | 2:36 AM: I was a hershey's kiss one year. Unfortunately it involved a lot of aluminum foil and back then my parents hadn't started recycling yet. Oops.
Brooke | 2:37 AM: My favorite was.... hmmmm... we didn't get all that creative - I think I was a bunny like three years in a row!! I love the chicken get up though :D
N | 2:47 AM: My Asian immigrant parents didn't really have the cultural frame of reference (or the time) to get super enthusiastic about Halloween, so I was basically left to my own devices. :) My favorite costume was probably the one I made in 4th grade, when I dressed as a dreidel. Cardboard box with armholes and points cut out of it, large Hebrew characters copied from an entry in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, and a cylindrical cardboard hat. :) Considering revamping and recycling that idea this year by going as "slutty dreidel."
Linley | 2:52 AM: That chicken costume is pretty rockin'! My mom's always been all for making costumes. My favorite would have to be my cowgirl costume in second grade. It wasn't just any cowboy costume either. It was complete with a "horse" box that went over my head and around my waist via suspenders with pretend legs on teh side so that my legs looked like two of the horses legs. It's really hard to describe. Trust me, it was awesome, I won a savings bond in our local Halloween parade.
Rowenna | 3:19 AM: My mother made costumes for us too. My favorite picture of a halloween costume is when my brother was a train and I was the conductor. I think I must have been two or three, since I don't remember it at all, but it was a great costume. I loved coming up with themed outfits that work for two people. After that I went through the cat phase - I was a cat for at least four or five years, at my insistence....
Anonymous | 3:24 AM: A princess costume. Who doesn't love a chance to wear a tiara? I still love to wear one and on special days my girlfriends and I bring them out.

Barbara
Jessica | 3:27 AM: My most favorite costume of all time was made by my mom. I was of an indian. Complete with brown braids made from acrylic yard to cover my blonde locks. I even go to wear a feather in them!
Unknown | 3:37 AM: My mom was the queen of homemade costumes. I was a weird kid, and managed to talk her into making me a jack-in-the-box costume and a candy dots costume (you know those gross candies that are stuck on a strip of paper? yeah).
The best was definitely the picnic blanket though! I had a frame that went out from my shoulders with checked red fabric hanging down, and she glued plastic plates and food to hang on it- plus a big checked bow in my hair with plastic fork/spoon/knife tied in. I was SO EXCITED because I got to carry a picnic basket to put candy in- probably imagining the size of my potential haul;) Weird kid, weird 90's!
Rina | 4:00 AM: My Mom used to make our costumes when we were children too! What great memories, My favorite is when she make a clown suit for my and my brother was a lion. I still love the pictures.
Andrea | 4:09 AM: Last year, I was Cyndi Lauper. Fun dress, 10 or so necklaces, and some crazy makeup!
Nutmeg | 4:23 AM: My favorite costume was the year my mom made me a princess dress. It was cream satin with gold lame complete with a hand made crown set with jewels/beads (via hot glue gun). I loved that costume so much I wore it two years in a row. My favorite costume I made for myself was the year I decided to go as santa claus. In my opinion that was trick or treating genius.
Leslie | 4:27 AM: I dressed up as a cleaning lady when I was about four years old. It's pretty much the only costume I would wear. :)

http://leslieslovestreet.blogspot.com/2009/10/feels-like-fall.html
Carol P | 4:34 AM: Wow, so many to choose from. I was a lion when I was six...with a mane made out of a stretchy headband and an entire skein of yarn, that was pretty cool.

My favorite costume that *I* made was Indigo from Tokyo Mew Mew.
Bekah | 4:36 AM: well...we didny celebrate halloween, but we did play dress up a lot! fav costume was definitely when my mom made me into a cafeteria tray....tray hat. checkered tablecloth dress, plastic food on my head, and a spoon and a fork dangling from the tray!
Catherine | 4:39 AM: My sister and I dressed as Care Bears one year. The costume was riddled with stinky plastic, but I loved it, so much so that I recreated it in college with a sweatsuit, felt tummy, and ears on a headband. Dorky? Yes. Awesome? You betcha.
Ann Lienemann | 4:39 AM: One year I was slightly cloudy with a chance of rain. I wore a blue sweat suit with cotton all over it and carried around a spray bottle. when people asked what I was I told them and they got a little squirt. It was fun
Jen L. | 4:50 AM: My favorite costume was my strawberry shortcake costume made completely from paper and tissue paper.
Blair Stephens | 4:51 AM: Wind up doll! Made a key out of cardboard, covered it in duct tape, cute plaid skirt, white button down and sweater. White tights, mary jane's and dolly make up. So comfortable and SO EASY!
Rachel | 4:57 AM: My all time favorite costume was actually one I made for my son seven years ago (when did that happen!). It was my first year as a mom and it made me feel so crafty...and so mini van like all at the same time. He was a scarecrow. I've saved it...maybe a grandbaby one day!
Elizabeth | 5:07 AM: When I was a pudgy little girl I wanted nothing more than to be a cheerleader (how I decided on that, I have no idea.) My super-dad, who worked THREE jobs and was still our primary caregiver, stayed up late for weeks making me pom-poms out of handles from an old jumprope and shredded newspaper which he hand painted. When I think about how much meticulous work he put into that costume when he was probably exhausted, it makes me a little teary.

I'm going to call him right now. That man deserves about a thousand thank yous.

Thanks for the reminder :)
Liesel | 5:16 AM: When I was little, I dressed up as Ronald McDonald. My mom took my to McDonald's to show them and the guy behind the counter didn't even blink. No double-takes, nothing. Took my order and that was it. Bummer.
Jasmine | 5:16 AM: I was once a space mummy. That's probably my most memorable costume. I think we were pressed for ideas that year, so my dad helped me improvise something. It involved me wrapped in aluminum foil, my face painted greenish black, and my permed hair going crazy. I was....10 maybe? The title for this costume only came after the costume was completed, and it was the best way to describe what we'd created.
Christy | 5:22 AM: We were pretty much left up to our own devices when it came to Halloween costumes when my brother and I were small. I would have to say my favorite however was dressing up as a hippy in my mom's old 70's clothes, I still have the outfit and incorporate some of the pieces in my everyday wear!
Cara | 5:22 AM: When I was six, I was Peter Pan and Mom was Captain Hook. It was awesome, even when it dawned on me Halloween night that Captain Hook tries to kill Peter Pan. (Mom promised me she wouldn't!)
Unknown | 5:23 AM: One Halloween in high school dressed up as a grim reaper and handed out candy at my parents house. (I like to go old school with Halloween costumes and be something scary.) In my reaper costume no one could tell who I was and it was fun to trick people I knew when they came to the house. Now that I am older I can just imagine how many kids I probably scared though and I feel a little bad about that.
Shelley Senai | 5:24 AM: My mom was awesome with costumes too. She didn't sew but she'd take me to the thrift store and we'd find all sorts of cool things. My favs were the year I was a troll princess (thrifted "princessy" dress, troll mask), a gypsy (I was this for several years) and a hippie.

But the all-time best? My very first Halloween at 4 1/2 months old. My parents literally tied a scarf around my head, stuck me in a paper bag and wrote "Bag Lady" on it. Classic.
ttsc | 5:24 AM: A minnie mouse costume that was handmade by my mom. I also want to be able to make my own kids costumes (someday).
Rebecca | 5:30 AM: My warmest costume was when I dressed up as a Gloworm. We an old, child-sized sleeping bag, cut two holes on the bottom for my feet, and a couple for my hands. We wrapped the sleeping bag around my body and secured it by tying ribbon, put on a long night cap and used a flashlight to 'glo'! At the time I thought it was so cool!
Karen Fuller | 5:33 AM: my mom made wonderful handmade costumes for us every year, but i think my favorite was a native american costume she made when i was 6 or 7. it was gorgeous!
jillian | 5:33 AM: My favorite was a queen (not princess) costume my grandmother made. I think I wore it two years in a row.
Jamie Elizabeth | 5:36 AM: My favorite childhood costume, that I can remember, was a homemade Big Bird get up made by my mom.
Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph | 5:37 AM: I had a lot of fun with last year's for myself- this will only make sense if you watch SNL but Kristin Wiig did this character on the Lawrence Welk show that had "baby hands." It was one of the creepiest moments ever when I found myself buying a doll and cutting its hands of for this costume...

(pic here:)

Steph
emilyG | 5:38 AM: It's a Madeline dress!!! Now you just need to find a yellow hat.
Kathy Drachowski | 5:40 AM: Like your mother, mine also took pride in creating costumes for us each year for Halloween. Sometimes she would sew and other times she would just "make". She always claims she is not creative but I would highly disagree...my brother and I dressed up as everything from Mario and Princess Toadstool, 50's couple complete with pipecleaner wound poodle on my big poodle skirt, star trekies (the next generation...totally geeky and hated by me as a child), but my ultimate fav? When I was 9 I dressed up as a box of crayons. I had won two hugely over sized blow-up crayons from our local carnival and behold, my mom had turned another common household item (two obnoxiously large crayons that doubled as pool floats, and the perfect weapon to beat your siblings silly with and still not really get hurt) into yet another great masterpiece. The "box of crayons" contained three. One blow up on either side and Me in the middle. I was the green one complete with a cone hat and green face. The box itself...painted to look just like crayola. I haven't thought of this in so long....I am now inspired to actually try for my own son this year!!!
rutty1221 | 5:42 AM: Oh my gosh, I have SO MANY for the very same reason - my mom is a WHIZ with a sewing machine! She's kept them all for her oodles of grandchildren (8 already!), but recently there was a water pipe that burst in their basement and several costumes were ruined. I think I'll miss the turtle costume the most. Green tights, shorts, and hooded sweatshirt, complete with a brown corduroy shell she constructed that slipped over my head and arms. I cannot adequately describe its awesomeness. It was the basis for my current love affair with turtles.
Em | 5:44 AM: My mom used to make our costumes too!! My favorite, though, was a thrift store find dress b/c I had so much fun finding it.
LB | 5:45 AM: My all time favorite was being dressed as a candy corn, with crumpled bags inside to keep the triangle shape, and my face painted white like the top layer. My mom could work the felt fabric.
the king of carrot flowers | 5:46 AM: my mom is an EXCELLENT seamstress and worked as a costume designer in a theatre for years so my costumes were ALWAYS rad- Mouse in a piece of cheese. A piece of cherry cheesecake. Fower in a flower pot.

Though I think the coolest was the year a borrowed the theatre's Annie costume- wig & all- such a childhood dream come true.
Red Stethoscope | 5:50 AM: Mine was little red riding hood, when I was about 8. My mom's friend made my costume and I got to carry a wicker basket that I put an inflated balloon in with a dish towel over it, to give the illusion that it was full of goodies, with which to navigate a scary forest. Loved that costume!
Alexa | 5:52 AM: My favorite costume was when I was a 12 year old. I was something dead, but my makeup was awesome, and I wore this vintage velvet opera robe.

I felt like the coolest.
Kirdy | 5:52 AM: My favorite little girl costume was Snow White, and it snowed that year during trick-or-treating, totally perfect. My favorite adult costume was when my 7 college roommates were a wedding party, complete with a bride and 7 bridesmaids all dressed in fuscia fantastics from Ragstock...amazing!
Kim | 5:53 AM: My favorite costume has got to be from college. My best friend and I decided to dress up as the angel and the devil. The best part was I still had my white dress from my high school graduation so all I had to buy were the wings, halo and tons of glitter. :) We received a lot of comments from drunken frat boys. Ha.
maresi | 5:54 AM: My favorite as a child was the Snow White dress my mother sewed for me (and just brought to us for my daughter to wear - eek!). As an adult, my favorite costume was when my husband and I dressed up as Bret & Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords.
team stephens | 5:56 AM: my mom made me a pink calico cat costume when i was little... and i wore it for FIVE halloweens! pretty versatile sizing... she's bringing is down theis weekend to see if it fits my daughter now :)
Robin | 5:57 AM: Of course my favorite costume of all time was Cat in the Hat that my mom somehow put together. One day I WILL replicate that one.
Whitney and Steve | 5:59 AM: I was the Mona Lisa. My mom is artistically inclined and we always made my costumes. We took a pillowcase and cut out a hole for my head, then she drew the Mona Lisa (minus the head) on the pillow case and we crinkled cardboard strips to weather them and use them as a frame. I put the pillow case over my head and did a slight smile. It was the dorkiest thing and I loved it.
Meghann | 6:01 AM: My favorite costume was a bunch of grapes. My mom sewed a garland of grape leaves out of felt that I wore on my head, and she taped purple balloons all over a trash bag. I paired it with green tights and then hooked arms with 3 friends who were also grapes, and we became a grapevine. Too bad the boys pulled the balloons off because they thought it would be funny.
El | 6:01 AM: I think my favorite was a cowgirl! I loved the boots! I think that may have been foreshadowing my current love of shoes.
Ariel | 6:02 AM: My favorite costume was my tinkerbell costume. My mom sewed layers of green tulle over a leotard when I was in 2nd grade.
Jackee | 6:04 AM: My favorite childhood costume was an elephant. Made by my mom complete with fantastic plush trunk. I thought I was awesome. Favorite costume of all time comes from my freshman year of college when I fashioned a wonder woman costume from the cardboard bust from a dry cleaner.
Katie | 6:05 AM: My favorite childhood costume was a flapper! I wore a red dress covered in fringe and sequins, and I wish I could enlarge it and wear it again. The 20s have come to be my favorite historical decade by far, and I didn't have a clue what I was wearing when I paraded around in that in the 4th grade. Such a waste!
Trisaratops | 6:07 AM: My favorite costume was actually last year...I was 6 months preggers at the time, so I threw on all black and then cut out a white circle with a black "8" on it. I was a Magic 8 Ball. I'd spin around and say random answers to questions. It was a fun way to trick or treat with my little guy (who rocked his dinosaur costume!) and made for some great memories!
Michelle | 6:08 AM: My favorite costume was when my Dad and I dressed up as Hobos complete with the burnt cork beard. We went to a girl Scout party where they had huge pumpkins that you could guess their weight. And we won!!! My dad guessed the closest!
adam and andrea | 6:09 AM: my all time favorite costume was when I went as "kitchen woman" in high school - I am far from domestically gifted...so it made it even more hilarious. I wore a strainer on my head and taped various kitchen gadgets to my arms and legs.
Rebecca is Fabulous | 6:12 AM: no doubt...the year was 6, my mom cut off a leg from my dad's green pants to use as my full-body stem, and made a ring of flower petals around my face. my arms were inside the 'stem',and we didn't loosen the bottom, so had to take mincing steps and fall every few feet. it was awesome.
Karen Chatters | 6:12 AM: That blue dress is SOOOO fabulous!!

My favorite was a raggedy Anne costume that my mom made for me when I was 2 or so. I'm fairly certain it's the only costume she ever made.
roni | 6:13 AM: i was wonder woman when i was six. my grandmother actually sewed the costume.
Althea | 6:19 AM: Full on cat costume that my Grandmother sewed for me. I swear, I wore that thing TO DEATH. Literally...by the end the tail was held on with a safety pin.
Anonymous | 6:22 AM: My favorite costume was being the pink Care Bear. Both of my sisters wore it too and my Mom sewed it herself. Only requirement was pink sweatpants. You face showed through the mouth of the stuffed head. My sister and I are currently fighting over which of our daughters will get to wear it. Hopefully they won't be the same size that year.

Laura K.
Lauren | 6:23 AM: When I was nine, I dressed up as a skunk. Black and white paint on my face, black leotard and tights, an authentic fake skunk tail wrapped around my waist, and a fabulous white boa going from my forehead all the way down my back. I rocked that thing.
Nicole Marie | 6:24 AM: One of my favorite Halloween costumes was a banana split! Two of my friends and I were each a different flavor of ice cream complete with cherry on top hats and we carried a huge cardboard banana in front of us! It made trick-or-treating a bit of a challenge but it was a hit!
samantha | 6:24 AM: My favorite costume was Cindy Lauper. Yeah, in kindergarden. I had the orange hair and rocked the layers. I felt SO COOL as you can imagine.

Still stressing over Theo's halloween costume this year. He's 2.5 so he has OPINIONS that fluctuate hourly. Sigh.

samanthajocampen at gmail
Jessica Peck | 6:24 AM: My LEAST favorite costume was when I was Hickory-Dickory-Dock. My parents dressed me in a large narrow box with clock hands taped to my nose. I had a fake mouse glued to the side of the box near my ankle. I was something fantastic and a total pain in the ass to walk in every year. For trick or treating ease, I got to pick out my costume and I chose one of those cabbage patch garbage bag-esque costumes with plastic face mask. By far my favorite. I was a very proud 4 year old!
Elizabeth | 6:24 AM: My mom still talks about the costume she made me when I was about four. I was a serious little kid, and had a constantly furrowed brow. I was also really into Sesame Street at the time. So yes, I was Bert. My mom covered a white turtle neck with various colors of electric tape to make the stripes, put me in some tiny green pants, slapped some yellow paint on my face, tousled my already jet black hair a bit. And for the final touch... you guessed it, she gave me a unibrow. It was cuter than it sounds.
kim {the non-mom blogger} | 6:25 AM: Is there anything your mom can't do? She's amazing! I don't really remember my favorite costume...but I do remember wearing a terribly itchy reg Bozo wig one year...
Beth | 6:26 AM: A home made pumpkin costume that my mom made. It had a full size hula hoop in it. It was huge!
Katie D | 6:26 AM: My favorite costume as a kid was Shera - and I proceeded to be her every year from age 4-9. Right....I was a little obsessed!
Rebecca | 6:30 AM: My favorite costume was when I was Boy George at the height of his glory. I had eyeliner, braids, a great hat and a flowy top. My sister was Cyndi Lauper. We rocked it.
Jenny | 6:32 AM: I didn't like it then, but looking back NOW, my best halloween costume was a handmade big fat orange PUMPKIN! My sisters and I also played for YEARS in an old Gypsy costume and a nurse costume that my mom made big so we cold wear them forever!!
Leah B | 6:32 AM: The cutest costume was probably the year I was a cat - I was maybe 2 and my mom pinned a note to me that said "Meow, I'm a kitty". My favorite was the year I dressed up as a gypsy - scarves, full skirts and lots of gold.
Rhea | 6:33 AM: My favorite costume was a bag of Jelly Beans.
You heard me.
I basically turned it out on Halloween by walking around my neighborhood in a leotard and a clear trash bag filled with balloons. Oh yeah, I also tied some trash bag to my headband for that authentic ~knotted look~
Anonymous | 6:34 AM: I think I was some kind of Disney princess a whole bunch of years in a row. We weren't too creative at my house; storebought all the way. Remember when they used to have plastic masks? Geez.

Karen
mcconk@yahoo.com
Christy | 6:36 AM: When I was in 4th grade, I really wanted to be Alice (in Wonderland). The night before the costume parade at school, I went into the dining room to check mom's sewing progress- she was a nurse and would be working overnight that night. I cried when I realized it wasn't even a little bit done...
My dad stayed up that night and paper-mache'd me an animal head- a panda? a cat? and sewed me a little catsuit. He totally saved the day.
As an adult and a parent now, I look back and realize just how many sacrifices both my parents made, all the time.
God bless 'em.
Courtney | 6:39 AM: My favorite costume was the year when I was a California raisin. That or when I was bridal barbie. Not all that creative but I loved them.
Heather | 6:41 AM: My favorite was holly hobby when I was 5 or 6. I have a photo from that Halloween that is one of my favorite images from my childhood.
Jamie | 6:41 AM: Wonder Woman! I loved that costume!
Leila Gates-Wai | 6:43 AM: as a child I would always dress up with my sister's princess-like dance dresses. my mom made them from scratch with a lot of dedication and I loved them!
Christy | 6:47 AM: My all-time favorite costume was my twisted Alice in Wonderland couple's costume I designed for my husband and myself. I went as Alice and my husband went as the white rabbit...a bloody, mangled, serial killer-looking rabbit... complete with buck teeth, a knife and blood-stained white sweats. It was awesome!
Unknown | 6:47 AM: Mines the lil fairy princess. Love things with wings
Laura | 6:48 AM: My parents made me a rockstar costume one year - complete with particle board red guitar! It was a great costume, I loved it!
Anonymous | 6:48 AM: My favorite was my Arabian Nights costume my mom made for me. It was by far the most detailed and prettiest costume my mom had ever made. It had the sateen crop top in a pretty blue color with little jewels around the collar and gold outline around the top and bottom. The bottom of the top went down into a v shape. The bottoms were decorated the same except the legs were made out of a shimmery organza fabric that were gathered at my ankles. She had gotten me a pair of slippers and put little jewels on them to match my costume.
Myssie | 6:48 AM: My favorite is this years costume, for sure. The boy (5) wants us to be the Muppet Band, Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem! Dada as Dr Teeth, Mama as Janice, "fer sure, really?!" Boy as Animal and Baby as...well that is still up in the air.
We are in the process of making/thrifting costumes.
My son's had some great costumes, hand made/thrifted. Two years ago he was a "butterfly robot" that was a fun costume to put together!
Elizabeth | 6:49 AM: My all-time favorite costume was the year I was Little Red Riding Hood. Totally homemade by Mom and it wasn't really a costume but rather many outfits in one with petticoats, reversible skirt, shirt, vest and hooded cape. It was awesome!
Mary | 6:51 AM: My absolute favorite costume was also hand-made by my mom. She made me a Christmas tree costume and my little brother was a present! We rocked it and won the costume contest that year!
jesse k | 6:56 AM: Probaby the year I was a hobo. Complete with whiskers and a stick over my shoulder holding a satchel. My dad even had a song for it . . .
Rachel | 6:56 AM: In second grade, my BFF and I put on matching hot pink leggings and a teal XXL shirt over both our heads and went as Siamese twins. You always dream of having a BFF twin, so it was the best make believe ever.
Anonymous | 6:56 AM: My favorite costume was Raggedy Ann, complete with the dyed mop wig that we made.

I loved when my son was a monkey at 2. I miss those days!

Jen C
jdmcompton at yahoo dot com
Whitney | 6:56 AM: My mother, also a queen of the sewing machine, made most of our costumes. My favorite costume was a 1920s flapper - complete with garter and headband. I loved it so much maybe I'll be a flapper again this year.
Teresa | 6:57 AM: My fav costume was a fairy princess that mt mom sewed for me. She also did some awesome pink face paint that year. I felt so beautiful. Runner up: Punky Brewster. I just mis-matched some clothes and mom put extra freckles on my cheeks.
Ms. K | 6:57 AM: I can't decide what my favorite childhood costume would have been, there were many to choose from. BUT, my most favorite costume of all time came a few years ago while I was in college. My two best friends and I decided we were going to go as Guns N Roses. I was the drummer, one friend was Axle and the other was Slash. ( a spitting image of Slah and Axle they were) We had the best night in those costumes and to top it off we found GnR groupies at a random party we went to. Whenever I need a good laugh I pull out the pictures from that night and have it and remember one of the best nights ever!
Jessi | 7:01 AM: My favorite costume was Snow White. My mom made it and it looked just like the dress in the movie. I had shoulder length black hair and we flipped it under and tied in a red bow and I could have been paid by Disney, I looked so much like her.
Lindsay | 7:01 AM: My mom used to sew when my brothers and I were little and she made a Scooby Doo costume that all three of us wore. It was great- full body, with spots and a tail and a headpiece. Just add a black nose and, voila!
Anonymous | 7:02 AM: Well...I don't know if this is my favorite (quickly I'll say that my favorite was the year that I was a lobster in college) but, it was certainly my mom's favorite! We have 3 years of pictures of me dressed as the Cookie Monster and the family lore was that I loved the Cookie Monster so much that I wanted to be him three years in a row. The costume consisted of my mom's blue sweatshirt and a plastic mask...not exactly inspired. Now that I'm a a mom, my mother has confessed that she was so burned out during those years, that she pulled the ol "are-you-sure-you-don't-want-to-be-cookie-monster" routine three years in a row for the sake of simplicity. I don't know why, but this just cracks me up!
Leslie @ Body Won't Break | 7:03 AM: my favorite costume? hmm. i think when i was princess jasmine for halloween. it was supposed to be scandolous with a little belly showing (i was 10) but it was too cold so i had to wear a pale pink long sleeve shirt under it.

AND (a tie) my witch costume. i wore the skirt all the time.
Adrianne | 7:06 AM: Wow, that is some sweet carpet!! :)

I guess I've never been too into Halloween, because I can't even remember any of my costumes! What kind of childhood did I have?! For me, Halloween was all about the candy...I never really cared about the dressing up part!
Dia | 7:09 AM: My favorite costume one year was as an Indian. My mom made the outfit and I even got an Indian name, Red Rose.
kristofer and ivy | 7:09 AM: The chicken costume is AWESOME; I love those glove feet!

My favorite was the year I was Mickey Mouse - the Disney World ears, yes, but someone made me this long creepy tail that was attached to the back of my outfit. I can picture it vividly. I even remember what it felt like! I was a little afraid of that tail, but it's my most memorable costume.

.ivy
Anonymous | 7:12 AM: One year when my mom (who was a single mom) was too broke to buy me a costume, she wrapped me in aluminum foil and I went out as a robot. Nobody knew we couldn't afford a costume, but everyone seemed to think that my costume was GREAT!! Got many many compliments on the fabulous idea!
Kathleen | 7:14 AM: No doubt my favorite was the homemade Princess Leia costume. Complete with side hair buns.
Suzie | 7:16 AM: I think my favorite costume was when I dressed up as Wonder Woman when I was in early elementary school. I had big old glasses and very short hair, but mom made me a wig and some silver bracelets, I donned my WW Underoos and some tights, and I was good to go.
Stacy | 7:17 AM: When I was about 8 years old, all I wanted to be was a cheerleader (thank God I grew out of that). My mom made me a skirt and I wore a long sleeve sweatshirt that had a big penguin on it. The only way you could tell I was a cheerleader was if I was holding the homemade pom-poms.
missamandabear | 7:20 AM: I've had far too many favorite costumes. I love to dress up for Halloween! Some notable ones were Sarah Failin, Pregnant Nun (I was legitimately pregnant), and Ninja Princess (I was 23 at the time - I rock).

I've been plotting and shopping for months to figure out what my daughter will be this year... still don't know.
dizzy is... | 7:20 AM: My favorite Halloween costume - the year my Mom painstakingly crafted and made me, my little brother & my little sister M & M costumes. At the time I hated it because I was in the 5th grade and entering an age of tween angst but I now have a picture from that Halloween framed and hanging in my house - me, the yellow M & M age 10, my brother the brown M & M age 8, my sister the red M & M age 5 - and it is by far my favorite childhood memory and photograph. My mom spent hours sewing the costumes (she is not a crafty or gifted seamstress) and we got to stuff them. She still has them in her attic.
Hespyhesp | 7:22 AM: My favorite costume of all time was when I was a hippy. It was before it became a popular costume choice and my mom had some vintage clothes her sister (bonafide flower child) used to wear. I love it the most because it was easy, comfortable and I won a costume contest at the Elks Lodge! ha!
divrchk | 7:23 AM: My favorite costume is probably my costume now. It's a witch's costume and my husband sewed me a gorgeous cape.
Amy | 7:23 AM: I loved loved a fairy costume my mom made for me at age 5...probably especially because it snowed on Halloween night that year!
Marianne | 7:23 AM: When I was 4, I was a bat, with cardboard wings. I loved it even though all of my friends were fairies.
Adriana | 7:23 AM: i was a "punk rocker" for my fourth Halloween. my mom spiked my hair into a mohawk, studded just about every piece of clothing i had on, and made me a cardboard guitar.
Katie Shea Britton | 7:32 AM: Loved my Strawberry Shortcake costume. I need to dig out the picture of my in it because I don't believe I've ever smiled so broadly or been so proud in my life!
Sonja Streuber, PMP(R), SSBB | 7:33 AM: Since I'm German, I"ll just talk about my Fasching costume, how's that? COWBOY!!! When I was 4 or 5, I loved being Little Joe from Bonanza. That didn't deter me from carrying the bow and arrows with me that my grandpa had made from a branch of a walnut tree and that I had painted with watercolors the night before the big parade.

Oh, and I HATED being a princess the year before. Guess the tomboy thing starts early.

Also, yes, you MUST post anything you do for Fable's second birthday right here because I need some ideas to steal for Little Miss Kickboxer's party in a couple of months. Ha1
Ashley | 7:35 AM: My favorite costume ... in high school, 5 of my friends and I went as a six-pack. We covered posterboard with aluminum foil, meticulously copied the label for Coors to go on top, and tied ourselves together with a combo of white pantyhose and duct tape. The "favorite" part comes into play with collecting candy as a 6 person, three-legged race. Lots of laughs.
Sarah | 7:36 AM: I dressed up as Wonder Woman one year, complete with plastic face mask. I felt invincible. :-)
MEINIA | 7:39 AM: My favorite costume was the year I dressed up as Gizmo. It was just one of those plastic smock-things that comes with the plastic mask, but I kept that Gizmo mask forever!
Sandra Pree | 7:43 AM: My fav costume EVER was the year I was a kitty cat! Best cat make-up! I was probably 4. I loved the tail!
Anonymous | 7:46 AM: My favorite costume was the one I wore last year for Halloween. I was a big, yellow Peep. I was also pregnant, so it was nice to not have to stuff the costume...my belly was stuffing enough ;)

sarahbauer4 at gmail dot com
Angie | 7:47 AM: My all-time favorite costume was Cyndi Lauper/random punk chick, which I did for years just because it was so fun.
Rebecca | 7:47 AM: My mom dressed me up as a Crayola crayon when I was about two. I don't remember it, but I love the photos.
Katie I. | 7:47 AM: Oh, my favorite costume was definitely the year I went as a "sparkle fairy." Which basically consisted of me putting on an old flower girl dress, then my mom spraying me down with glitter in a can. It didn't come out of my hair for weeks. HEAVEN (to a 6-year-old girl).
teresa | 7:49 AM: "This is a story about control..." The costume I remember most vividly is when I was Janet Jackson ("Pleasure Principal" era Janet) in elementary school. Third grade, was it? I was pretty much just dressed in all black with big hair, a la the album cover--bitchin'. I also remember that it was a misty,almost raining kind of day, so when it was time to get out of the car and walk into school my hair was 3x the size it was when we left the house. I CRIED! I didn't want to leave the car; I couldn't go into school looking like that. It's funny now, but ooh boy! Not then.
Katie Jane | 7:50 AM: My mom wasn't very creative when it came to Halloween, so I actually don't remember very many of my costumes. I was a clown a lot of years... so creepy. I do have one great memory from when I was four or so of dressing up like a hobo with my dad. That was really fun.
candace | 7:50 AM: My mom made me a hippie costume when I was in 4th grade and I freaking loved it. My fellow classmates did not get it but the adults thought it was great.
Alexis | 7:50 AM: Favorite costume so far for the kids was a lady bug- my daughter HATED it, so she was the pefect Grumpy Ladybug straight from Eric Carl's book
megan | 7:51 AM: I don't remember the exact costume, but I do remember that I was obsessed with my snow boots one year and wore them for 12 months straight, even with shorts. The Halloween that fell into that phase included my snow boots!
Leah | 7:52 AM: My favorite costume of all time was very simple, actually. It was a witch's costume--but the best one ever because of its simplicity. It was a black cape with a tall, pointed black hat that had a grey mop attached beneath it, for hair. Loved the witch look! As a side note, I am VERY impressed by your mother's abilities; that chicken costume rocks! How did she have the time, with two small kids?!
Jennifer | 7:55 AM: I think my favorite costume was Strawberry Shortcake, complete with weird plastic mask that had tiny eye holes!
Kayla | 7:55 AM: My next door neighbor was also a costume designer, for a theatre we had in town, and one year she sewed me a beautiful heidi costume to go with the hardcore ringlets I rocked as a child. It was white and red and had beautiful velvet ribbons and I won first place at the local library halloween parade.
Cave Momma | 7:55 AM: I loved my home made costumes. My dad was all sorts of creative with wires and hangers and what-not (wings of a butterfly, halo for an angel, etc). As simple as it was I think my favorite was a black cat. I loved cats and my dad made me an awesome wired tail so it would stay up and not drag on the ground and they attached it to my pants. A little uncomfortable but way worth it for the coolness factor. And of course I got a cool makeup job from my mom.

Love that first picture of Fable. I wish Olivia still fit in last years costume (a bee). She has asked to put it on many times since but she can't get it on and it was adorable!
grass ahn | 7:58 AM: My favorite costume was one made by my dad when I was 5--an artist-witch. I made sure to tell him of this artsy side of her. He got an oversized black shirt that came to my feet, cut the bottom into shreds, and designed the front and back with paint and black/gold/silver glitter. It sounds horrific here in print but it was hotness in life! He made me a crown, too!
Jessi | 7:59 AM: My favorite was a my little pony costume. I wore it two years in a row..then I was far too big for it, but I still begged.
Heathrow's World | 8:00 AM: My favorite was going as a clown one year. My mom painted my face and it looked totally awesome. Unfortuntely, I was on our way to school for the Halloween parade later that day, and they wouldn't allow you to show up at school with paint. You were supposed to wait until just before the parade. Well, mom worked, so that wasn't an option. Finally the teachers took pity on me, and let me keep my face painted. And then I had to sit through class looking like a clown...
Tatiana | 8:01 AM: My favorite costume was a princess one that my mom made me. It was beautiful and wearing it I understood that she loved me.
SkittleSkattle | 8:04 AM: My favorite costume was a fairy princess that my mom sewed. She was a fantastic sewer! I wish I had half the talent she did.
MichelleS | 8:07 AM: A witch (my older sis was one too and I HAD to be whatever she was being!) or a black cat.
Jenn | 8:08 AM: Growing up we didn't have money, but lived in a community that did. My mom as always aware of the disappointment and ridicule that her children would face if they didn't have a costume.
She always made our costumes and they were exactly what we wanted.
My favorite was a Hershey bar. A giant refrigerator box that my mom painted just like a hershey bar and then cut arm
Holes out the side. I wore brown tights and silver sparkle shoes. I was the envy of the parade.
To this day I smile when I see a hershey bar:)
I love my mom. My inspiration.
Unknown | 8:08 AM: The only store-bought costume I ever received was also my favorite -- Lemon Meringue (one of Strawberry Shortcake's pals). I wore it when I was 6.
wumples | 8:08 AM: My mom made me a Bee costume when I was verrrry small. It ended up fitting me for at least three Halloweens, and I wore it until I couldn't fit into it any longer.
Unknown | 8:09 AM: I think my favorite costume was Indiana Jones, complete with the hat (my dad's) but sadly lacking the whip.
Mary | 8:12 AM: My all time favorite costume came from the time my best friend and I were supposed to be "Silver Glitter Girls" for Halloween. Basically, we found a silver sequined fabric at the cloth store and decided to dress all in silver. My mom kept on putting off taking me to the cloth store, while my friend had bought her cloth weeks ago. The night before Halloween, I asked my mom again to take me to the cloth store and she decided (again) that she just didn't feel like it. She pulled out a gold Elvis costume in size 4x (I still have NO clue where that thing came from, as nobody in our family was a 4x or had an interest in being Elvis impersonators). She said "Here, honey, why don't you try to make something out of this instead?" The end result looked even worse (if that's possible) than the original. I was devastated and convinced that Halloween was ruined.

When I showed up to my friend's house on Halloween night in my fugly-as-hell costume, instead of laughing at its hideousness my friend said "Hey, do you want to wear my costume?" I gazed longingly at the glamorous silver dress she was wearing. "But what will you wear?" I asked. "Oh, I'll just wear my old hippie costume from last year. No big deal. C'mon, if we hurry, we have time to do a makeover on you and make you look like a movie star!"

My friend totally saved Halloween for me that year. I felt like a million bucks prancing around the neighborhood in my silver dress and as a result it's one of my favorite costumes ever :-)
Chambers Log | 8:12 AM: My favorite costume was Laura Bennett, from Project Runway. She was pregnant during her stint, so I went as her in a little black dress with a hooded sweatshirt for a baby bump. A guy was talking me up at a bar, until he turned around to see my bump and said, "oh $h1t, you're pregnant?" Too funny.
MamaMeg | 8:13 AM: One year I was a bag of groceries. It was the most creative we ever got and the best part was the feather duster coming out of the top.
Meghan Elaine | 8:13 AM: My favorite childhood Halloween costume was a princess ballerina, which afterwards became an everyday outfit. It was pink netting with sliver trim. So girly. So fun.

My favorite adult costume was a super hero number I put together for my first college party. AMAZING costume. But slightly humiliating when I walked in and was the only one dressed up (like Elle in Legally Blonde). At 18 this was embarrassing. Now, it would just be funny.
chirp, chirp, chirp | 8:14 AM: My fav was the hand me down unicorn costume. My sister was the first to wear it and I would ask each year after when I would be big enough to wear it. I loved that costume. It was the full head to not some cheesy facepaint or mask, my mom made a paper mache full head with horn unicorn.
Jenn | 8:14 AM: The only costume I remember from my childhood was a cat one: black leotard with attached tail, black tights, ear headband. It was pretty dang cute.
Steph | 8:16 AM: the costume that stands out the most in my mind is when I was a newspaper. I just taped newspapers to myself...and wore fake glasses for some reason. at the time (5 years old) I thought it was super clever!
AutumH | 8:17 AM: My favorite costume of all time...hmmm I'm not sure what childhood costume I loved a lot. I do remember a daffy duck costume quite vividly my grandma had gotten for me, complete with the plastic mask. My absolute favorite would have to be the mummy costume I made for my now 7 year old out of long johns and a sheet that I shredded and dyed then decorated with little plastic bugs and snakes.

autum22(at)gmail(dot)com
Kara | 8:18 AM: Definitely the princess dress my mom and grandma made for me in first grade. I think I tried to wear it several years later, too.
Mia | 8:18 AM: My favorite costume was a Glinda the Good Witch costume handmade for me by my grandmother, replete with tiara and wand. My sister went as Dorothy, obvs, and our baby brother was toto. Exceedingly cute.
Rashel | 8:19 AM: growing up we weren't allowed to celebrate halloween. so when i was 24 years old i dressed up for the first time! i went as a dead prom queen and it was a blast! old ass prom dress, amazing make up artist did me up so that i looked like i hard shards of glass in my face and neck, tiara, disheveled hair and converse. i might have not been a child anymore, but you can damn sure bet i was skipping down the street like one!!
Homegrown {& the Bug} | 8:21 AM: My favorite costume was most likely the one put together the year my sis and I dressed up as hobos. Seriously. I remember eyeliner dirt on our faces and defiling my mom's favorite plaid shirt. Good times :).
MissMolly | 8:22 AM: Mine was a clown costume that was made by my mom. All my sisters and I wore it. Molly
Jennifer | 8:23 AM: My mom and grandma made most of my costumes and since being pregnant she is slowly giving them back to me. I think my favorite was wonder woman. I had a gold star tiara, red top with gold all sewn into it, blue bottoms with stars, and a gold rope, white tights, and red knee highs. My brother was superman, pretty cute stuff.
Leslie | 8:24 AM: My favorite cosutme was a lion costume from the wizzard of oz. It was fuzzy and warm! Oh, and pretty darn cute, even if it is a bit common and predictable. :)
Meghan | 8:25 AM: My all time favorite costume was Pocahontas. My mom made it completely by herself. No pattern at all. I am still angry that it doesn't fit now. Ha!
Skance | 8:26 AM: My favorite costume was probably the year my Dad dressed me as Margaret Thatcher. I was maybe 4? No more than 5, certainly. I wore a cute little blue pinstripe suit dress (don't even know how they threw that together) and a grey wig my then 34 year old mother had lying around the house for some reason.
As a finishing touch, since the other 4 year olds weren't so political, Dad hung a sign with her picture and "The Iron Lady" stenciled on it.
MonoCerdo | 8:26 AM: When I was in second grade my mom sewed me an incredible penguin costume and it totally won me first prize in the school contest. Sadly, my most vivid memory of the outfit was that the head was a little too big, so I had to bite the inside of the beak to keep it from slipping down, meaning by the end of the night I was a total drooling mess. But otherwise, genius costume.
cait | 8:27 AM: My favorite halloween costume from my childhood was a pirate. I was in 3rd grade and I had a full pirate costume, with a beard, sword - the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, it wasn't the warmest costume and it rained and was about 40 degrees all night!
kelli(q) | 8:28 AM: I wasn't allowed to do Halloween as a child, for Bible-belt-inspired reasons, but last year I loved my costume. I went as the Tooth Fairy, and wore a necklace of "teeth" I made out of clay strung onto dental floss. I also carried around a pair of pliers.
Anne-tastic! | 8:29 AM: My favorite costume was Beaker. I used a strapless body suit to make as the basis of his face, a nerf ball for his nose.. I wrapped an orange boa just under my armpits for his hair. I wore a men's shirt open at the collar with a tie and lab coat as a skirt. It was a hit!
s|davis | 8:30 AM: My favorite was Ragidy Ann. Oh that yarn wig was a "hot mess". Ha!

What a delightful giveaway. We love us some old navy!
Laura | 8:31 AM: I was a witch more years than I can count!
Unknown | 8:33 AM: My favorite childhood costume was a 50's sock hopper. My grandma had closets full of costumes, and one of the authentic felt poodle skirts fit me - I remember loving that skirt and the layers and layers of tulle that I piled beneath it! Thanks for the chance to win!
carrie murphy | 8:34 AM: when i was in sixth grade, i dressed up as a tomato (my favorite food then and now). my mom made me a tomato costume from a pattern and i wore these black patent leather sneakers with it, which i thought was totally cool and off-beat. i had a felt green hat, too

it was awesome. other sixth-graders kind of looked askance, but i love love LOVED it.
Karen Cordano | 8:34 AM: In high school, when we were way too old to go trick or treating, my best friend and I went as Axl Rose and Slash.
Lisa | 8:34 AM: My favorite, rather my husbands favorite, was the hand-made HEMAN costume that his mom made. Complete with fake fur loin cloth and boots. His skinny butt was no match to HEMAN though. More like a starved caveboy.
Whitney | 8:35 AM: My favorite costume was when I went as... wait for it... DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN! It was awesome. Partly because my costume was perfect - found all the parts at Goodwill and other such stores - and because I wore it proudly. I really miss the version of me who was too wise to let judgment or other toxic opinions get in the way. I was really, really happy. :)
My Bottle's Up! | 8:36 AM: i LOVED my "barbie and the rockers" costume that i made one year... complete with leotard, diagonally cut-off tshirt with christmas tinsel hot glued on, puffy paint "BARBIE AND THE ROCKERS" across the front, pink leggings, jean skirt, side ponytail.

i rocked that shit.
Kristie | 8:36 AM: Gotta be snow white as a child of the '80s, complete with plastic mask and plastic "dress" that tied in the back like a hospital gown.
Unknown | 8:36 AM: It was store bought, but I loved my Wonder Woman costume. I wore it all the time after Halloween. I wore it with my Roo boots and used my jumprope for my lasso and felt just like a super hero.
Anne | 8:37 AM: My great-grandmother made me the cutest poodle skirt I'd ever seen - the poodle was pink, omg!!

Gray skirt, big and puffy, swirled when I twirled. Generally fabulous. So I wore it for THREE HALLOWEENS STRAIGHT. Saddle oxfords, pink cardigan, poofy skirt, curled ponytail, Chantilly Lace on my Care Bear boom box.

My mom BEGGED me to get a new costume, but no. A classic's a classic!
Sara McGinness | 8:37 AM: My favorite costume was when i was in 5th grade and my best friends mom made us matching m&m costumes. they were huge and had pouches in the front for candy. it was all kinds of awesome.
Amy | 8:40 AM: My favorite costume was the gypsy costume my mom made for me in second grade. I LOVED it and wore the skirt for years! So boho awesome, I thought. Nola lives for tutus and costumes. This morning she is wearing an apron because she is Chef Nola.
UL | 8:41 AM: Sea creature. All green with flippers on feet. My sister is a costume genious in our family.
lauradustin | 8:41 AM: I think my favorite costume was a punk rocker. I had a black mini skirt, one of those spin art shirts that where so popular in 1986, and large crimped hair.
Clare | 8:43 AM: Fable could totally be Madeline in that blue dress.

Costume favorites: This year, I'm being a troll doll. Peach leggings and top, hair dyed blue and standing straight up, giant fake jewel hot-glued to my belly.

Favorite from the past: A female friend who went as a male figure skater: lots of glitter, full body skating outfit, bad mustache and a sock...in just the right spot...
adventure reno | 8:45 AM: my favorite was definitely elvira when I was around 8/I think I gave my mom a minor heart attack when I asked to be her, but she pulled it off.
LiciaLee | 8:50 AM: My favorite costume ever was a zebra costumje I wore in my teens. I was a zebra for like three years. :D I can't wait to dress up my baby girl for the first time this year!
Sarah | 8:51 AM: My favorite costume was actually last year, when I was a jellyfish. I glittered myself up and then carried around an umbrella with streamers hanging off of it. The kids loved it!

That dress reminded me of Madeline, that is what Fable should be! And Archer could be Pepito, and you could be Miss Clavel! How cute would that be!
lepisosteidae | 8:53 AM: My best halloween costume was an accident/compromise - when I was five or six, I was supposed to be a princess, but it was one of the rainiest, coldest halloweens on record, and even attempts to put on long underwear under my dress didn't work. So I had a green rain jacket and one of our neighbors did dragon face paint for me. I was awesome! And I remember it way more vividly than I'm sure I would have if things had worked out as planned.
Laura R. | 8:55 AM: I was a graduate for my last year of trick or treating. I was 13 and frantically rummaging through clothes in the basement ten minutes til 8 (when the trick or treating was supposed to start) and though I looked sooo stupid in my sister's cap and gown next to my friend, dressed as Britney Spears. We had a great time though, and I'll never forget that silly costume, which may be my favorite because I can remember it the best!
The Other Laura | 8:56 AM: I dressed as a gypsy for many years using my Mom's cast offs. I am still partially to swirly skirts!
Tovi | 8:58 AM: My favorite costume was given to me by my oldest son. He told me to wear all black (easy 'nuff) and he, at age 5, took his shaky hand to my face and drew a black cat nose and whiskers. It was utterly precious.

I loved Halloween as a child, but I truly love it anew through my son's (now 8) love of Halloween...

Thanks for the contests.
Birdie | 8:59 AM: My all-time favorite costume was Scarlet O'Hara, made by my mom when I was about 10. She made me a beautiful purple dress with lots of lace and frills and under it was a hoop made of clothes hangers. I had a big, wide hat like she wore in the picnic scene.

I felt so beautiful all day long.
EmilysHollow | 9:01 AM: Mine would be a canary costume my mom made me in....third grade, I think? It was so great.

One that wasn't MINE, per se, was one my mom made my brother: wolf in sheeps clothing. So rad.
cora d | 9:01 AM: For myself, my favorite was my Strawberry Shortcake costume, the kind with the plastic mask and dress. I loved that thing - the smell and poking my tongue through the little hole in the mouth. Plus, I looked *just* like Ms. Shortcake.

For my daughter, well, she's only had one costume, but it was awesome. She was less than a month old for her first Halloween. I dressed her up in a blue fleece bunting and attached ribbons to the foot area. She became a comet.
Lauren E. E. | 9:03 AM: My favorite costume is Sleepy Dwarf. My six girlfriends and I went as the Seven Dwarves. The costumes were not all that great, but that Halloween was nearly 20 years ago and we're still close friends and refer to the group as the Dwarves. So it wasn't the costume but the friends that I look back on and smile.
Megan | 9:04 AM: I was Minnie Mouse. My mom hand made a hat with ears and a bow and I wore clothes like hers. That, or being "Miss Understood" in a neon purple bridesmaid dress. Best use of a bridesmaid dress ever...
L.L. | 9:05 AM: My favorite costume was Cinderella, mostly for the shoes. They were my first heals, they were clear (plastic, lucite...whatevs) with little pieces of glitter on them. I loved those shoes sooooo much, unfortunetly they were borrowed, otherwise I would have probably wanted to wear them everyday.
lauren | 9:06 AM: i totally see fable wear that blue dress and going as 'madeline' the book character!! :) just an idea!
my all-time favorite halloween costume was the 'world' costume my mom made for me. it was a soft, flat globe made out of fabric [printed with the continents and the animals that would roam on each...very true to life!]. she stuffed it up a little bit with cotton batting. i loved it! plus, it was quite warm! :)
yay! for homemade costumes!!
*
Stef | 9:07 AM: I'll never forget the year my best friend and I went trick-or-treating as "Manic-Depression." She was Depression, and I was Mania (which I think ended up being more fun, for obvious reasons). We were around 14 or 15, and "too old to trick-or-treat", so we invented the conceptual costumes ourselves at the last minute.
Dena | 9:09 AM: I was a princess one year, and my Mom made me this great hat with colored ribbons streaming from it.
Ashley | 9:09 AM: I wish I had a favorite but I'm pretty sure my mom made me be a witch like 5 years in a row because it was easy and we already had all the stuff.

Don't worry, I am much more creative with my own kids and my favorite so far has been the zombie I made my eldest into last year. Complete with knawed on bone (deer not human).
Andrea | 9:10 AM: My favorite costume when I was a kid was one my mom had originally made for my big brother. He went as a boxer when he was about 8. She made the shiny, satin shorts, and a cape to match, got him some heavy-duty gloves, and made him up with a black eye. For some reason, I thought this was AWESOME, and I wore the costume myself when I was 7 or 8.

Little did I realize that those gloves impeded holding your candy-filled pillowcase in a MAJOR way.
Lisa C. | 9:13 AM: my favorite costume was when mom dressed me and my twin up as a pair of dice

lcrum at nova dot edu
Laura L. | 9:13 AM: My favorite costume was a witch one my mom made one year

pharmstudent01 at yahoo dot com
k | 9:14 AM: My mom (and father) got really into Halloween and also made our costumes every year! My favorite was my "Morticia" costume. I was 12 and felt sooo cool and pretty because I felt so grown up! But my all-time favorite costume was my brothers' "zombie guy holding his own, live talking head" made with a flannel covered box, with his head sticking out of the "stomach". Halloween is the best holiday!