A WEEK OF DRESSING RIDICULOUSLY: COSTUMES FOR HALLOWEEN AND BEYOND

Jeez Louise, people take costume parties seriously nowadays. It’s like New Years Eve and a wedding rolled into one, all the build up for a single evening and all this time and energy spent on an outfit you’ll only wear once. That is, unless, you’re like me and you find yourself recycling outfits year after year. (For a few years, I’d do anything that involved a smoky eye. Pirate, Aladin, etc.) Or worse: that you can put together a costume without having to go shopping. Take, for example, my first costume of the season, which was a leather daddy bike dude – I knew the Zana Byne leather harness I wore to the Met gala when the them was Punk would come in handy sooner later.

This year’s dress-up season started with my friend Sarah Hoover’s birthday, ran through Halloween, and ended with the LACMA Art + Film gala in LA. I’m not sure why Sarah insisted on a costume party; I can only assume it had something to do with the white Alaia dress she wanted to wear and it only being appropriate to do so if it was under the guise of an angel costume. (I personally preferred Tom Sach’s costume that night: Pervert.)

Halloween this year fell on a Friday, which would be convenient if Halloween was a one-night only event. No longer, my friends. Now it’s more like Halloween. Alison Sarofim’s annual Halloween bash at her townhouse in New York’s West Village was on the 26th, which meant Joan, Lazaro and I had to scramble for our ensembles. ‘Where’s Waldo’ seemed like a fitting look for me, she whipped together a ninja outfit she picked up at a Ricky’s, and Lazaro borrowed one of the four Mexican wrestling masks I have in my closet. (Don’t ask.)

The next day I had to travel to LA for some shoots – like I said, Where’s Waldo was on the nose for me –  which meant I could make it for my friend Kate’s fabulous annual fete on the 30th and then the Trick or Treat’ers at my friend Jacqui’s the next day. I must say this with humility: Dasha and I killed it with our costumes this year. We went as the distressed couple from the Roy Lichtenstein comic strips, though we really have the nice people at MAC to thank for our dotted complexions. (Thank you, Cynthia and Tiffany!) The night ended with the two of us rolling around on the bathroom floor in fits of giggles trying to de-dot ourselves, which was probably why I was too pooped to go for it on the actual Halloween. I guess you could say I blew my Hallow-wad early because on the night of the 31st, I was lazy, wore a boring mask, and was in bed before midnight.

Finally, in the spirit of dressing up, the following night was the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s annual Art + Film fundraiser. That costume was easy: The navy blue Fendi tuxedo I have in the back of my closet. Kate, Dasha, Eva and the rest of the girls were turned out in Gucci ensembles. The evening celebrated Quentin Tarantino, who was rather reserved during his remarks, and the artist Barbara Kruger. Her video montage was awe-inspiring (I’m going to see if I can find it online and post it here), and her speech was touching. I thought she was an appropriate coda to my week of dressing ridiculously. After all, in high school, I had a picture of one of her famous works pinned to my bedroom bulletin board. It said: “I shop, therefore I am.”