It’s only Halloween!

Okay, so this year I might actually wear a “real” costume. No, it won’t be anything super creative but something close to my heart and my own retro-sensibilities. I will attempt to dress like a 1950s teenager (though I now realize that my outfit more closely fits with the late 1950s-early 1960s). Over the weekend, I attempted to draw inspiration from watching old movies, including Gidget (Yes, I'm a fan of Sandra Dee!).

I plan on wearing the adorable party dress that I bought this summer. The dress is white with tiny black dots, a fitted bodice and a somewhat full, swing skirt. I hope to pair it with a black sweater, flats and a headband (btw, the look at the right is what I'm going for). The outfit isn’t really appropriate for a fall day so I’ll definitely be cold tomorrow night in Georgetown or Adam’s Morgan.

Yesterday, I went to Meeps in Adam’s Morgan for cat-eye glasses, one of the three things (white gloves, headband, and glasses) I was stressing out about. Despite my special trip for the glasses, I’m feeling just so-so about them because they’re plastic, very costume-y and I can’t see out of them.

My main dilemma is figuring out if I want to flip my hair out or under with a slight bouffant. A traditional flip will be a major hassle and require lots of hairspray. Even then, I’m quite sure that it will fall flat by the end of the day.

I did a trial run of a flip this morning. I spent like 45 minutes setting my hair in rollers last night and had trouble sleeping comfortably (It’s pretty crazy that this would have been the norm for women during that time). This morning, my hair was full and perfectly flipped out--until I started fiddling around and ruining the tight curls. Tomorrow, I’m gonna do as little as possible styling with my fingers and focus on setting it with hairspray.

It is so typical that I’m getting stressed out about a holiday that is all about fun and creative license. I just feel that I need to work overtime to make up for all the years that I put so little effort into a costume (e.g., in 2006, I wore cat ears). This year is all about 1950s/1960s authenticity and fun. Wish me well.