(story by Mir, from Woulda Coulda Shoulda.com)
Happy day-after-Halloween! I trust everyone is nursing a fun-size sugar hangover, as is practically mandated by law. I remember the first year I realized that parenthood meant I could sneak my kid's candy. Bonus!
Of course, Halloween got me thinking back to my own childhood, back before all costumes were either too slutty or too scary. When I was a kid—back in the 70s, you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth—costumes were purchased from places like KMart and consisted of one flimsy plastic smock and a matching thin plastic mask that covered the entire face and secured around the back of your head with a piece of elastic. If you didn't want a costume of the plastic-smock-and-mask variety, you could of course put together your own version of a witch, hobo, etc., if you were inclined to make your own.
I loved the plastic masks. I have a vivid memory of the year I went as Raggedy Ann. Nowadays, if you want to buy a Raggedy Ann costume (notice how I'm skipping right over how probably no one even knows who she is, anymore), it'll cost you big bucks to get the dress, pantaloons, apron, and maybe even a yarn wig. Then you have to do the makeup to match, of course. But back then? Smock! Mask! Done. The smock was useful, anyway, because it meant even us kids in the frigid north could dress up and not ruin our costumes with our snowsuits—the smock fit over the outerwear.
But the mask, man. The mask. I loved the mask, even though the eye holes were never quite right, so it was kind of hard to see, and it would make my face feel all clammy. My voice sounded funny, coming out of the tiny mouth hole, and of course you couldn't see me at all. Which is what I liked.
Don't get me wrong, I liked getting candy, too (obviously), but I really loved a society-sanctioned couple of hours to just wander around being someone else. Raggedy Ann was always cheerful, and everyone loved her. One year I went as some bizarre Darth-Vader-looking robot (wearing a full-head mask made from a kit) and I delighted in breathing heavily, trying to sound like Darth Vader. I was pure evil! And that was fine. I could demand what I wanted (candy) and that was fine, too.
The only response to a Halloween costume when you show up at someone's door begging for candy is, "My, don't you look cute!" or "Ooooh, scary!" One year I decided to branch out and make a costume, so I went as… a stock of boxes. That year I got a couple of "And what are you?"s in my travels, but then there were a few chuckles and comments about how clever I was.
I didn't have to be me. Whatever I was feeling, whatever I thought about how I looked, for a few hours it didn't matter. I was safe behind a mask, and when it was time to take it off? There were peanut butter cups and peppermint patties and all other kinds of goodies. Pure reward for hiding. Something about that appealed to me, deeply.
As an adult, I don't really dress up for Halloween very often, anymore. When my kids begged for me to wear a costume, too, I bought myself a crazy wig made of feathers. But I don't cover my face, because these days, masks make me feel weird and claustrophobic.
Did you dress up yesterday? How do you feel about wearing a mask, and have your feelings changed over the years?
(read more Mir here)
My comfort with wearing a mask changes with how I’m feeling about myself. If I’m in a good and confident space, I feel fine slipping behind or into a costume. If I’m feeling vulnerable, I feel like a costume is magnifying me not hiding me. I wore a mask last night with the kids, and we all had so much fun.
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My family didn’t celebrate Halloween. I can honestly say that at 35, I have never, not once, dressed up for Halloween. I like the idea, and I like dressing my kids up, but I never have. It just seems weird to start now, you know?
So as for masks? I’ve never worn a physical halloween mask. I like make-up, but hate wearing it. The older I get, the less I want to ever put makeup on, even to go out with my husband. I’ve just always been kind of a “this is me. take it or leave it” kind of person, and that seems to be more pronounced in a less in-your-face kind of way the older I get.
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When I was 4 years old, my big sister (11 years older), *made* me a Raggedy Ann costume. She sewed a simple floral dress and a white apron and even somehow crafted a red yarn wig. I had striped socks of some sort. I don’t think they were red and white, but whatever it was, it was close enough.
It was ADORABLE! It’s one of my favorite memories of my big sister…and I have a lot of them. Even though she was a teenager (and don’t we associate the teen years with a lot of self-interest?) she LOVED mothering me. And I worshipped her. Still do, as a matter of fact.
You know where this is going, right? OF COURSE I was sick on Halloween night and didn’t get to go out trick-or-treating. But I wore that costume as much as I could until I grew out of it.
And masks? Nope. Never wear them. I don’t like stuff on my face.
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Nope, not into masks. We were the ‘make your own costume’ kind of family. I swore I would never buy a costume for my own son (some kind of moral superiority anti-consumerism brownie points? not sure) but I totally caved and bought a tigger costume which turns out to have been the BEST THING mommy has ever done! Every morning I get “Hi Mommy! Tigger?” and the costume goes on, every night I have to wrestle it off of him to go to sleep. It is adorable and worth every penny. He’s three and I think I should probably start a ‘disney products’ savings account now, to get a jump on things. Sigh.
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I have a Darth Vader mask that I’ll occasionally make an exception and don when the time calls for it, but I generally don’t wear masks. They’re uncomfortable, and there was that really creepy Goosebumps book where the kid can’t get the mask off.
I did recently paint my face blue for another costume (it was for a convention as opposed to Halloween). There was a white wig involved too, but the rest of the outfit consisted of regular clothes. Weird thing I discovered was that strangers are much more comfortable hitting on girls with blue faces. I have never been “HEY BABY”ed so much in my life.
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I wasn’t allowed masks because, apparently, if you put on a mask and have anonymity WHAMMO you’re just going to run amock (amock amock amock) doing terrrible and evil things. No, really, that was the reason my dad gave me. What that says about his opinion of my moral fibre I don’t even want to explore.
It was sad too because OH did I covet one of those plastic masks. It was right up there with squishy white bread and Cool Whip as Things I Am Not Allowed and Desperately, Desperately Desire. (note: the bread and cool whip were banned by my granola-crunchy mum, not by my religion, but as a kid I totally didn’t get the difference. I once, very seriously, informed a slightly baffled neighbor that dishwashers were against my beliefs).
I did eat squishy white bread for a while, and tried Cool Whip (before quickly realizing the real stuff is WAY better) but I never did get a mask. I didn’t like the claustrophobic feeling and the way it stripped away all my emotions. Nope, I’ll face the world with my own face, even if it’s smothered in green face paint and adorned with psychedelic contacts!
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Love, love, love Hocus Pocus!
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Hee hee why yes I did dress up yesterday. Just so my husband could officially call me a “she-devil” and be truthful. Weren’t allowed to celebrate as a kid. Evil spirits and pagan rituals ya know? Not a fan of masks but I’ll do the make-up thing. Masks are uncomfortable literally, can’t breathe in the things.
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I have great ideas when it comes to my kids and none when it comes to me. I avoid dressing up if I can.
As a teen, our drama dept. went to a mall before xmas all dressed as toys. I was inside some huge, hot costume, looking out a mesh screen from its mouth. I was so anonymous I started doing cartwheels IN THE MALL. AS A TEENAGER. I loved that freedom!
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I remember two masks in particular. Big Bird and Smurfette. My daughter was Smurfette this year, and there were no masks. I guess the assumption is that you’ll paint your face instead. She didn’t want to do that, so she was a very pale Smurfette with blue arms and legs. I think that’s a shame.
On the other hand, when she got separated from us at the community TOT event, I didn’t call her name, I called for Smurfette. People would find her that way, you know? Like you said, it’s more about how people see you than who you are, I guess.
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Yes, claustrophobic now, and uncomfortable (physically) then . . but unmasked, I would have never dared go hit up strangers for candy!
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I am a property manager for an elderly apartment complex, and I did dress up for their Halloween party. I put on my #43 Steelers jersey and a long black wig and was Troy Polamalu. That’s the first time I’ve dressed for Halloween in probably 15 years or more.
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I did a last minute Professor McGonagall costume for a family costume party we went to on Saturday. (One kiddo was Hermione and the other was Ron) No mask, but a hat and glasses – no one recognized me! It was weird. Also, apparently I can pass for a 70YO rather well. Kinda scary.
Oh and your mask talk brought me back in time to the warm, damp, moist feeling of the inside of my Snow White mask (and then later R2D2 mask). Hated the condensation from warm breath/cold air mixed with plastic.
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When my husband & I met, (little over 10 yrs ago,) we were hanging w/a group who went out EVERY weekend. It wasn’t “are you going to the party?” It was, “What’s the theme for this one?” We LOVE to dress up! (Guess I’m a closet drama geek or something.) This group of friends was so into it, that often times we would show up for the party & be the only ones who really went all out. Our “ringleader” owned an RV and we’d all ride in that, so if the party was lousy we could always have our own party in the RV. I like to “theme” my kids’ b-day parties too. We had a “mad-hatter’s tea party” for a “One-derland” themed 1st b-day. Had everyone wear funky hats. GREAT theme. Awesome pix!
We have two large bins of costumes for us, (the adults)! The girls LOVE dress up & have a huge amount of costume/costume-like stuff. So yeah, we dress up. We’ll create a reason, if we don’t have one. But was never much into the mask thing; too hot, too hard to function. For us, dressing up is more about being cleaver than hiding. Sadly, this year, I did NOT even don my witches hat. It was my year to pass out candy, (daddy got trick-or-treat duty). I didn’t have it on & once the kids started showing up; I couldn’t get away from the door to go get it from the next room.
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