Fun fact: I love Halloween. I went trick-or-treating until I was 18. True story. (The fact I have a younger sister who I would take on the Oct. 31 rounds helped me get away with this.)
Not-so-fun fact: I still don't have a costume idea. Those who know me well understand that this is a problem. I can't recall ever cutting it so close. I'm usually narrowing down a shortlist by the beginning of October. So this business of having only days remaining until the big day is most distressing.
So I really have to hunker down and put my imagination to work before the weekend rolls around, because I can't simply go out and pick up a prefabricated outfit. My costumes need to be pulled together from thrift shop finds and terribly uneven hand stitching. When brainstorming, I find it helps to listen to highly melodramatic music that are accompanied by outlandish videos. One of my favourites in this genre is Helena by My Chemical Romance. The band's 2005 single from their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album is dark and weird and macabre. Everything I need to get the Halloween juices flowing. Check it out on YouTube: http://youtu.be/KSNKCfxcYvE
