Something Wicked This Way Comes
crafting a halloween costume you'll wear again plus a round-up of wacky, whimsical, fantastically spooky vintage and secondhand things
Happy Wednesday, friends!
I just wanted to take a moment and share that this is my 99th newsletter! Woweeeee Thank you for being a dedicated Trash Head — I can’t thank you enough for letting me take up valuable space in your inbox and internet life.
I’ll be back early next week with a very special 100th newsletter, filled with 1-0-0 vintage and secondhand finds!
Thank you for being here, truly✨
xo,
G
P.S. - this one is long, view in your browser!
For being a person who does not understand the thrill of having the pants scared off of one’s self, I absolutely live-laugh-love the crispy, autumnal spookiness October brings. Nothing thrills like the flickering candlelight of a gloomy, cloudy afternoon or the crispy wind whistling through an evening breeze —the most wonderful time of the year, indeed.
While I am sane enough to understand every season has its reason, I’m autumn or bust, baby!
It is important to note, however, that I absolutely die-cry-loathe legitimately
🔪scary🔪 things. Like, the really really scary stuff - horror-y, super gory, gross-y nasty scary is a big ol’ no-m’am-no-thank-you. If it involves a possessed doll/baby/child/robot doll-baby-child that’s even worse. And if it’s a slasher/saw/let’s-play-a-fucked-up-game I am also most definitely not going to be watching it. Consider this my official campaign for Hulu to add a “Big Huge Weenie” filter in their ad settings — the amount of times I’ve had to sleep with the lights on after seeing the same terrifying preview every single ad cycle…blech!!
My love of October as a month and Halloween as a holiday (as well as most of the things that make me, me) is really all thanks to my grandmother and the goddess of Halloween, Shirley Ann. She was a fierce crafter, seamstress, maker and doer and the more time my sister and I spent with her, the more we became her tiny DIY shadows. She had a particular talent for looking at something in an expensive shop, examining it carefully, and then going home and recreating it no matter if it meant sewing, sculpting, painting or whittling.
Life put us under the custody of my grandmother when she was attempting to enjoy extracurriculars outside of the working world, the thought of raising two more children I’m guessing not in her ideal retirement plan. Living with her meant abiding by her routine; we watched Martha Stewart instead of Mickey Mouse and made whatever craft she was thinking up right alongside her (and her ashtray 😅)
But what this really meant to me, as a kid, was being absolutely spoiled when it came to Halloween. From the raddest rock n’ roll star with a full sized papier mâché guitar, to Padmé Amidala, she magically crafted our wildest kid dreams into fruition. She was featured on the front page of our local newspaper not once but twice, and we won multiple contests throughout the many years she designed our costumes.
There is no doubt that my slightly obsessive love for going over-the-top on this holiday comes from her. While I may not understand the thrill of pooping my pants in fear or shielding my eyes in disgust, I absolutely love something witchy-spooky-gothic-macabre-wacky-campy-surreal and am a firm believer that there are plenty of ways to DIY something delightfully strange and somewhat peculiar that doesn’t involve buying 98% of the stupidly expensive, highly flammable literal garbage at Spirit Halloween that gives me massive, massive Trash Panic.
And of course, there is privilege found in having the time, energy and funds when trying to make the most of any holiday. If you can’t summon the flames directly from hell, store-bought is fine!! We can’t all be a retired Shirley, meticulously sewing our afternoons away, perfecting the perfect ensemble, decoration or party favor. I do believe, however, you can pull together a fun costume with very little time, money, and effort if only equipped with your imagination, a very sharp pair of scissors and a hot glue gun! The fast fashion-ification of costumes has gotten absolutely out of control and there’s so much you can do to make a costume wacky and wild that doesn’t require buying a bunch of stuff you’ll never wear again or will directly be donating the moment the clock strikes November 1st.
I’m also discovering, thanks to TikTok, that there seems to be this new pressure to pull out a super-niche-super-specific-super-obscure costume that nobody else has thought of. I take issue with that! While we all love an out-of-the-box-witty-pun-quirky-pop-culture-reference, there is no such thing as too many (not so scary, please) clowns, ghosts, vampires, and witches! They are the foundation of which the campiness of the holiday was built upon and I don’t think you need to be panicking about being some crazy niche thing when you could just have ✨FUN✨!
So here are two themes, vibes, and party ideas I have floating around my head if I were to get totally wacky and crazy this Halloween season. I have dreams of throwing a very lavish annual Halloween shindig that becomes the talk of the town but alas we don’t have enough friends here to really make that a reality (big womp at making friends as an adult.) Maybe next year I’ll host a Halloween Trash Panic Costume Ball? Now that’s an idea…
The Weird Wacky Whimsical Creepy Kaleidoscope Vibe
While I, like most Halloween lovers, find the color combination of orange and black to be both classy and classic, we must begin to think outside the box when it comes to dreaming up a festive mood board! I love the idea of skewing more primary colors, wacky patterns, vintage clown circus whimsy (of the not terrifying variety.)
If I were to throw a party with this theme, I would decorate like this…
green and yellow striped silk moire ribbon ($15.90 a yard)- silk moire is such a crazy, sexy, fun textile that can be as fancy or as funky as your heart desires. I would tie big bows everywhere and dangle some from a chandelier or sconce.
brass star napkin rings (set of 12, $19.95) - these are a repeat find, but I think they are multi-holiday functional and you could use them beyond the traditional napkin holder use
red and yellow striped taffeta fabric ($13.99 a yard) - I would use as a tablecloth or wrapped around big vases/bouquets or make faux window valances or a theater curtain entrance - get creative!
polka dot napkins (set of 9, $20)
brass round candlestick holders ($40) - I love how funky these are!
vintage harlequin candlestick holder ($32) - a delightful mix of creepy and cute
vintage cotton spun clown party toothpicks (set of 6, $35, buy on eBay) - I love old cotton spun decor…definitely wouldn’t put these near food given the age and suspect glue, but it does make delightful party decor
ombré mcm punch bowl (14 piece set, $275) - expensive but such an investment piece for chic parties and would risk the potential traces of lead (I would message the seller and see if they would be willing to test it before buying?)
vintage party hats (set of 3, $24, buy on eBay) - I would use these as decoration and then make new ones for all my guests using these as inspo
carnival glass apple candy dish ($23.80 on sale) - a poison apple candy dish?!
porcelain dessert cups (set of 3, $15, buy on eBay)
Listen to this…
And dress up like this…
harlequin vibes
a napoleon-esque bicorn hat - you could craft yourself one out of some felt instead of spending $1k on this one
harlequin blazer (fem s, $128)
vintage ruffle hot pants (vintage fem s, $40)
striped christian louboutin boots (fem 7, $545, very good condition)
alien 60’s vibes
i would do a browse through Juno Birch’s IG for inspo 👽
fendi sunglasses ($105, good condition)
vintage sequin mini dress (see measurements, $201, buy on eBay)
feather evening bag ($42)
satin feel neck tie wrap ($26)
khaite silver knee high boots (fem 7.5, $318, good condition)
pierrot clown vibes
pierrot hat - craft yourself one from a party hat! (or there’s this one)
polka dot balloon sleeve blouse (fem m, $66 on sale) - this top is insane and I won’t lie it’s sitting in my cart, someone go buy it before i do
striped taffeta skirt (36"-38" waist, $89)
marc jacobs kiki boots (fem 11, $395, good condition)
The Sultry Sexy Slightly Freaky Peculiar Vibe
I have a confession: I don’t love the color purple, the really bright kind that makes me think of a certain kid show dinosaur just doesn’t do it for me. I am, however, starting to come around to it when it appears in a more vintage-baroque-goth-vampire-haunted-mansion kind of way. There’s so many decades you could dive into in this color scheme: 40’s surreal, 50’s pin up, 60’s campy witch, 80’s cartoon!
If I were to throw a party with this theme, I would decorate like this…
This is a party theme where you have to use your imagination and probably utilize a Joann’s craft store coupon and buy all the drippy candles Ikea has to offer.
black silk moire ribbon ($34 per yard) - I told you I’m obsessed with silk moire… I know we all claim to be over bows but I think some really big ones wrapped around some candle sticks would be very cool
silver post modern candle holders ($22.20)
iridescent cellophane ($7.99 for 5ct 18”x 30” sheet) - wrap your serving bowls, vases, or layer cellophane on your food table
vintage embroidered masquerade napkins ($395, set of 5) - so expensive, so cool, so collectible
skull salt and pepper shakers ($14.37 on sale)
studs and spikes of varying sizes ($2.25+) - stick spikes on things! fruits? candles you aren’t planning to burn?
lot of silver serving trays ($145, set of 5) - don’t buy these…thrift them!
spiderweb drinking glasses ($49, set of 4) - I’m sure these also have lead in them but damn they are awesome to look at
vintage hanging skeleton ($65)
Listen to this…
And dress up like this…
y2k vampire
stuart townsend is #notmylestat but Queen of the Damned is one of my favorite best worst movies of all time and the y2k lewks in that film are impeccable and I would use that as inspiration.
studded long trench (vintage medium, $95, buy on eBay)
y2k lace top (fem small, $35)
lime green leather pants (NOS, vintage 12, $95)
stuart weitzman embossed boots (fem 8, $369, pristine condition)
goth vampire
i think you can switch this out for a devil or a skeleton or whatever - the key is a ridiculous over the top dress or maybe even a skirt suit? more masc short suit? the velvet cape is a must, however.
victor costa purple feather dress (fem s, $115)
studded over the knee doc martens (new but on sale $189)
spidery femme fatale
there’s room to get really creative here - spiderweb cape out of tulle? latex gloves?
lamé spiderweb dress (see measurements, $239)
1940s scarf hat ($78)
bottega veneta metallic mule heels (fem 7, $598.50 on sale, very good condition)
Well, there ya have it.
Damn, this always takes so much longer than I expect lol
As always, I have so many vintage finds saved that I think would make a cool costume… I might consider a part II dump of just vintage finds…
Let me know if anything isn’t linked correctly!
See you for Dispatch 100!
Until then,
xo,
G
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This was such a fun read. The effort you put into these posts! Thank you and I will be singing Killing Moon allll day.
Glenn, you are totally invited to my annual October party! Our theme this year is Undead and my husband and I are going as Laszlo and Nadia from What We Do in the Shadows. 💕 I build all our costumes from our closets. Love your inspiration pics here!