I'm one of those people who plan what I'm going to wear the
following year, the day after Halloween! I know I'm not alone in
this bizarre behavior. We become childlike in our love of dress
up. This desire to pick the best costume is tenfold if we plan on attending
Halloween parties, entering any contest, or just having the
best costume on the block.
The amount of costumes are staggering, with the help of the
internet you have the ability to see
costumes that are not readily available to you locally. You can find amazing prices when buying more
than one and many sites offer FREE shipping, that's a bonus!
Here’s a little history on
Halloween costumes:
If you read my post on the Origins of "Trick or Treat" you will remember that Halloween began as “Souling” in the Middle
Ages. The poor and their children would
dress in costumes and beg door to door for treats, cakes known as “souls”.
This day was known Hallowmas (Nov. 1), it was a day in which they would receive food in exchange for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day.
Dressing up in costume was known as “guising”. It’s recorded that in Scotland in 1893, people would disguise themselves and masquerade through the streets carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips. They would then go door to door and receive cakes, fruit, or money.
The first recorded “guising” in North America was in 1911 in Kingston, Ontario. There were reports of children dressing in costume and going around their neighborhoods.
The first book on the history and holiday of Halloween in the United States, was written by the American historian and author, Ruth Edna Kelley , of Massachusetts in 1919.
The book was titled: The Book of Hallowe'en (1919).
2011 costumes will be all about
“The 3 “S” standard:
"Scary, Sexy and Superheroes"
I just loved S. Derrickson’s description of the Halloween costume
scene in her article titled:
are number 1.
According to NRF’s 2011 Top Costumes
survey, which was conducted by BIGresearch, more than 2.6 million men, women,
and children plan to dress as zombies this Halloween.
That’s right, ZOMBIE is number #1 this year.
Zombie costumes are followed closely by the vamps and the sweet princesses are fast on
their heels.
Witches rank right up there with the best of them, hexing the heels of the vamps.
Although all the spooks won out for top spot in the over all
scheme of things, the pirate costumes
are a huge favorite.
Princess costumes won out
the top spot for children!
(Princess has held the top spot for over seven years,
now!)
The lovely princess is followed by superheroes for the boys
Now, your most beloved pooch has not been left behind. Doggie costumes are huge!
This year’s winner is none other than the “pumpkin”,
followed by the devil.
Awww, I just love dressing them up, don’t you?
On Campaign for Safe Cosmetics I
found a terrific article about lead in face paint
and the guideless are still
very helpful.
They have a wonderful link to
homemade face paints, too.
Parents should consider safer
alternatives for kids’ costumes
If you still have doubts on the
contents of lead in your face paint, here is an excellent alternative on:
Click on the link above for some useful saftey tips!
Have a great time "Trick or Treat"-ing this year and keep safe!
* Sources for this post Wikipedia, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, NRF, FDA, Consumer Reports, and S. Derrickson.
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