Queen Clytemnestra Has Arrived
When I heard about the Take Back Halloween costume contest, I knew I had to participate.
Even though the deadline is Sunday, November 9, 2014, I knew deep down in my cold black heart that I needed to get my entry in by Halloween. Rain was in the forecast, Mom is leaving for Philadelphia on business early Wednesday, and I wanted to be DONE in ALL CAPS with costume making/sewing by October 31 so I could concentrate on my writing.
When did I learn about the contest? Tuesday, October 28.
How much time did I have to make the badass Queen Clytemnestra costume that I knew would wow the Take Back Halloween staff?
72 hours.
Could I turn out a bodice, skirt, and polos headdress in 72 hours?
Just barely.
The trim on that red bodice comes straight from the fresco of the Lady of Tiryns.
Did I have trim that looked even REMOTELY like that? Hell, no. Cue the yards of black grosgrain ribbon and white felt. Remember how nice felt used to be? Know how crappy store-bought felt is nowadays? How would you feel about tracing and cutting out HUNDREDS of those little circles and gluing those bastards onto the ribbon?
The skirt went better.
Now I know that I could never, ever take a job in a sweatshop down in the Garment District sewing cheap rags for Wal*Mart. My back and shoulders can't take the strain. I have a knot at the base of my neck that needs a hot Swedish guy named Sven to knead into submission.
The hat was surprisingly easy for a newbie who spent most of Tuesday night obsessing about how to put it together. No, I told Mom, it's not a pillbox hat, it's a polos headdress. She has no idea what that is.
The one thing I could not complete in time? The labrys this costume needs. Clytemnestra just doesn't feel fulfilled without her double axe. I had to tell the Take Back Halloween staff that I left it buried in Agamemnon's chest in the bathtub up in the palace.
The whole ensemble? Scared the whiskers off Molly and Ru, who dashed straightaway under the bed. Molly runs away from her own shadow. Ru knows who Clytemnestra is. Smart cat.