Costume etiquette

[vees]

Say you're a costumer of some sort, like an anime fan who goes dressed up to cons all the time, medieval reenactment fan that spends a dozen weeks at renfaire, or furry who goes out all year and does stuff in costume just for the hell of it. Hallowe'en rolls around and its time to go to events and costume parties where everybody is dressed up in

Comments

[badsantadc]

fuck it. Halloween is for amateurs and most parties you go to will be so packed people will barely notice the finer points of your costume. Throw on something comfy and make a night of it.

Complex answer

[jupiter9]

I think it's better to do something new or different, but perfectly acceptable to wear something you already have. So I said "not sure/don't care." I have an opinion on what would be better, but don't think it rises to the level of "should."

People might say you didn't put in any effort with the costume you have already, but you did. It just wasn't Halloween-focused effort. Yet you're not competing on level ground with the others who don't already have costumes ready.

It's kind of like if you are in a group that decides to go do karaoke, and you're a professional singer. Do you pick a song you already really know well, or one that will be a challenge to you?

I guess my point is that it's nicer to not "show up" others effortlessly. If it's a set of close friends, they might love to see your elaborate pirate costume; if they're acquaintances or co-workers, they might feel outclassed and uncomfortable about it.

[ammre]

I'm a rennisance kid. I put wear something new or different, and that's Ideal for yourself if you are going to a party WITH those people you dress up in costume with the other days of the year. so if i was hanging out with my renn friends, I'd be a lame ass if i just wore my garb. If i went to a burner party, i could totally wear my ren garb, but it's not as exciting for me and doing something strange and different. I agree if you're with people who don't see the costumed side of you all year, sometimes it is comfortable and easily impressive if you wear your costume, but haven't you ever seen a costume that fit just so well on soemone you knew it wasn't really a costume at all? Also, there's that whole effort factor... I'm a lazy person.

Sometimes i think the fact that I'm wearing costumes for nearly the rest of the year makes Halloween lose it's excitement... then I realize how lucky I am that I wear costumes throughout the rest of the year.

[libberation]

I work renn faire so by the time Halloween rolls around I'm pretty sick of dressing as a "respectable shopgirl". Neither do I have the energy left to make something new and different. Since I have almost as much renn garb as normal clothing I use it in combinations I wouldn't be allowed to working faire ie pirate or, like I did this year, a gypsy. I don't have to put any cost or effort into it but it's still different enough to get me excited about dressing up for Halloween.

[mandiferous]

I've done the gypsy thing before, for exactly that reason. I work a food booth at faire, so my garb is more geared towards "something I won't be angry about if it gets covered in grease" and "appropriate peasant wear." So, I like wearing my faire clothes AT faire, but otherwise I feel like it's lame to wear exactly what I wear for 19 days out of the year anyway, especially since faire ends right before Halloween.

At the same time, I like to get use out of the garb I have that isn't as appropriate for work or that I want to get my money's worth out of. I like multi-purpose costumes that I can combine in different ways or even wear at non-costumed events without being that douchbag always in a faire costume.

This year, though, I was Babe-raham Lincoln. It was really fun to do something totally different that took effort and creativity. Normally I'm too exhausted also to come up with a proper halloween outfit, so I was really quite proud.

[tanzabear]

The distinction that I make is that Halloween is for standing out, making a spectacle, or being clever. With the other occasions, dressing up is an extension of who the person is in their everyday life.