Halloween Costume Series Day 18: Evil Queen in Purple, Green and Silver Gown with Ruby Necklace

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Apologies for not putting up one yesterday, our internet connection gave out…

So I sketched this one out thinking “evil queen.” I drew it thinking “evil queen.” I was filling in the pattern on the poison-green dress with glee thinking “totally evil queen, heh heh heh.” And then my husband comes along and says, “ooh, it’s very oceany.”

No, I say, it’s “evil-y.”

“Oceany,” he says. “Like an ocean queen or something.”

So I put the vote to you, paperdoll fans. Who’s right?

By the way, cut a line right down the middle of the collar to make it fit the doll. I didn’t add something indicating that on the doll, sorry!


Halloween Costume Series Day 17: Dorcas Snodgrass’ 1910s Light Blue Nurse Outfit with Full White Apron and Cap

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“Nurse,” of course, is one of the more popular women’s Halloween costumes but I think they’re often of the “sexy” variety; I suppose the connotation is “hot yet nurturing” but it always makes me think of things like getting blood drawn, which isn’t really the intended effect. Thinking about nurse costumes did remind me of this Metafilter article about a nurse named Dorcas Snodgrass who died under mysterious circumstances in 1912. The article links to this picture of her in the Library of Congress photostream, under which there’s a great comment that brings together some New York Times articles about her disappearance and death, officially ruled a suicide. (The Metafilter thread itself is mostly just good for theories and chatting about the name Snodgrass.) So there — not much of an elaborate costume, but a genuinely creepy nurse story for Halloween.


Halloween Costume Series Day 16: Black Velvet Cat Costume with Keyhole Neckline and Green Belled Collar

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I haven’t had a real femme fatale this Halloween, so this black cat costume turned out a little bit short. Brian thinks her collar and shoes are catnip colored, but I just like gree//////////////////////////////loooooooo[

CAT LIKE TYPING DETECTED


Halloween Costume Series Day 15: Cute Ladybug Costume with Black Lace and Antennae

Click for larger version; click for the list of dolls.

So… yeah… has it really been four days? I’m so sorry, time flies when you’re glued to your computer playing Mother 3, which I think is possibly the best videogame I’ve ever played, ever. I can’t stop thinking about it and may start another play-through, but don’t worry, next time I’d balance it out with things like drawing paperdolls and doing dishes.

Anyways, back to Halloween! Sharon posted a comment about how her granddaughter’s name is Liana too and she loves ladybugs, so she wanted to see a ladybug costume — I hope this one doesn’t disappoint. Always happy to do something for a fellow Liana. When I was a kid I wanted to do something great and famous so that people would be inspired to name their daughters Liana and I could get pencils and stuff with my name printed on them. Since I never figured out what that great and famous thing would be, and “a pencil with my name on it” became less of a life goal in and of itself, I wound up drawing paperdolls, but nonetheless I urge people to consider the name Liana for their future children. It sounds pretty, it goes well with a variety of last names, it’s a type of tropical vine, a type of programming language and a kind of car, and — to me at least — it looks more simple and pure than Leanna, Lianna, Leeanne, and such variants. (Begone, double N!)