Puss in Boots

Academia: Fall is here! A cold front came through on Wednesday, and so the high temperature yesterday was about 68. I got really excited, as you can see by my tights and boots. It'll be back in the 80s by early next week, but for now, the weather is perfect for shaving hot chocolate with out-of-town cousins and snuggling under a down duvet, which is exactly what I did last night.

Sartorial: The theme of this Friend Friday is Halloween. I love costumes, and have nothing against Halloween, but since I live in a college town, all the adult Halloween activities seem to revolve around getting hammered and dressing up as a slutty [insert character here], e.g. the Slutty Pumpkin. I haven't really done Halloween in a few years, so this should be interesting...

1. Do you have plans for Halloween? What will you dress up as this year? My only plan is to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. I love doing that, especially early in the evening when the littlest trick-or-treaters are out being adorable. I don't think I'll dress up, but I always try to have the best candy on the street. No sketchy paper-wrapped taffy here.
2. Where do you go for costume and makeup inspiration? When I dressed up for Halloween as a kid, I always wanted to be pretty, not scary. So I got a lot of inspiration from Disney. I haven't dressed up in several years, but wearing a princess costume still appeals to me, so I'd probably still take my cues from the Mouse :)
3. What was the best costume you've ever donned? When I was six, I decided I wanted to be Puss in Boots for Halloween. So I dressed as a cat, and wore cowboy boots. It was awesome. My inner literary critic was so pleased with herself. I was a character from classic literature! Yes, my six-year-old self had an inner literary critic. But no one got it. Everyone just said, "Oh, a cat!" My inner literary critic was highly offended.
4. What's the most creative costume you've ever seen? I didn't see this because it happened before I was born, but my mom says that one year, my dad convinced her that they should wear all black to a Halloween party and tell people that they were "shadows of their former selves." Not shockingly, no one got it, and they had to spend the whole night explaining their costumes. I love it though. And now the whole Puss in Boots thing is starting to make sense.
5. No holds barred - if you could dress up as anything, what would it be? Scarlett O'Hara. I need to wear a hoop skirt and a pretty ball gown. They just look like so much fun. Plus, Scarlett was the queen of refashioning - she made a dress out of curtains long before Maria von Trapp ever thought of doing it. She should be the patron saint of fashion bloggers.

So there you have it, friends. Apparently I'm destined to always want to dress as literary characters, be it the hero of a fairly obscure fairy tale or the original steel magnolia. What about y'all? Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? What have been your best (and worst) costumes?