what to wear

i love dressing up any day of the year except for halloween, which requires a *costume* that others can easily recognize. i don't do costumes so well- i just pile on my favorite shiny + fluffy clothes. i'll wear my cape out to dinner, just cuz. but the pressure of coming up with a costume that's clever + non-gendered AND that makes sense to ppl besides me can be overwhelming.


this year i need possibly three costumes for halloween. 1 for the baby ballet class that i play piano at; 2 for the school day; and 3 for trick-or-treating w/my friend's kids later that night. each occasion has it's own challenges. last year i was a zombie mechanic, which i really liked, but i don't want to freak out the the babies at ballet. (last week we went around the circle + everyone said what they were going to be: princess, mermaid, katy perry, cheerleader, and then me: "mechanic"). for the school day, i need something that's not too distracting. and then when i go out later that night, i'll be w/a 2-year-old dressed as red riding hood + her little brother as a wolf, so i'm gonna be upstaged no matter what. 


halloween brings up a lot of gender issues for me (i cringe at all the adult costumes that have the word "sexy" in the title). i know a lot of girls will be wearing costumes involving skirts or dresses (see above baby ballet discussion), so i feel like i should make an extra effort to dress up as something not conventionally "girly" (and here i have issues w/costumes involving skirts being considered girly). hence the mechanic (plus the jumpsuit is super comfortable). on the other hand, there's no shame in wearing skirts, no matter your gender, right? witches are a great example of strong female characters. so is carmen sandiego, but i don't think any of the kids would get it, plus i don't have a red trench.


anyways, this is what's keeping me up at night this week. i'll probably be a non-zombie mechanic for baby ballet; a strong female witch for school; and an oakland A's fan for t-or-treating (green/yellow wig, A's jacket, glove). i'll take suggestions. meanwhile, here's a link to the best costume EVER:


bumblebee transforming costume