Lady Six Monkey (1073-1101) was a Mixtec warrior queen whose story is known from the Mixtec Group Codices. She and her arch nemesis, Lord Eight Deer, loomed large in the legends of Oaxaca for many centuries. (People were named after their birthdates, by the way.) Mixtec society was remarkably gender-equal, and both males and females could inherit the throne. The Spanish were astounded by the high status of Mixtec women; they reported that a Mixtec man would typically defer to his wife as the brains of the family and official spokesperson.
Our costume is inspired by the awesome Angus McBride illustration above, which in turn is based on the images in the codices (inset). McBride shows Six Monkey in the traditional dress of a Mixtec noblewoman: a blue wrap skirt and a quechquemitl (a fringed cotton poncho-like garment). The trickiest bit is the headdress, which consists of two major components: a yarn turban similar to the turbans still worn in Oaxaca, plus a crown of quetzal feathers mounted in gold. This is actually much easier to rig up than it sounds; we give you instructions below.
The pieces we suggest, from left to right:
1. Chevron-patterned poncho. Chevrons indicate war in Mixtec iconography, which is why McBride put the warrior queen Six Monkey in a chevron-patterned quechquemitl. We chose this chevron-patterned poncho as a good substitute. If you have a genuine quechquemitl, then by all means use that; otherwise a poncho will work fine—just as long as it has the point in the front. If you want to try sewing your own quechquemitl, Mexicolore has a good page with instructions.
2. Navy blue sarong as a wrap skirt. Women in Oaxaca are still weaving blue wraparound skirts; this sarong is an inexpensive substitute. We chose the navy blue to match the blue in the poncho.
3. Multi-strand turquoise necklace. The Mixtecs were famous for their wonderful turquoise and gold jewelry. If you happen to have any giant ear spools, that would be good too.
4. A pair of gold cuff bracelets combined with two stretch turquoise bracelets. Just stretch the turquoise band around the gold cuff.
5. Gold gladiator sandals. Women in the Mixtec codices are actually shown barefoot, but we’re thinking you might need shoes. Mixtec men appear to be wearing a thong-style gladiator-type sandal situation, so we went with that.
6. Headdress. It looks complicated, but it’s really easy. There are two parts: the yarn turban, which is really just a doughnut of yarn twisted together, and the gold feather crown in the middle.
First you need to make the yarn turban/doughnut. Here are two pictures of a modern Oaxaca version (a petob)—what it looks like being worn and what it looks like off the head:
Getting this effect is as simple as buying some skeins of different colored yarn and twisting them together. And you can be creative, since there’s no reason to suppose that Lady Six Monkey, who lived a thousand years ago, was wearing exactly the same kind of headdress as a modern woman. For the costume, we chose Berroco “Weekend” yarn in Starry Night, Pitch Black, and Parrot Green. When you get the skeins, just remove the labels and let them relax into a ring. Then twist them together into a yarn doughnut. Use short pieces of the black yarn to tie the rings together at key points.
To make the inner crown, all you need is a gold foil cylinder, some greenish feathers, and Scotch tape. Get a piece of gold metallic foil board, cut a strip 6 inches high, roll it up into a cylinder about 5 inches in diameter, and tape it together. Once you have your gold cylinder, tape the feathers inside. We chose peacock sword feathers; these are side feathers that don’t have eyes, so they can serve to represent quetzal feathers (there were no peacocks in pre-Columbian Mexico). Arrange them around the inside of the gold cylinder, taping the quill of each feather to the inner cardboard. You’ll end up with a cool-looking feather crown.
Then take your yarn doughnut and center it around the outside of the feather crown. A boatload of bobby pins may be in order to keep the whole thing on your head.
Empress Carlota (1840-1927) is one of the most intriguing and tragic figures in Mexican history. Born Charlotte of Belgium, she married Archduke Maximilian of Austria when she was only seventeen years old. In 1863 the young couple were invited to become Emperor and Empress of Mexico. Unfortunately, the person doing the inviting was Napoleon III of France, and nobody consulted the Mexican people. It all ended very badly, with Maximilian dead via firing squad and Carlota hopelessly insane. She spent the rest of her long life locked away in various castles in Europe.
But Carlota’s story isn’t all misery. In her salad days she was a sharp thinker, a renowned beauty, and the owner of some very famous jewels. (They’re still famous: one of her diamonds sold at auction in 2010 for 1.7 million dollars.) Our costume is inspired by the beautiful portraits made during those peak years, showing Carlota as the newly crowned Empress of Mexico. The pieces we suggest, from left to right:
1. Peach satin ballgown with ivory lace trim. The seller’s main picture of this gown is red, but the inset color card shows the options available. You’ll need to specify the color of the satin and the lace when you order.
2. Five-bone hoop skirt. You absolutely must have a hoop skirt petticoat to make the dress pouf out. This one has a maximum bottom circumference of 149 inches, which means it will fit nicely under the dress in #1. (It can also be adjusted down.) You can also get a hoop skirt from the seller of the dress in #1 if she has it in stock. We also suggest a corset; it’s not required, but it will give you the correct period silhouette.
3. The Imperial Order of Saint Charles. The red sash and ribbons Carlota is wearing in her portraits represent the Mexican Orden Imperial de San Carlos, of which she was the sovereign. Get a plain red sash from a party store; wear it over your right shoulder. To make the badges, get two cross pendants or charms (these from Firemountain are 2.3 inches long) and a couple of red velvet bows(the kind that are available everywhere during Christmas). Tie each cross pendant onto a bow so it dangles from the center. Pin one of these on your left shoulder and the other one on your sash where it crosses over your hip.
4. Tall gold crown plus veil and flowers. This is a better-quality crown, made of metal and rhinestones rather than plastic. To imitate Carlota’s look, you’ll also need to get some ivory tulle and silk flowers (if you get the little pinky-peach rose bouquets we suggest, just cut the stems and re-arrange the flowers as necessary). Use the tulle to make a wispy veil; pin it to your hair and secure with the crown. Arrange the silk flowers into a little wreath inside your crown, and pin a few to your veil trailing down the back as well.
5. Necklace, Earrings, and Bracelet Set (goldtone and cream). Carlota’s jewels are so famous they have names: the Carlota Diamond, Carlota’s Pearl (a huge pear-shaped drop). A costume jewelry set like this, with big faux pearls and diamonds, will give you the right look.
6. Ivory lace fan. From the Ladies’ Emporium, which has all kinds of fun Victorian things.
Hairstyle: In her imperial portraits Carlota wears the classic mid-Victorian upsweep, with the hair coiled into a ringlet that curls over the shoulder. The crown and veil will cover a lot of your hair, so mostly you just need to pull it up. If your hair isn’t long enough to make that ringlet, you might try clipping in a ponytail extension.
Shoes: Evening shoes in the mid-1860s were usually low-heeled pumps. If you have some satin bridal shoes, that would be perfect.
Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917) was the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She came to the throne in 1891 as a pro-native, pro-woman advocate for her people, and quickly found herself at odds with the American businessmen (sugar barons, pineapple planters) who wanted to annex the islands to the United States. Liliuokalani had the support of the native Hawaiians, but the Americans had the support of an armed U.S. warship in the harbor and a landing force of U.S. troops. In 1893 they overthrew the monarchy, deposed the queen, and established a Provisional Government with Sanford Dole (of the pineapple family) as president. By 1898 the annexation of Hawaii to the United States was complete.
Queen Liliuokalani conducted herself with great dignity throughout the whole sorry episode, which included a show trial and temporary imprisonment. She made a number of attempts to resolve the situation via diplomatic overtures to Washington, but the tide of imperialism was against her. In retirement she devoted herself to writing, scholarship, charity, and above all, music. Liliuokalani was a gifted musician and composed over 150 pieces, including the most famous Hawaiian song in the world: “Aloha Oe.”
The items we suggest, from left to right:
1. Black Evanese gown in plus sizes. This is a thoroughly modern gown, but the way it’s cut makes it easy to fake a late-Victorian silhouette. Just temporarily add some lace at the neckline (next).
2. Black lace scarf. Instant Victorian styling. Tuck in this scarf all around your neckline/shoulder straps and shirr it to give the effect of a lace ruffle. A few black safety pins, discreetly positioned, will keep it nicely in place.
3. The Royal Order of Kalakaua I. That’s the blue sash and badge that the Queen is wearing in her portraits. Get a sash ribbon or a pageant sash and a bow-shaped rhinestone brooch. Wear the sash over your right shoulder and pin the brooch where it crosses at your hip.
4. Rhinestone butterfly brooch. One of Queen Liliuokalani’s prized possessions was the diamond butterfly brooch she bought in London during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. She wore it in her hair, which is exactly what you should do with this rhinestone brooch.
5. Gray cameo with rhinestone accents. Pin this over the lace at your neckline.
6. Imperial black velvet choker with blue rhinestone pendant. From the Art of Adornment, which carries all kinds of remarkable things.
Hawaiian heirloom bracelets: Queen Liliuokalani introduced the bracelet style that would come to be known as Hawaiian heirloom. It was initially inspired by the English mourning jewelry that was popular in the wake of Prince Albert’s death: black enamel lettering on a simple gold band. Liliuokalani fell in love with the style, and commissioned pieces as personal mementos and gifts. More than a hundred years later, the style is still a treasured tradition in Hawaii.
Queen Liliuokalani’s bracelet with the words “Hoomanao mau” (“Lasting remembrance,” or ho’omana’o mau). In the collection of Iolani Palace.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a Hawaiian heirloom bracelet, by all means wear it with your Queen Liliuokalani outfit. If not, you might want to fake it with an inexpensive metal bangle.
Main illustration credits: The full-length portrait of Queen Liliuokalani is by William Cogswell. We don’t know the provenance of the three-quarter portrait, but it seems to be based on a photograph made in 1887 (Wikimedia Commons). The detail images are of Liliulokalani’s diamond butterfly brooch and of the Royal Order of Kalakaua I sash and badge, both in the Iolanai Palace collection.
Pele is the living, breathing volcano goddess of Hawaii. Her home is Kilauea, which is also her body. The name “Pele” means molten lava; the mountain’s flanks are her flanks, the drops of airborne lava are her tears, and the shreds of volcanic glass that form are the strands of her hair. The red-blossomed ohia, which is one of the first plants to take root in a new lava field, is sacred to Pele; according to legend it represents a handsome young man who made the mistake of rejecting the goddess’s advances, and subsequently found himself turned into a tree. (Moral of the story: don’t mess with Pele.)
Dressing up as Pele basically means dressing up as a volcano. But Pele is also supposed to be a beautiful woman, so, you know, a pretty volcano. The pieces we suggest, from left to right:
1. Black harem pants with red chiffon panels. We think these pants look for all the world like the cinder cone of a volcano with molten lava pouring down the sides. Don’t they? As soon as we saw them we thought, “Volcano pants!”
2. Black sleeveless turtleneck with sequins. We’re keeping the general cone shape going here; this top is the upper part of the volcano. The sequins remind us of volcanic glass. You can go cheaper and just get a plain, sequin-free black sleeveless turtleneck.
3. Lei to use as a belt. These aren’t ohia flowers, but it’s still a nice lei, with lots of ferny foliage. You’ll probably need to get two to make sure you have enough length to wrap around your hips. Position the belt at the bottom of the turtleneck, to cover up the transition between top and pants.
4. Crown lei. For your hair, of course. You could also just get one of those other leis and cut off as much as you need to wrap around your head.
5. Chunky red crystal necklace. We love this necklace; it’s so shiny and vivid. You can wear the earrings that come with it, or get the ones we suggest (next).
6. Lava rock earrings. Lava jewelry can be surprisingly expensive, but it seems only right to include some real lava in our costume. These earrings are nice and long.
Shoes: We suggest black satin ballet slippers or other similar black shoes. You might also wear dark stockings or tights to keep that whole bottom-of-the-mountain effect going.
Just a note that we hope to resume our costume contest in 2023.
Until then, happy costuming!
Our 2020 Costume Contest was interrupted for three months by COVID and my work, so only now, three months later, are we posting the winners. I am so grateful for everyone’s patience and good humor through this long, bizarre situation. What a year.
I will be emailing the winners their Amazon gift certificates over the next couple of days. (For reference, here’s the original contest announcement.) All the winners have been posted on our Facebook page and uploaded to our 2020 Costume Contest Winners album. You can also review all the entries this year in our 2020 Costume Contest Album.
Okay, let’s get to it! Here come the prizes!
Division I: Category Costumes
These are the prize categories that we award every year. They’re based on our own costume categories here on the website: queens, goddesses and mythological figures, notable historical women, and glamorous stars.
Best Queen Costume
Winner, expert class: Gayle Dowdle as Elizabeth I.
Feast your eyes on the magnificence! Gayle spent a couple of years working on this dress, which is modeled after the Ditchley portrait. The detail is absolutely incredible. I bet if the real Elizabeth R had had to make her own dresses they would have been one heck of a lot simpler. Smocks, maybe. Anyway, Gayle has photos of the dress construction over at her Dowdle’s Costumes Facebook page.
Winner, amateur class: Janice Strickland as Tin Hinan.
Janice strikes again! This is the third time Janice has taken one of our older costumes, from before we had models, and brought it beautifully to life. This is Tin Hinan, legendary queen of the Tuareg, as depicted in the wonderful painting by Hocine Ziani. Janice looks every inch the part.
Winner, junior class: Cecilia Weiss as Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Is this incredible or what? Cecilia is only 15 years old and made this costume herself, based on Eleanor of Aquitaine’s tomb effigy. She created the pattern through the draping method and hand-painted the fabric. That’s some serious costume chops!
Best Notable Woman Costume
Winner, expert class: Gabriela Salvador as Mercy Otis Warren.
Mercy Otis Warren was a stone cold genius who perhaps more than any other person is responsible for the Bill of Rights. Even Jefferson was in awe of her intellect. Gabriela portrays her in 1780s high style, which is exactly appropriate. Every bit of this is perfect and beautiful. (Also, there is nothing on this earth more lovely than cream colored silk.)
Winner, amateur class: Kelly Czermerys as Mary Anning.
Kelly is a science teacher and says it’s a tradition for her to dress as a woman scientist each year for Halloween. This is a wonderful depiction of the great Mary Anning, fossil hunter extraordinaire. Bonus points for the stuffed Dalmatian in the role of Tray, Mary’s beloved dog.
Best Glamour Grrl Costume
Winner, expert class: Debra Redfern as Marilyn Monroe.
For future archaeologists attempting to make sense of this contest: let it be known that if Debbie had wanted to create a perfect replica of Marilyn’s green gown in “River of No Return,” she certainly could have. She’s an expert! But this particular costume was created for a contest (not this one) where the challenge was to make an outfit in 30 days for under $30. This whole outfit is strung together from cheap table runners, shoelaces, zip ties, and orange shower poufs. Which frankly makes it all the more amazing.
Winner, junior class: Katie Sue Hamilton as Dolly Parton.
We don’t actually encourage “glamour” for 7-year-olds. Glamour Grrls is just the category we use for Hollywood stars and modern celebrities. Little Katie Sue is precious as Dolly Parton, and her mom Anne says she “wowed her fans with her renditions of ‘Jolene,’ ‘9 to 5,’ and ‘Coat of Many Colors’!”
Best Mythological Costume
Winner, expert class: Carol Lewis as Calypso.
Calypso is the sea nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for seven years in the Odyssey; I’ve always pictured her as a Greek goddess on a sunlit Mediterranean isle. Carol takes a cue from Pirates of the Caribbean and re-imagines her as a baroque shipwreck, with a lobster pot for a bustle and a pool noodle coming out of her head. It’s a vision both hilarious and unsettling.
Winner, amateur class: Janice Strickland as The Morrigan.
This has never happened before: the same person has won both Best Queen Costume and Best Mythological Costume. It’s like the Academy Awards! Janice Strickland is our very own Scarlett Johansson, though I don’t know if Scarlett will be as successful. Both of Janice’s costumes this year were just unbeatable. The Morrigan is one of our favorite costume designs, and Janice has taken it up a notch with the addition of huge wings instead of feathers around the neck. Truly spectacular.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Kellie Hanson as Nemesis.
Need an avenging angel? Kellie’s got you covered. Be careful of her when she’s wearing that blindfold, though. No telling where that sword will end up! In all seriousness, this is a terrific costume. I love the simplicity of it, the stark contrast with the white and black, the humongous wings, the, um, leather attire that lends a foreboding air. She may have angel wings but buddy, if you have done wrong she is going to slice you up.
Winner, junior/expert class: Ava Jean Duncan as Demeter, costume by Eshta Amar.
The “junior/expert” entry class here is because Ava Jean’s mom, Eshta Amar, is a professional costumer. (You can tell.) What’s revelatory about this costume is that Eshta has chosen to present Demeter in the way that Hindu gods are typically portrayed. I don’t think I’ve seen that before, and it’s marvelous. The bejeweled gown and headpiece are exquisite, and the slender sheaf of wheat and wildflowers is the perfect finishing touch.
Winner, junior class: Pat M. Yulo’s daughter Callie as Tala.
This is our “regular” junior class winner: a delightful costume put together by Pat and her daughter Callie. Tala is the demi-goddess of the night stars in Philippine mythology, and Pat explains that “in stories, she is depicted holding a light orb or sphere to guide travelers home.” I hope Pat and Callie will forgive me for adding a tiny lens flare to Callie’s orb. I couldn’t resist!
Best Realization of a Take Back Halloween Design
Winner: Jennifer Simonovich and Karl Schults as Persephone and Hades.
Somebody once commented that the only thing our Persephone costume needed was a Hades, and here Jenn’s gone and done it. Not only is Karl a most excellent Hades, but Jenn has gone a step further and crafted a Cerberus out of three stuffed dog toys. Perfect!
Division II: Masquerade
This division includes Fiction, Fantasy, Period Costumes, and Historical Recreations. Our Fiction and Fantasy categories sort of collapsed in on each other, because virtually every fictional character is also some sort of fantasy creature or magical being or sci-fi hero. People aren’t dressing up as characters from Edith Wharton novels is what I’m saying. For the purpose of prizes, we put science fiction and classic fairy tales in the Fiction category, and everything else in the Fantasy category.
Best Fictional Character Costume
Winner, expert class: Brooke Jessop as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
Brooke re-interprets Belle’s iconic yellow dress in a beautiful buttery gold, and then kicks it into the stratosphere with a breathtaking train of roses. This is a marvelously inspired design—perfect for the fairy tale in every way—and flawlessly realized. Just outstanding.
Winner, amateur class: Angel as Captain Marvel.
Disney princesses are beautiful, but it’s great that we’re now starting to have some female movie heroes who wear pants, have jobs, and kick ass. None is more popular than Captain Marvel, and Angel does a great job here with the costume. The hair is perfect! And the flerken (with an egg!) is a winning touch.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Laura Mayer as the Grandmother/Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.
I just think this is adorable. And so clever! We can think of this as the Wolf in disguise as the Grandmother, but we can also imagine that we’re witnessing the terrible moment when the wolf swallows the grandmother whole. There she is, peeping out from his gullet! Man, fairy tales are gruesome.
Winner, junior class: Bobby Fischer’s daughter Olivia as the Rocketeer.
Doesn’t this picture just make your heart sing? The costume is pretty good too. The helmet and jetpack were 3D printed and finished by Bobby with some help from Olivia, and the whole thing is a beautiful tribute to father-daughter teamwork.
Best Fantasy Character Costume
Winner, expert class: Caroline Chinitz as Raven Queen from Ever After High.
We put Raven Queen in the Fantasy category because, even though she’s supposed to be the daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White, she’s not a classic fairy tale character. Actually, she’s a doll. Mattel created the Ever After High doll franchise as a spin-off from its super-successful Monster High doll franchise. Splitting hairs, I grant you, but we had to find a way to divide things up. Anyway, this is a fabulous costume! Caroline absolutely nailed it. A sewing genius!
Winner, amateur class: Beckie Geddes as “Edwardian Beetlejuice.”
This whole costume is terrific, but my favorite part is the hat. The skeleton hand! The skulls with pearls for eyes! The spiders! The, um, stripey things! What are those stripey things, Beckie? Anyway, great costume. Gender-bent and dislocated in time, but still Beetlejuice.
Winner, junior class: Emily Langer’s daughter Juliette as Lyra Belaqua from the Golden Compass.
I love this mother-daughter effort. Emily made the overalls, the mask, the adorable stuffed Pantalaimon, and modified a second-hand coat and shirt; Juliette made the truth-telling alethiometer prop out of a vintage compact, foam, gears, and found objects from the button box. Beautiful!
Best Period Costume
Winner, expert class: Monica and Arthur Griffith in “Tudor Christmas,” costumes by Monica De Souza-Griffith.
Monica has outdone herself this time. This should be a Christmas card! Just look at these outfits: aren’t they perfect? Aren’t they exquisitely designed and finished? I’m no good at Facebook analytics, but I do know that Monica and Arthur’s Tudor Christmas is one of the most popular contest entries we’ve ever posted. (Hmmm…maybe somebody *is* using it as a Christmas card…?) Not that this is a popularity contest, but it does go to show what a chord these costumes struck. Monica, you are a talented lady.
Winner, amateur class: Abbie Burt in Regency period dress.
And here’s another talented lady, who’s only 20 years old but is already sewing up a storm. This is Abbie Burt in a charming Regency period costume she made herself. Very clever of her to find a forest to match her dress!
Winner, junior class: Cecilia Weiss in mid-14th century dress.
Cecilia is 15 years old, and not only did she make this outfit herself, but she made the pattern for it as well. And it was her first attempt at flat pattern-making! So, in case you’re older than 15 and feeling inadequate, just…yeah. In all seriousness: Cecilia, you are fabulous. I can’t wait to see all the amazing costumes you’re going to design and create.
Best Historical Recreation
Winner, expert class: Johanna Nybelius as Christina Gyllenstierna.
What Johanna is recreating here is the kind of court dress Christina would have worn around 1520, particularly her gold hood. It seems that Swedish noblewomen in the early 16th century liked to embroider their caps with pure gold, which is…not the weirdest way wealthy elites have chosen to show off their status. Certainly gets the message across. “Look at all the gold thread on my head!” Anyway, Johanna did an enormous amount of research and mastered new embroidery skills to pull this off. The whole outfit is magnificent.
Winner, amateur class: Laura Gill as the “Ladies in Blue” at Knossos.
This is fun! Laura Gill is all three of the Minoan “Ladies in Blue,” as excavated by Arthur Evans and imaginatively (*cough cough*) reconstructed by Emile Gilliéron. Laura has a real knack for these archaeological recreations, and has taken home the prize several times. Laura, do the bull leapers next!
Winner, junior class: Lindsay Falke’s son and daughter as Paul Revere, his horse, and the Old North Church.
“Historical Recreation” is supposed to be for clothes, not buildings and horses! Just kidding. This entry is utterly charming and thoroughly ingenious. The whole thing is basically made out of cardboard and hot glue. It’s brilliant. Kudos to the Falke family! (By the way, the horse’s name is Brown Beauty.)
Division III: Zeitgeist 2020
This division is for our special 2020 costume prizes. We have Trailblazer Tributes, Quarantine Creations, and Marvelous Masks.
Trailblazer Tributes
Winner, expert class: Prentice Watson as Amelia Bloomer.
I LOVE THIS COSTUME! I love that it’s Amelia Bloomer, I love how well done it is, I love seeing the dress reform style in real life, and I love the beautiful outdoor photo shoot. Do you ever think about how brave those women were? And imagine if we had a time machine and could show them how we live now, in the Age of Sweatpants.
Winner, amateur class: Rossilynne Skena Culgan as Carry A. Nation.
People remember Carrie Nation (or Carry A. Nation, as she liked to style herself) as a saloon smasher, but fewer remember that the temperance movement was a huge part of Feminism version 1.0. Nowadays we’re more likely to see fundamental power structures as the central issue, with substance abuse an aggravating factor (or symptom, as the case may be). But things weren’t so clear in Carrie’s day. In a world where women were almost 100% at the mercy of male whims (physically, financially, socially, legally), getting rid of drunkenness seemed like an outstanding idea.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Lindsey Marth as Inez Milholland.
What would our trailblazer tribute be without Inez Milholland? Inez was the real deal: a labor lawyer, socialist, free love advocate, and redoubtable suffragist who was famous for showing up at marches on her horse. She was only 30 when she died from exhaustion and pernicious anemia—four years before the 19th Amendment FINALLY granted American women the right to vote.
Winner, junior class: Erika Schulten’s daughter as “Miriam, Sister Suffragette.”
Squeeeee!!!! So precious! Erika created such a beautiful costume for her little girl. She writes: “All the colors represent the colors used by the American suffragists to denote loyalty (purple), quality of purpose (white), and the torch of guidance (gold). I also opted to include a green ribbon, representing hope, to additionally pay homage to the Sisters in Britain who came first.” Wonderfully thought out and put together.
Quarantine Creations
Winner, expert class: Gabriela Salvador recreating Rossetti’s “Proserpine” (1874).
Ah, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Or as I think of them, Brotherhood of Dudes Obsessed with Jane Morris. One of the things I love about the quarantine art genre is the way it exposes the deep weirdness in famous paintings. “I just want to be alone with my pomegranate, okay? OKAY???”
Winner, amateur class: Aimee Lim recreating Evelyn De Morgan’s “Cassandra” (1898).
The burning question in my mind whenever I look at this painting is, “what the heck is going on with that fabric? What’s making it bunch up like that in the middle?” I feel that Aimee has wrestled with this issue as well, and has very sensibly just tucked a piece of gold lame into her waistband. God knows what De Morgan did in the studio. A rubber band?
Marvelous Masks
Winner, expert class: Ainsley Hawthorn as a Plague Doctor.
You knew this was coming, right? Not only did Ainsley create her own Plague Doctor outfit, replete with period-appropriate mask, but she organized a whole March of the Plague Doctors in her town (and then again in another town). All the feels. Instant winner.
Winner, amateur class: Emily Robertson as Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven.
Wowza! The pictures Emily originally sent with her entry were kind of small, so I emailed her to see if she had any bigger ones. Imagine my reaction when I opened this up.
Winner, junior class: Angie Glynn’s daughter Emma as an extremely safe fish.
Folks, it just doesn’t get any safer than this. Not only is Emma wearing a mask inside the fish costume, but the fish is wearing a mask too. Personal protective equipment for all vertebrates!
Zeitgeist Fashion
Winner, expert class: Angelica Roque in “the Strawberry Dress” re-imagined for Halloween 2020.
Surprise award! This isn’t a costume; it’s the very essence of our 2020 hopes and fears distilled into one tea-length dress with matching hat and mask. I love everything about this. The best of the strawberry dress, a beautiful Halloween palette, exquisite net work, romantic tulle or chiffon on the hat, and the gorgeous mask that picks up the same fabric as the dress. Plus cemetery, plus death, and we’re there. 2020.
UPDATE 10/26/2020: The deadline for entering the contest has been extended to November 15! Due to real-life circumstances, we’re going to have to delay the judging by about two weeks, so we’re also extending the deadline to enter. We’ll plan to get the prizes awarded the week of Thanksgiving. Thanks for understanding!
After a one-year hiatus, the contest is back! We took last year off because we’re in the process of creating a new website and re-branding (see here). We thought we’d be ready in 2020, but then COVID-19 happened. So the re-launch is now tentatively planned for 2021.
In the meantime, we asked our community if people wanted to go ahead and have a contest this year, in the midst of all this craziness. Everybody said YES! So here we go — with a few new prizes to capture the spirit of the times.
And just as we promised last year, you can definitely enter your 2019 costume as well. In fact, you can enter up to six costumes from the past three years.
[Edited to add because people asked: We don’t impose any rules that you have to personally construct some or all of your costume. You are free to use pre-existing garments and store-bought items. We’re just interested in the final effect.]
Send your photos to contest@takebackhalloween.org, and we’ll upload all the entries to our 2020 Costume Contest Album on our Facebook page. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 1 November 15, 2020.
This year we have 12 prize categories spread over three divisions:
Division I: Category Costumes
This is our traditional division, the one we’ve had since our very first contest. As ever, we’re looking for costumes that fit into our own costume categories here on the website. That means a goddess or mythological figure, a great queen, a notable historical person, or a glamorous star. These should be specific people, not generic costumes.
Best Goddess or Mythological Figure Costume
Best Queen Costume
Best Notable Woman Costume
Best Glamour Grrl Costume
Best Realization of a Take Back Halloween Design (this prize is about faithfully recreating one of our specific designs here on the website)
Division II: Masquerade
We added this division to our contest in 2017. With these categories, there’s no requirement that you embody a real person or specific mythological figure. You can just recreate a historical artifact, wear period clothing, or dress up as a character from fiction. This year we’ve tweaked the rules for Fictional Characters and Sci-Fi/Fantasy to try to allow for the kinds of costumes people seem to really enjoy doing.
Historical Recreation: This is for costumes that are based on an actual garment, design, statue, painting, photograph, or illustration. The costume you’re copying or recreating should date from no later than 1970.
Period Costume: This is for costumes that look as if they date from a certain period of history (though it’s fine if they’re made using modern materials and techniques). Tudor England, Heian period Japan, Mughal India, Viking Age Scandinavia, and the American Civil War are just a few examples of costume periods. The time period should be no later than 1970.
Fictional Characters: This category is for fictional characters from literature, art, film, or other media, but it can also be a fictional character you have invented yourself. The costume can be from any time period, but it should be distinctive to that character/work of art and ideally different from modern street dress.
Sci-Fi and Fantasy: How is this different from fiction? The overlap is undeniable, but mostly we intend this category for things like superheroes, fantastical beings, and so forth. Stuff that does not and has never existed in the real world. No limit on the time period.
Division III: Zeitgeist 2020
These are special prize categories we’ve created just for this year. This crazy, crazy year. We all need something to feel cheerful and hopeful about, and maybe something to strengthen our resolve for whatever lies ahead. We’re inviting entries in the following categories (and we may add additional prize categories depending on what people send in):
Quarantine Creations: In the spirit of the #GettyMuseumChallenge, your goal here is to recreate a costume depicted in a work of art using only household items. (Work of art = painting, illustration, or photograph.) You’re in quarantine, so you can’t go buy a bunch of new fabric or special stuff or anything. Just use what you’ve got! For inspiration, follow the Getty hashtag on Twitter or check out this great blog post: People Recreate Works of Art With Objects Found at Home During Self-Quarantine. When you submit your entry, make sure you include a picture of the artwork you’re trying to recreate.
Marvelous Masks: MASKS SAVE LIVES. Everybody should wear a mask! This prize is for the best costume mask, and we’re going to leave it pretty open as to what that means. Carnival masks? Historical masks, like the plague masks of a few centuries ago? Clever incorporation of masking into an otherwise regular costume? Fantastic masks that transform you into an otherworldly creature? It’s up to you — have at it!
Trailblazer Tributes: From Sojourner Truth to Kamala Harris, from Seneca Falls to Black Lives Matter, women have been at the forefront of what President Obama once called “the hard work of making sure our nation makes progress on its road to becoming a more perfect union.” This year feels epochal in so many ways, and we invite you to honor and celebrate the abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights leaders, feminists, womanists, and glass ceiling breakers who’ve brought us this far. Yes, all of these people also fall into our Notable Women category, but this is an extra category this year to specifically salute civil rights, women’s rights, and indeed everyone doing the brave and necessary work of nurturing democracy.
Entry Classes
We award prizes in three classes: Amateur, Expert, and Junior (age 15 and under). This is so everybody can compete at their own level. Each of the categories above will actually result in up to three prizes, assuming we get entries in all three classes:
- Amateur class = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Expert class = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior class = $25 Amazon gift certificate
When you send in your entry, tell us which class you think is appropriate.
Hang on, what does expert mean?
Expert class is for folks who are highly skilled at costuming. You know who you are: experienced cosplayers, RenFaire people, historical reenactors, theatre types. If you’re not sure, ask yourself the following:
- Have I (or the person who made my costume) competed at the Master or Journeyman level in a cosplay contest or other judged costume competition?
- Am I (or the person who made my costume) a skilled and experienced seamstress, artist, cosplayer, Renaissance Faire performer, historical reenactor, or theatrical costumer?
- Is my costume of professional quality, suitable for Renaissance Faire performances, historical reenactment, or a theatrical performance?
If the answer to any of those is “yes,” your entry may belong in the expert class. (But if you’re still not sure, just let us know. We’ll work it out. It’s not unusual for people to feel like they’re on the borderline.)
General Rules
1. Your entry must include the following information: your name, who or what the costume represents, your entry class (amateur, expert, junior), and at least one photograph of the costume.
2. Please also tell us which prize category or categories you are aiming for, such as Notable Women, Historical Recreation, Quarantine Creations, etc. This will help us understand your intention for the costume. But obviously there is overlap between the categories, and many costume entries will fall into more than one. Rest assured that when it’s time for judging the contest, we’ll put you in the category where you have the best chance to win.
3. Your entry photograph(s) should show the costume in full, and should be clear and well lit. Avoid distracting backgrounds that don’t contribute to your costume. You are welcome to send in multiple photos to help us appreciate the full glory of your creation.
4. By submitting your photo, you are giving us permission to publish it on the Take Back Halloween website, our Facebook page, our Twitter account, and our Instagram page.
5. If you’re submitting a contest entry on behalf of someone else, you must have that person’s permission to submit the entry and publish the photo. If other people appear in the photo, you must obtain their permission for us to use and publish it.
6. The costume may be from any time in the past three years. (We’re extending this since we didn’t have a contest in 2019.)
7. You may enter up to six costumes for consideration. (This is also expanded, since we didn’t have a contest in 2019.)
8. Submissions should be emailed to contest@takebackhalloween.org.
9. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 1 November 15, 2020.
We expect to publish the winners about a week to ten days after the submission deadline.
Tips
If you’re new to Take Back Halloween, it might help to look at our contest winners from past years to get a sense of what we like:
2018 Costume Contest winners
2017 Costume Contest winners
2016 Costume Contest winners
2015 Costume Contest winners
2014 Costume Contest winners
2013 Costume Contest winners
2012 Costume Contest winner
Happy costuming!
If it weren’t for Admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992), you wouldn’t be reading this. There wouldn’t be an Internet to read it on. There wouldn’t be personal computers or word processors or any of the other digital wonders that we now take for granted. That’s because before Grace Hopper—“Amazing Grace,” mathematician and computer pioneer extraordinaire—computers were just big calculating machines doing arithmetic. Programming consisted of working directly on the machine, feeding it numeric commands. Hopper’s genius invention was the compiler: an intermediate step that would translate human instructions into machine-readable code. With the compiler, programmers no longer had to “speak” in ones and zeroes; they could work in a more natural language and develop incredibly complex programs, and then have the compiler turn it into binary code for the machine. Perhaps more than any other single invention, the compiler was what truly unleashed the power of electronic computing.
As if that weren’t enough, Grace Hopper also wrote the first programming language in English (which became the basis for COBOL), pioneered fundamental programming practices that are still at the heart of computing, and even popularized the terms computer bug and debugging. She was such a towering figure that the Data Processing Management Association chose her for their first Computer Sciences Man of the Year Award in 1969. (Insert all the ironic exclamation points in the world.)
The real deal: this is the Summer White uniform for a US Navy female line officer, Commander rank (except for the shoes, which aren’t shown). You can buy this ensemble at uniforms-4you.com for about $330. We give you costume suggestions to fake each of the components with cheaper items.
She spent the last two decades of her career on active duty with the Navy, which is how everybody remembers her: the tiny elderly Admiral, still sharp as a needle, evangelizing about the power of computers. This makes the costuming simple, since a Navy uniform is pretty distinctive. It’s also easy to pull off if you go for the Summer White uniform, which is just a short-sleeve shirt and pants combo. You can buy a real Summer White uniform (shown at right) from uniforms-4you.com for about $330, but we suggest you fake it with cheaper components. Much cheaper. The items you need, from left to right:
1. Hat: Yacht captain hat
2. Shoulder boards: Here’s a fantastic deal from a surplus store on US Navy Rear Admiral (Lower Half) hard shoulder boards—about 20 bucks. That is exactly the rank that Admiral Hopper retired with. A Navy uniform shirt has shoulder tabs for attaching these, but you can use a bit of Velcro to attach them to a non-Navy shirt.
3. Name plate: Custom Navy name plate. This is the genuine article, but it’s very inexpensive.
4. Shirt: Cherokee 2878 Women’s Professional Whites Lapel Collar Top
5. Belt: Military 54″ Web Belt (White w/Gold Buckle)
6. Pants: Cherokee 4001 Women’s Pull-On Scrub Pants
Shoes: If you already have white shoes, fantastic. If you don’t, consider these white oxfords by Dance Class
Nanoseconds: Admiral Hopper was famous for her nanosecond demonstration. At her lectures she would pass out wires cut to exactly 11.8 inches in length. This, she would explain, was the distance light could travel in one nanosecond, which is one-billionth of a second. The wires she handed out were actually the single wires from inside old salvaged 25-pair telephone cable. You can do the same thing by ripping up some old junky cable you have lying around the house and cutting off individual pieces.
Information for DIY rank insignia: Admiral Hopper retired with the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half). She had initially retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Commander in 1966, but then was recalled to active duty for the next 20 years. She was promoted to Captain and then Commodore, and became a Rear Admiral in 1985 when the Navy renamed the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral (Lower Half).
If you want to make your own shoulder boards or other insignia, this page conveniently lays out the whole scheme: Rank Insignia of Navy Commissioned and Warrant Officers. Hard shoulder boards are worn with the Summer White uniform. Here’s a catalog page that has them, so you can see what they look like in real life: Navy Hard Shoulder Board – Line Officers. For homemade shoulder boards, try shirt cardboard cut to shape, black felt, and gold trim and appliques from a fabric store.
Illustration credits: The photographs of Admiral Hopper from the 1940s through the 1980s are file images from the Navy and the Library of Congress. The painting in the lower right-hand corner is by Tom Freeman and was created for the commissioning of the USS Hopper in 1997. You can see the whole painting on the Seaforces information page for the ship: DDG 70 – USS Hopper.
Hi everybody –
Just a quick note that we’re not having a contest this year because our new website isn’t ready yet. (This one is barely creaking along.) We plan to re-launch in 2020, and we’ll have the contest again next Halloween.
But if you’ve got a great costume this year, never fear—just get some good pictures and enter it next year. We will absolutely accept entries next year from this Halloween as well as next year’s Halloween.
Happy Halloween and happy costuming!
Every year the entries to our contest get better and better. I want to give everyone a prize. So many beautiful costumes, so much creativity, so many agonizingly difficult decisions. I’m just in awe of all this heartfelt handiwork.
Some of the categories were brutally competitive this year. If you didn’t win, don’t be discouraged! Try again next year! Seriously, some of these decisions were painful and I kept wishing I had more prizes to go around.
As ever, we reworked the prize money pot a little bit to match the entries we received. The basic pattern we’re going for is to award prizes at the amateur, expert, and junior levels, but some categories had a ton of entries and some had only a few. We added in a handful of Judge’s Choice awards to round things out. For reference, here’s the original contest announcement.
All the winners will be uploaded to our 2018 Costume Contest Winners album on Facebook. You can also review all the entries this year in our 2018 Costume Contest Album. I will be emailing the winners with official notifications and Amazon gift certificates over the next couple of days.
Thank you all so much for sharing your creations and making this year’s contest so inspiring.
Division I: Category Costumes
These are the prize categories that we award every year. They’re based on our own costume categories here on the website: glamorous stars, goddesses and mythological figures, queens, and notable historical women. These should be specific individuals, not generic costumes.
Best Glamour Grrl Costume
Winner, amateur level: Cheryl Blakemore as Dorothy Dandridge.
As somebody said on Facebook, “Nailed it!” Cheryl is the very image of Dorothy Dandridge in the movie Carmen Jones. Everything is perfect, from her toenail polish to the brick wall photo shoot. Just gorgeous and beautifully done.
Winner, expert level: Debbie Redfern as Helena Bonham Carter.
Debbie recreated the Dolce & Gabbana couture gown worn by Helena Bonham Carter in Ocean’s 8 to beautiful effect. She writes: “I created the dupioni poly-silk gown by draping onto a dressform (no patterns used), and the dress is only comprised of three pieces of fabric with horsehair braid on the hem. I then hand stitched on a bazillion flowers, mostly cut out from embroidered mesh lace but some are 3D chiffon and there were also two large appliques. I used bought paniers and underskirt & corset that I made from another project to wear under the gown. I made the headpiece using some wire, branches from a vine wreath, silk flowers and birds.” You can see construction photos with lots of details on Debbie’s Facebook cosplay album.
Winner, junior level: Miriam as Lindsey Stirling.
Mom Sandra Zeigler tells us that Miriam designed and created this costume completely by herself. It’s a recreation of the look from Lindsey Stirling’s “Shatter Me” video. Miriam did a wonderful job! It looks just like the video.
Best Mythological Costume
Winner, amateur level: Ann Anderson as Mother Earth.
What a clever idea! Ann writes: “Attached are photos of the costume I wore for work this Halloween. I went as Mother Earth and cycled through the four seasons throughout the day. The last two photos are because climate change throws things out of whack.” In our montage above, the seasons go clockwise beginning with Spring in the lower right. The photo in the middle is one of the “out of whack” situations.
Winner, expert level: Jodi Doster Giacalone as a Valkyrie.
Now this is hardcore. Girl even makes her own chainmail! Jodi writes: “I’ve been part of reenactment group for the Viking Age for about two years and did my best to represent a Valkyrie as they are described in the stories. Sometimes depending on the translation they are said to fly into battle either on horses or growing wings, so I made a cloak of feathers as the fantasy element. The rest is as accurate as I could make it and everything was handmade, from my boots to my mail and weapons.”
Winner, junior level: Annie Izumi’s daughter as Medusa, costume by Annie Izumi.
This is the most beautiful Medusa costume I’ve ever seen. I don’t usually care for Medusa because, you know, snakes, but this is gorgeous. Annie is an incredible artist.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Ainsley Hawthorn as Ereshkigal.
Ainsley is a professional Assyriologist and a professional dancer, which means she’s uniquely prepared to pull off a fabulous look as an ancient Mesopotamian goddess. Here she’s protraying Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Netherworld. She writes: “The costume is based on texts that describe Ereshkigal as having black lips and skin as yellow as a tamarisk, and on the Burney Relief (also known as the Queen of the Night) ca. 19th-18th century B.C.E.” As for those great talons: “I cut the fingers off skeleton gloves I bought at the Hallowe’en store, spray painted them black, dry brushed them with bronze to match the horns, stuffed them with cotton, and glued them to an old, spray-painted pair of shoes.”
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Lindsay Cee as Baba Yaga.
This is the scariest Baba Yaga I’ve ever seen. Incredible makeup and acting (that photo on the left is downright menacing). Lindsay writes that she “made the skull on a staff with death-fire eyes and tried to represent the chicken-legged house by wearing a miniature made from an adapted birdhouse and dinosaur legs.”
Best Notable Woman Costume
Winner, amateur level: Tara Osler as Sappho.
This costume is delightful: simple yet flawlessly executed. Tara writes: “I used a bed sheet to make a Doric chiton, and a pashmina tied around a belt to create a wrap to hold my scroll. I made the scroll myself by weathering paper with tea, and transcribed Sappho’s poetry in the original Greek onto it. I also made a crown of fake violets and other flowers because of the importance of the violet and general flower symbolism in Sappho’s poetry.”
Winner, expert level: Prentice Watson as Madam C.J. Walker.
It’s like Madam Walker came to life! Madam Walker was a phenomenal lady, and this is marvelously well done. Prentice writes: “I created a 1910-14 woman’s tailored suit. My thought process was that as business woman this is something that she could have worn during the day while visiting her company building or having a business meeting. I made the undergarments and the toque hat as well.”
Winner, junior level: Angie Glynn’s daughter Emma as Eleanor Roosevelt, costume by Angie Glynn.
The buttons! This costume is incredible—of course Emma is absolutely precious, but I can’t stop staring at the buttons. Every detail of the outfit is perfect.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Kathryn Hamilton, Barb Parnarouskis, Liz Greene, and Diane Tucker as the Supremes.
Barb writes that the four of them wore these outfits to their office costume party this year. I like to think that they spent the whole day sitting in that conference room just like this, recreating the Nelson Shanks portrait, silently receiving admirers.
Best Queen Costume
Winner, amateur level: Amber Nichol as Boudicca.
Very, very tough category this year with lots of great entries, but Amber takes the prize with her absolutely splendid Boudicca. Amber writes: “My take on Boudicca showcases a Welsh-inspired shield of original art, and her mighty spear.” That shield is dazzling, and Amber’s face paint and golden circlet pick up the gold and black magnificently.
Winner, expert level: Lisa Ashton as Mary Tudor, the French Queen.
History geeks know this already, but: Mary Tudor was Henry VIII’s kid sister. She was married off to the King of France, who promptly died. Mary came home and married the Duke of Suffolk, but was forever known as “the French queen.” There she is in her famous portrait, and there’s Lisa looking like her spitting image. Absolutely incredible costume.
Best Realization of a Take Back Halloween Design
Winner, amateur level: Marguerite Ahl as Hecate.
I gotta be honest: if this was the vision that greeted me at the gates to the underworld, I’d be pretty psyched. Doggos! We have doggos in the underworld! Also, Marguerite’s version of our Hecate costume is just beautiful. It’s actually better than the original. She describes her costume as: “Hecate, with her black dog, frog, and keys. There is a moon face earring on the front of the hat. I used the Greek key trim, sewn on by a friend, to symbolize her history as a Greek goddess.”
Winner, amateur level: Adriana Gonzalez as Sor Juana.
Sor Juana was an amazing woman, and Adriana’s costume represents her beautifully. She writes: “I identify with her because of her love of writing poetry. Most of the topics I choose to write about are inspired by the topics she chose, feminism and love being my favorites. Her dedication and fight against misogyny is also another reason I consider Sor Juana Ines a role model. I am honored to put together this outfit to dress up like her and to, once again, represent Mexican culture in this contest.” Our Sor Juana costume page explains the escudo de monja (nun’s shield), in case you’re wondering about the paper plate-like object.
Winner, junior level: Elizabeth Klett’s daughter as Freyja, costume by Elizabeth Klett.
It’s always fun to see what a gifted seamstress or costumer can do with one of our designs. Elizabeth has rendered our Freyja costume as a completely sewn dress, with the armor as a sort of over-bodice of bronzy material with feather trim. Elizabeth made everything, even the necklace (not the plastic helmet though).
Division II: Masquerade
This is our division for costumes that don’t fall into our usual categories. The key thing here is that there’s no requirement that you dress up as a real person or specific mythological figure. We’re still interested in history and mythology, but this division is for period costumes and fictional or fantastical interpretations.
Historical Recreation
Winner: Nadja Robot recreating “Judith and Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi.
Nadja’s email says it all: “I was going to be something lighthearted but I ended up embodying my feelings about the state of the world.” Yes.
Period Costume
Winner, amateur level: Melissa Claire as a suffragist with Charlie as Ruth Bader Ginsbark.
This is a charming costume and perfectly in step with the times (heh). It’s even better with a time-traveling doggo representing the Notorious RBG.
Winner, expert level: Monica DeSouza and Arthur Griffith as Tudor nobility, costumes by Monica DeSouza.
Monica consistently makes the most elegant costumes I’ve ever seen. I can only imagine what her fabric stash is like. These outfits are particularly sublime: the green, gold, and cream are exquisitely balanced. The sleeves! The pearls! The little ruffles! Okay, I’ll stop.
Winner, junior level: Nina Ghaffari’s daughter in traditional Persian dress.
Aw! What a cutie pie! Little Sophia is only a year and a half and cute as a button. Nina says these gorgeous traditional costumes were handmade by family members. Wonderful!
Fictional Characters
Winner, amateur level: Lori Russell as Madame DeFarge from A Tale of Two Cities, costume by Robyn Russell.
Never mind Madame DeFarge; she’s just hanging out here at the guillotine, knitting away, watching the executioner work, collecting the aristocrats’ heads in her basket—no wait, not that last part. That’s a little extra feature that 87-year-old Lori and daughter Robyn decided to add. Robyn writes: “My mother is costumed as an 18th century working class Parisian woman of the French Revolution, complete with red, white, and blue cockade. The cockade was the only sewing I did for this costume. Everything else was fabrics from my fabric stash and existing costume pieces. The severed head was a styrofoam head wrapped in muslin and then covered in ketchup (Mom’s suggestion). As you can tell, she’s really enjoying ‘sticking it’ to the aristocrats.”
Winner, expert level: Melissa Pevy as Mina Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Eiko Ishioka won an Oscar for her costume designs in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, including this incredible dress worn by Winona Ryder. This isn’t the Oscars, but we’re awarding Melissa a prize for her phenomenal recreation. Those pleats are intoxicating. The whole gown is just sumptuous and magnificent. Authentic, too; Melissa writes that it was “made as closely to Victorian era as possible (no zipper, hidden corset closure, etc.).”
Winner, junior level: Christy Cook’s daughter Eloise as…Eloise!
It’s so perfect! Little Eloise (the real one) is only two years old and adorable. Her outfit is a perfect match for “Eloise who lives at the Plaza.” Clearly some expert Mom-fu going on here.
Winner, Judge’s Choice: Laura Mayer as Mother Goose.
I love this costume! It’s beautifully put together and immediately recognizable as Mother Goose. Laura writes: “I looked at many images of Mother Goose before deciding on my interpretation. I saw that she is most often pictured with a tall Welsh or stovepipe hat, mob cap, shawl, and ankle boots. She is also sometimes seen with a basket and a goose. I knit many of my accessories. My mitts and big lace shawl are from commercial yarns. My hat was also knit with commercial yarn and then felted. The ‘buckle’ on the hat is a vintage pin purchased second-hand years ago, by my mother. The stockings (actually leg warmers) are also hand knit, from my partner’s handspun yarn. The only completely new, purchased items were the pre-made doily and bias tape for my mobcap and its strings, and thin muslin fabric for my fichu. Oh, and the stuffed goose toy!”
Fantasy Costumes
Winner, amateur level: Becky Murphy as earth mage Ainsley Shadowhawk.
“Ainsley Shadowhawk” is Becky’s own creation, which she describes this way: “She channels energy from the earth through her staff, and uses her wand for working larger magics, like summoning her familiar. Handmade tunic, pouch, staff, feather cloak, wolf-eye amulet; purchased skirt, belt, boots, found wand. The orb on the staff is a solar globe—I can put a battery in it and it changes colors.” Great costume, very earthy and natural looking. My only question is what that friendly-looking doggo thinks about the “magicking” Ainsley appears to be attempting.
Winner, expert level: Hannah Stoppel in an 1870s version of Ravenclaw House gear.
Now here’s some expert level magic! This is a jaw-dropping costume. Hannah writes: “This is my early 1870s interpretation of Ravenclaw House from Harry Potter. All of the design elements and details are based on extant period garments, with design inspiration from Ravenclaw’s colors and eagle mascot. I had so much fun searching through historical garments and discovering things like the feathery peplum and cuffs and wing-like overskirt shape. Everything from the underwear out, including the hat, was made by me except for shoes and stockings.”
Winner, junior/family level: Emily Scharf’s family as the Wicked Witch, a flying monkey, and the tornado from the Wizard of Oz.
Emily calls this “the darker side” of Oz, which it is, yes, but it’s also super cute and cool. Emily’s husband is an awesome tornado! That’s Emily looking very green as the Wicked Witch, and their daughter as the most adorable flying monkey I have ever seen in my life. How did they get the sky in their neighborhood to be the perfect Wizard of Oz color?
Equine Division
Winners: Kari Newman and Blueberry as Death.
We created a special division for Kari and Blueberry because a) they are awesome, b) Blueberry is a horse wearing a HORSE HALLOWEEN COSTUME, and c) it’s really not fair to judge other contestants against a HORSE WEARING A HALLOWEEN COSTUME. But we were delighted by this entry and thrilled to include it in the contest. Kari assures us that Blueberry was totally fine during this whole thing, the chains were plastic, nothing uncomfortable at all.
The countdown has begun: exactly two months from today is Halloween. Will you be ready? Will you be wearing a fab historical costume? Will you have photos? Will you enter our contest???
Let the answer to all of those questions be an enthusiastic “yes!” Our 7th Annual Take Back Halloween Costume Contest is on.
Send your photos to contest@takebackhalloween.org, and we’ll upload all the entries to our 2018 Costume Contest Album on our Facebook page.
The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
(Also, be sure to read our Big News about changes coming after the contest is over.)
The prizes this year are almost the same as last year, but we’ve simplified the divisions just to make it clearer (we hope). Basically there are two divisions, and within each division there are three levels: Amateur, Professional/Expert (see below for criteria), and Junior (age 15 and under).
Here’s this year’s prize scheme:
Division I: Category Costumes
This is our traditional division, the one we’ve had since our very first contest. As ever, we’re looking for costumes that fit into our own costume categories here on the website. That means a goddess or mythological figure, a great queen, a notable historical person, or a glamorous star. These should be specific people, not generic costumes.
Best Goddess or Mythological Figure Costume
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Best Queen Costume
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Best Notable Woman Costume
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Best Glamour Grrl Costume
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Best Realization of a Take Back Halloween Design (this prize is about faithfully recreating one of our specific designs here on the website)
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Division II: Masquerade
We debuted this division last year and it was a huge hit. The key thing about this division is that there’s no requirement that you dress up as a real person or specific mythological figure. We’re still interested in history and mythology, but fictional and fantastical interpretations are welcome. We’re inviting entries in the following categories:
Historical Recreation: This is for costumes that are based on an actual garment, statue, painting, description, or illustration. Examples might include: a replica of an archaeological find, such as the golden suit of Issyk; a dress based on a painting; a copy of a museum piece; an outfit depicted in a photograph; or a costume inspired by an imaginative illustration, such as one of Mucha’s posters. The costume you’re copying or recreating should date from no later than 1960.
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Period Costume: This is for costumes that look as if they date from a certain period of history (though it’s fine to use modern parts and techniques in construction). Tudor England, Heian period Japan, Mughal India, Viking Age Scandinavia, and the American Civil War are just a few examples of costume periods. This category is ideal for those of you who are focused on recreating a style of clothing rather than dressing up as a specific historical person. The time period should be no later than 1960.
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Fictional Characters: What we’re looking for here are characters from literature, art, movies (yes, we’re allowing movies), or other media who are in period costume. This can be your own interpretation or your attempt to recreate a costume from a movie or other illustration. So, for example, you might come up with your own version of Meg’s ballgown from Little Women, based on the description in the book, or you could try to re-create a costume from one of the many, many filmed adaptations of the novel. The time period for your character’s costume should be no later than 1960.
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Fantasy Costumes: This is a difficult category to explain. It’s for costumes that have some kind of historical connection but don’t fit into any of the other categories. Many of the brilliant costumes in Black Panther, for example, are inspired by historical designs (think Queen Ramonda with her Zulu isicholo hat), so they would fit in this category. If you’re not sure about your costume, just email us or message us on Facebook.
- Amateur level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Pro/Expert level = $50 Amazon gift certificate
- Junior level = $25 Amazon gift certificate
Do you belong in the Professional/Expert level?
If you’re an expert seamstress, a professional or semi-professional cosplayer, a Renaissance Faire performer, a theatre person, or someone else with access to professional-quality costumes, let us know when you submit your entry. The goal here is just to make sure folks can compete at their own level.
If you’re not sure whether you qualify, ask yourself whether either of these criteria fit:
- Your costume has been exhibited at a cosplay convention or entered in a cosplay contest; it is a professional costume used for Renaissance Faire performances or historical reenactments; or it is a professional stage costume suitable for theatrical performance.
- You are an expert or professional seamstress, cosplayer, Renaissance Faire performer, historical reenactor, or theatrical costumer, and the costume you are entering exhibits an expert skill level.
If either of those applies, we’ll probably class your costume as a professional entry.
General Rules
1. Except for the Masquerade Division, your costume must fall into one of our four categories: a notable woman from history, a queen, a glamorous star, a goddess or mythological figure.
2. Your entry photograph(s) should show the costume in full, and should be clear and well lit. Good photographs help the judging, so we suggest you try to avoid distracting backgrounds.
3. Please tell us exactly who or what the costume represents, along with your name.
4. By submitting your photo, you are giving us permission to publish it on the Take Back Halloween website and on our Facebook page. You are welcome to send in multiple photos of the costume to help us see the full glory of the thing.
5. If you’re submitting a contest entry on behalf of someone else, you must have that person’s permission to submit the entry and publish the photo. If other people appear in the photo, you must obtain their permission for us to use and publish it.
6. The costume may be from any time in the past two years.
7. You may enter up to four (4) costumes for consideration.
8. Submissions should be emailed to contest@takebackhalloween.org.
9. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
We expect to publish the winners about a week after the submission deadline.
Tips
If you’re new to Take Back Halloween, it might help to look at our contest winners from past years to get a sense of what we like:
2017 Costume Contest winners
2016 Costume Contest winners
2015 Costume Contest winners
2014 Costume Contest winners
2013 Costume Contest winners
2012 Costume Contest winner
Happy costuming!
Hey everybody!
It’s time for our annual costume contest, and I’ll be putting up the announcement for that very shortly. But I also have some other news to announce. None of this is going to happen until after the contest, but I wanted to go ahead and put out the alert. So, three things:
1. We’re going to change our name. I don’t know what we’re going to change it to yet, but it will be something more general and without “Halloween” in it. The fact is our readership outgrew Halloween years ago. People all over the world use our designs and other material throughout the year for all kinds of purposes that have nothing to do with Halloween. Our stuff is featured in educational websites and even school programs in Angola, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and many other countries. We’re a year-round resource, and our name needs to reflect that. But fear not: we will still have our annual costume contest at Halloween. In fact maybe we’ll even keep “Take Back Halloween” as the name of the contest.
2. We’re going to overhaul the website. The code hasn’t been touched in almost four years, which is about a thousand years in internet time. Long-time fans of the website know that there are a couple of costumes I’ve been promising to upload but haven’t yet. Know why? Because it’s gotten to the point that I’m afraid to touch anything. So look for a spiffy new website to accompany our spiffy new name (whatever it’s going to be).
3. We’re going to start unveiling new costumes. See #2 above for why this has been delayed. But I’ve got several costume designs in progress in my studio, and once the website is updated I’ll start getting them uploaded. I’m thrilled with these new designs and I hope you will be too.
This is the busy time of year for me at my job—from August to November I’m beyond swamped—which is why none of this can happen until the relative quietude of winter.
And now, on to this year’s contest!
