Two coincidental pirates and an adorable scarecrow

(My) Halloween Costume Details

Grey curly costume wig: eBay
Ghost Pirate costume and hat (sold together): eBay.co.uk
Ghost parrot (on my shoulder): Party City
Bat skull necklace: Wal-Mart
Skull handle pirate sword & skull and bone bracelet, both: Spirit Halloween
Four buckle belt (seen in numerous outfit post here over the years): Forever 21
Black faux leather tall boots: (I think) Zellers (had for several years)
Costume make-up: Walmart & Spirit Halloween
Lip colour: MAC Diva
Nail colour: Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme


Photos - a mix of iPhone and DLSR - taken by Tony Cangiano, as well as some iPhone snaps captured by my step-dad

(My necklace kept flipping over all night, including in this shot, which no one spotted at the time. Oh well! No biggie!)

♥ ♥ ♥

Not everyone in my family dresses up for Halloween night, but those that do make a point of not discussing their costumes with one another in advance (save for me and Tony telling each other what we’ll be sporting). The element of surprise as to what each of us will be wearing has become a much beloved part of our family get-together and always results in big smiles and rousing cheers.

Perhaps none have been more enthusiastically exclaimed than those that went up this Halloween when, by 100% pure coincidence, my mom and I both came dressed as pirates. She of the more traditional (costume) ilk, whereas I was a ghost pirate. We both did double takes and burst out in the biggest grins - what are the odds that we'd each opt for such similar costume theme on the very same night? Slim, I'd say, and that just makes the fact that we did all the more cool!

I first started thinking about, and searching in earnest for, my Halloween costume for this year back on Canada Day (July 1st). I felt pulled towards being a ghost this time around, but wasn't finding too much, especially outside of the classic bed sheet ghostie style, that was catching my eye until I struck upon this awesome Ghost Pirate costume. I'd been both a ghost and pirate as a child (see this post for fun photographic proof), but never an ensemble that married the two.

Though I did keep looking at various costume options for another two or three weeks after first spotting this one, in the back of my mind, I kept returning to it and by August, I knew the time had come to place my order. No Canadian sites were selling it then (and I'm not sure if they ever did) and the most affordable source actually turned out to be eBay.co.uk, which was nearly half the price - even with shipping and the conversion rate factored in - as the lowest American source I could find for it (that is not something that happens every day by any means).

I scoured eBay for a curly, Lady Pirate appropriate grey wig and came across this fun (surprisingly comfortable) costume one for a total song. A few accessories and some make-up gathered far closer to home, plus a trusty pair of boots (that I've had for the better part of a decade now) rounded out the high seas meets graveyard inspired mix.

It was an immensely fun costume to wear and one that I could easily see myself sporting again down the line. My darling husband went for something not only fun as well, but awesomely iconic in terms of the season for his festive garb: a cuter than cute scarecrow costume, that he looked so fabulous in! I've never gone as a scarecrow myself, but I must say, after seeing how great Tony looked as one, I'm giving serious thought to finding a similar costume of my own for a future All Hallows' Eve.

Speaking of the big day itself, on the morning of last Saturday, it was raining absolute buckets and didn't stop until the early afternoon. I think that this may have factored into why we got fewer trick-or-treaters than in recent years (we kept a tally and had 45 in total by the end of the night). Still, thankfully some did come ring our bell and we weighed their pillow cases and plastic pumpkin pails alike down with oodles of sweets, as it quickly became apparent that we weren't going to be getting the 100+ kids we'd been thinking we might (and bought treats for) based on past numbers and the fact that it was a Saturday.

Inside and out, our condo was appropriately attired as well and I must say, I think this year was my favourite ever in terms of the decorations. I certainly loved my costume, too, as well those my photo mates are sporting here. My mom looked marvelous as a pirate and I'm still smiling ear-to-ear like a carved jack-o-lantern that we, independently of one another, both opted for the same sort of costume. Like Halloween loving mother, like Halloween loving daughter! :)