5 Must-Have Accessories to Murder @dianevallere

LUCY BURDETTE: Reds, I'm so happy to introduce Diane Vallere to you today, if you don't already know her! Somehow she pegged me as a costume person and asked me to read her book. Now that first in her costume shop mysteries, A DISGUISE TO DIE FOR, has hit bookshelves--and it's definitely a winner. Welcome Diane!

DIANE VALLERE: Fact: the last four accessories I purchased came from a costume shop. Clown necktie, clown bow tie, and two pair of fishnet stockings. And truth be told, I’d be lying if I said this was a new phenomenon inspired by the costume shop mystery series.  

Back in my college days, I threaded holsters and plastic silver pistols through a belt, buckled it around my hips, and wore it to a frat party with a yellow sweater and khaki skirt. A few weeks later I dyed my bobbed hair black and added ropes of pearls and elbow-length gloves to my outfit of fringed skirt and sleeveless tank. And in one lecture hall, the pink crinoline under my black skirt took up so much room on either side of me that I ended up sitting alone.
What, you think that sounds weird?

As someone who first made a living in the fashion industry prior to becoming a writer, I’ve long known that the way we dress is a reflection of who we are. Shows like What Not to Wear endorse that very fact, drawing style inspiration from inside a person who’s been paying no mind to how they costume themselves. But as lifestyles become more casual and outfits are chosen for function rather than fashion, I have to wonder if our online presence has replaced the desire to take advantage of that all important first impression? Are we shifting away from individuality into an army of cargo-shorted and yoga-panted clones? 

I say it’s time for a revolt. So here are four items you might consider the next time you want to stand out in a crowd (and one personal fave): 

1.    Boost the glamour factor of your little black dress with an ostrich feather boa! Available in an assortment of colors and a fun toy for your cat when you’re done wearing it. 

 





2.    Not the boa type? Then go for a flapper headband. Keeps your hair in place and provides a perfect distraction from the spot where you accidentally spilled some salsa.
 


3.    Men: show off your personality with a pair of novelty suspenders! Green for St. Patrick’s Day, red for Valentine’s Day, or plaid for a bit of preppy whimsy.
 




4.    Cold feet? Warm them up with a pair of wacky socks. You’d be surprised what you can find at a costume shop: stripes, dots, and spider webs, to name a few. Wear them under a business suit and surprise your coworkers when you cross your legs.


 


5.    And of course, no wardrobe is complete without a clown tie.  Or is that just me?

About A DISGUISE TO DIE FOR:

No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family’s costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving knife over a very dead Blitz. 

  

For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon larns, even a killer disguise can’t hide a murderer in plain sight for long.

INCLUDES RECIPES AND COSTUME IDEAS!

How about you Reds, costumes or no costumes? If you love them, what's the best you ever wore?

Thoughts on Halloween.

RHYS BOWEN:

So we all survived Halloween, did we? We actually had no trick or treaters and are left with several bags of candy. Oh dear. Someone will just have to finish all those Kit Kats and Snickers, I suppose!

I'm always surprised by the number of kids who tell me that Halloween is their favorite holiday--over Christmas with all the presents and the tree, over 4th of July with the parades and fireworks, or Easter with the chocolate eggs.

I'm also surprised at the costumes they choose. I think my girls were always something sweet and adorable--princesses and fairies and maybe a good witch or two. But my little granddaughter Mary was a vampire, two years in a row. What's more, she was so convincing about it that her teacher had to ask her mother to speak to her about scaring the other children.

"They think she's a real vampire," the teacher said.
So Clare spoke to her and she agreed she wouldn't try to tell them she was a real vampire any more.
So guess what she told them?
She told them she was really a werewolf instead!

So is this the main reason that kids like Halloween? Not the candy? They love the power of being able to scare people, and feeling just a little scared themselves. Mary for the rest of the year is a sweet, well-behaved little girl (if a rather good actress).

But I'm also surprised at the number of adults who say they love Halloween. I suppose again it's the costumes, the taking on a character so different from our own--pretending to be evil, or sexy, or both. It's the one day nobody stops us if we act strangely or look even stranger.
But it's not for everyone. Especially not my husband John. The last time we went to a Halloween party he came up with the costume of an Englishman from the 1930s, wearing blazer, bow tie, yachting cap, white flannel trousers.  And what does he normally wear--blazer, sometimes bow tie, sometimes light trousers, sometimes even a yachting cap. And he thinks this is a costume???

You know how Halloween started, don't you? It's a Celtic festival that was adopted into the Christian calendar. It is the one night of the year when the door between the two worlds opened and the dead came among us. And people put on scary costumes--skeletons and ghosts--so that the dead would think they were one of their own and wouldn't take them to the otherworld with them.

Do you think they'd be convinced by a man in a bow tie and yachting cap? Probably not.

So do you still wear costumes at Halloween? If so, are you scary or sweet?

Cutting Up with Costumes

 
LUCY BURDETTE:  I think my love of costumes must date back to the time I watched my parents waddle down the road to a Halloween party dressed as corn stalks, with carved pumpkins over their faces. Though I don't remember my childhood costumes, since the moment I learned to sew, I made my own.

Here's one of my favorites ever, Kermit the frog. You're not seeing the little webbed hands and feet that I also made to go along with the costume. I had a marvelous Wonder Woman (which I can no longer fit into so will not demonstrate) and a Marilyn Monroe complete with blond wig and sparkling evening dress. And here's a photo from my nephew's wedding just this past weekend...with my brother and one of my sisters...

 

Lucky for me, I will be spending Halloween this year in Key West. Fantasyfest involves an entire week of Halloween activities, some XXX rated, which I will not report on. I know that I will be riding in the zombie bike parade. I already have an appointment for my face painting and have the spooky tutu that will go with. And I would not miss the tutu party with my pals. 
And some of you probably remember the wiener dog parade from last year. The truth is, I have no shame...

How about you Reds, a yen for costumes? Any wonderful memories from your costume history?

HALLIE EPHRON: I confess, I'm costume-challenged. My go-to costume as a kid was "bum." Baggy pants, dirty shirt from my dad, and old hat, and voila. My daughters made costumes for themselves every Halloween, mostly with minimal help from me on costume and their dad on makeup. Here's what my youngest did with a red cocktail dress we bought at a rummage sale, a few props, and charcoal makeup. 



LUCY: That's brilliant Hallie!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, I am totally costume-challenged!  I can't sew, and I seem to have no imagination in that department. I'll miss Halloween this year as I'll be doing a college event, but maybe next year I'll get my daughter to help me. She always has great costumes, and I'd love to dress up as something fun, or have zombie make-up. Ideas welcome!

RHYS BOWEN: I love dressing up, but not to the extent of actually sewing things. When my kids were small I did make costumes. I remember daughter Clare wanting to be a tree one year. Lots of burlap and glue gun involved. But luckily as soon as they were in school there was pressure to buy this year's popular costumes. Always good fairies, Disney princesses and never anything scary. When they were teens they invented creative costumes on their own. Clare, always creative once went to a party as Harry Potter, carrying her baby son as Dobby, with a sock pinned to him!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I love the Dobby idea! Fabulous.  It's a challenge for me to think of something for me and Jonathan to do together. Because he has the built-in beard, which narrows the possibilities, right?  And one of my triumphs (If I do say so,) was the year we went as the Arcs.   I was Joan, and Jonathan was Noah.

The next year I didn't have time to come up with something too new, so we added cowboy hats and bandanas to the exact same costumes, and went as Noah and Joan of Arkansas. 

Merry Christmas Silliness

All the credit for this goes to Rosemary Harris, who got us all together, made the costumes, arranged the songs, and hired the musicians, ho ho ho :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Costumes we covet...

HALLIE: This week, the incredible collection of iconic movie costumes that Debbie Reynolds had collected over a lifetime went on the auction block. Marilyn Monroe's white dress--the one from Seven Year Itch with the pleated skirt, billowing in a gust of air from a subway grating--went for a record $5.6 million.

"Oh do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn't it delicious," MM said in the movie. Supposedly her then husband (Joe DiMaggio?) looked on, seething in stony silence.

I love this photo of Debbie (I still think of her as Tammy) with a poster and two costumes from her collection. So sad that the collection had to be liquidated to pay creditors.

Reading abut the auction got me thinking about my favorite costumes from stage and screen. Here are some I'd love to have collected.

Do you know them ? Did I pick ones you remember? What other costumes you covet??

(Could you identify them all? I posted a Who's Who in the first comment!)