All Hallow's Eve

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Today is my favorite day of the year! Hallow's Eve roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and has always somehow spoken to me, although it is also known in the Christian calendar as All Saint's Day. Trick or Treating was something I did growing up (and loved it) but it was not until I was older that I much appreciated the therapeutic quality of dressing up. It's not surprising that I was always into wearing super elaborate costumes for Halloween because I've always had fun making and sewing them up, especially since the route I was planning to take in Fashion was theatre costuming. Taking three or four months to create the perfect costume has brought me extreme pleasure. It's not just picking the costume that I find is great, although it reflects a huge part of what I am feeling like (or needing to feel like), but it's also the sourcing out of the material and fabric, endlessly searching and reading about what it is that you are going to become for a day or night. Much like acting, prepping and dressing up for Halloween is a kind of parallel to becoming something that you are not but would like to be. And then you actually get to take the stage! Granted some people might not think much about it. For them getting a costume together means rummaging through their fifteen or fifty year ol' clothes and accessories and then join the numerous individuals who also like checking out the scene. But what might be interesting to think about for a moment is how cathartic or helpful it might actually be to dress up while allowing yourself to step inside the shoes of someone, or something else. What if the character we choose to be is a glint of what you've always dreamed of being or hoped of not becoming? These subconscious and automatic reactions that we have, like picking a Halloween costume, are an incredible resource into letting ourselves be exactly who we want to be, even if it is just for one night. Children play dress up all the time when they're younger, whether it's being an astronaut, a cheerleader, or a private investigator, it gives them a sneak peak at what makes them feel good and what doesn't. Halloween is that time of year where the big kids also get to play dress up and have fun.
Enjoy!