You Gotta Wear Shades Today
Someone with a very bright future decided that every June 27th should be Sunglasses Day. It’s a good thing this special day is set aside to salute America’s “shades” since summertime is now in full swing. In addition to reducing glare, strain and harmful UV rays which can damage the eyes, sunglasses also help a guy or gal look really cool.
Sunglasses today spell out celebrity with a capital “see”! The oversized sunglasses of actresses, pop stars and celebutantes can be so huge that they shield almost the entire face from the prying paparazzi. Notorious big sunglass wearers have long been Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, but the Guidettes on MTV’s “Jersey Shore” have been giving them a run for their money lately. One of the first celebrities to be known for her distinctively large sunglasses was Jackie Kennedy who favored over-sized round glasses with a tint.
Females certainly don’t have the market on memorable sunglasses. Shake a hip and imagine the King of Rock and Roll’s gold framed sunglasses; Elvis Presley was known for putting his ostentatious style on everything from his pimped out Cadillac to his sunglasses. For totally over-the-top style in sunglasses, Elton John was hard act to follow with his big, glittery star-shaped sunglasses, wind-shield wiper glasses, weird bug-eye glasses and more. Any one of these choices in sunglasses would make your costume ideas rock!
Sunglasses like Rayban Wayfarers or Aviators are timeless fashion accessories and have been worn with ease with through the decades. Some sunglasses are more defined to an era and make good touches to Halloween costumes such as little round “Beatles” glasses of the 1960s or the “robot wrap” glasses popularized by the band Deevo in the 1980s. In this decade, it seems the most popular sunglasses are the ones that come with the hefty, designer price tag. Dolce & Gabbana makes one of the world’s most expensive pair for more than $383K!
Sharp Costume Style – Men with Claws
The movies really seen to have a thing for men with claws; it must be some animal instinct in Hollywood. Whether used as weapons or slicing a steak, it can come in quite handy to have these extra long protrusions jetting out from your fingertips. Forget about nicely trimmed nails, you don’t need a nice manicure to dress up in some of these best Halloween costume ideas.
Edward Scissorhands: From the dark and eccentric imagination of director Tim Burton comes the cutting-edge character of Edward Scissorhands in the eponymous movie of 1990. The perfect venue for actor Johnny Depp to let his freak flag fly, the character of Edward is a Frankenstein-like, misunderstood teenager filled with a talent to sculpt topiary among other things with his scissor-like hands. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly ranked Edward Scissorhands 7th on the list of “Top 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.” Halloween costumes of Edward feature faux blade gloves, a buckled leather-like outfit and a wild mop of hair. Face paints and special effects kits can be used to create the pale complexion marred by his own hands.
Freddy Krueger: This heinous villain from the Nightmare on Elm Street series has blade-like claws and isn’t afraid to use them – in a bad way. Stalking victims in their dreams, this evil dude uses his razor sharp finger blades to create a night of horror-filled dreams. In addition to the claws, the Freddy Krueger costume features a signature red and dark green striped sweater and a fedora hat.
Wolverine: A mutant hero from the X-Men franchise, Wolverine’s hands feature six retractable bone claws – three on each hand. His skeleton, including claws, were later bonded with indestructible adamantium, a rare metal alloy. Combined with his unusual healing power, Wolverine’s claws make him a virtually unbeatable opponent. Wolverine and his claws are quite popular costume ideas and there are several versions to choose from whether you prefer the movie Wolverine or the comic book Wolverine costume.
Werewolves: Werewolves, or lycanthropes if you want to get all scientific, make great Halloween costumes and are everywhere in the movies from old black-and-white films to the recent Twilight movie, True Blood. Whether your werewolf costume imitates Michael Landon from I was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) or is a more charismatic canine, like Taylor Lautner from Twilight, claws of some sort are in order! So is the tell-tale shirt of a werewolf that has been shredded in rage during the full moon
Think Pink Today
If you’ve always wanted to be “pretty in pink”, today is your day – June 23rd is National Pink Day. National Pink Day is a tribute to the color that is a shade of red mixed with white. Pink can be ultra pale like the color of champagne or super bright pink like the color of flashy flowers – and pink can be every variation in between. So, pick your favorite shade of pink, or pick them all, and celebrate National Pink Day in all its splendor.
Starting with newborns swaddled in pink, the color has become symbolic for little girls and big girls alike. But, did you know that up until 1914, the color pink, a watered-down red, was primarily associated with masculinity. However, after an American newspaper suggested pink was strictly for girls and blue for boys, the gender convention stuck. Currently, an artist in Korea is capturing the cultural preferences for various colors by children in her “Pink and Blue Project”, but with the effect of global advertising it seems that almost every modern country has become indoctrinated to the association of pink with femaleness.
Think of pink and an image of a graceful ballerina might enter your mind along with her pink frothy tutu and pink ballet shoes. Hello Kitty, that feminine little feline anime that is a world-wide girl trend everywhere from Japan to the US, is all about the power of pink. Princesses tucked away in their majestic castles in the sky always wear pink ball gowns, don sparkling pink diamond tiaras and eat pink meringue cupcakes for dinner. All of these oh-my-goodness, so girly examples of pink can make a great starting place for some of the best Halloween costumes.
But we hate to leave the guys out of things that are pink. If a guy is looking to don pink, a pink shirt or a pink tie says he isn’t afraid to be in touch with his feminine side. For a Halloween party, brave and bawdy guys can dress up in pink womens costumes and mimic the pinker sex. Or, there are also pink costumes that are just very suitable for men from a pig costume (no offense) to a Pink Panther costume; guys can show their love for this not-just-for-the-ladies color by sporting it on their proverbial sleeve.
Get Your Green On – Shrek Costumes
“It ain’t ogre till it’s orgre” or so the marketing execs say about the Shrek movie franchise that just released the fourth installment, “Shrek Forever After.” A favorite with both kids and their parents alike, the films have starred the lovable fairy-tale like animated characters voiced by some of the day’s most popular actors. With the success of the 4th Shrek movie, it is almost a given that Shrek costumes will be popular again this Halloween and for children’s birthday parties.
The ogre Shrek is the most popular Halloween costume from the movie series and features the rude yet loveable big guy’s outfit of paid pants, an ivory tunic and brown vest. Of course, Shrek wouldn’t be Shrek without the green latex mask with horn-like ears. If you’d rather not wear a mask, there’s always the option of applying green face paint and a headband with his horns.
The princess Fiona, as we find out from the first movies, has been placed under a curse that causes her to become an ogress after dusk. After falling in love with Shrek, she realizes that life as an ogre is not so bad and lives a happy life in her fairy tale land with lots of little green ogre babies. The fair Fiona is often shown wearing lavender, green or blue gown and has a long brown braid and tiara-horn headpiece.
Other Shrek costumes include Puss in Boots, the suave, Spaniard cat shown wearing tall leather boots, a caballero hat, cape and a sword. Shrek’s sidekick, the donkey, is dumb as a doornail but makes a fun costume idea for a fairytale ball. The donkey costume is all that you’d expect it to be with a furry suit, tall stand-up donkey ears and buck teeth – hee haw! One last costume idea for Shrek fans is the Gingerbread Man, a delectable jumpsuit embellished with almost-real looking confections such as gumdrops, frosting and non-pariels.
June is National Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Month
June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, so fill your plate up with the abundant delights of summer time. Home gardens are overflowing and farmer’s markets are brimming with healthy choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As you probably know, the federal government recommends 3 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruits each day. That may sound like a lot, but actually it’s not so hard to accomplish if you cut out unhealthy snacks such as chips, candy and sodas.
Even if you’ve never been a fruit or veggie lover, this month-long tribute to Mother Nature’s bounty should give you something to chew on. Trade in your cheese puffs for carrots, your jelly beans for grapes and your French fries for oven-baked potatoes. Not only will your body thank you for the infusion of healthy foods, your taste buds will actually adapt to favor this new, improved way of eating.
During the summer months, you’ll find lots of other celebrations in honor of fruits and vegetables. Gather up the family and hop in the car in search of sun, fun and all the fruits and vegetables you can eat. From Lentil Fest held each August in Pullman, Washington to July’s Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, a crowd favorite is always the Lulling, Texas Watermelon Thump, home to the World Championship Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.
Another way to celebrate Nation Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month is to dress up as your favorite variety. There are lots of costume ideas including larger-than-life banana costumes, apple costumes, grape costumes and more – it almost sounds like a recipe for a Fruit of the Loom commercial. If you don’t want to dress up in a food costume, then suit up as a skilled cook or chef (wearing an apron and hat) who knows how to whip up every type of recipe.
Marvel-ous Superheroes
With the recent release of Iron Man 2, fans are chomping at the bits to satisfy their appetites for superhero-based movies. Marvel Studios, the power-house responsible for some of our favorite comic book-inspired protagonists, has plans to roll out a several more films in this genre – maybe not faster than a speeding bullet, but coming in the next several years to a theater near you. The characters from these future movies would all make a great choice in your next Halloween costume.
Thor (May 2011) According to mythology, this Norse god of thunder wields a magic hammer and ride through the heavens in his chariot wreaking havoc on earth. You’ll feel anything but mortal in a Thor costume featuring built-in, padded muscles and bun-hugging tights. Long flowing blonde locks and a Viking helmet will complete the epic look.
Captain America (July 2011) This red-white-and-blue superhero has always taken a tough stance against the unpatriotic bad guys. Soon movie-goers can see him use his super-serum strength with insurgents in a made-for-the-big-screen adaptation of this popular marvel comic. The signature bright blue Captain America costume features a star on the chest and bright red boots along with a patriotic shield used to deflect any attack against democracy and freedom.
The Avengers (May 2012) In a multi-hero format, this upcoming film brings together a coalition of Marvel heroes including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, the Black Widow and Nick Fury from the SHEILD initiative. Get your group of Avengers to assemble in their varied uniforms of spandex and flowing capes and campout overnight to be the first in line for this flick!
Iron Man 3 – Still in the talking stages with movie execs, there could possibly be a third Iron Man in the franchise some in the future. Whether you prefer the comic-book inspired yellow and red Iron Man costume or are a more modern-day Tony Stark in a metallic red and gold Iron Man suit, you’ll still be a force to be reckoned with either of these fierce Halloween costumes.
She’s A High-Flying Flag
Let your flags fly high! On June 14th of each year, the United States of America celebrates the adoption of its official flag which happened to the date in 1777. It wasn’t until1916 that President Woodrow Wilson made the day official by creating an official proclamation. Flag Day is a great way to pay your respects to “Old Glory” and all the symbolism that she brings.
Flag Day can be celebrated in many ways, from simply hanging a flag off the front porch to heading downtown to watch a parade. Quincy, Massachusetts is home to the longest running Flag Day parade which has been marching every year since 1952 while Troy, New York boasts the largest parade with more than 50,000 people in attendance. Flag Day is part of the patriotic season that begins with Memorial Day at the end of May and culminates with Independence Day, July 4th.
According the history books, during the American Revolution, Betsy Ross was commissioned to create a flag to fly in honor of the new America colonies. What this seamstress created wasn’t something to soon be forgotten, her flag (and subsequent versions) is perhaps one of the most iconic and enduring images of the USA. A field of blue set the background for 13 white stars which represented each of recent additions to the new growing country.
Wearing a Betsy Ross costume is a great way to honor the flag flying high above. Dressed in the typical clothing of a colonial-era woman, Betsy Ross is often portrayed in a plain black cotton dress with a white apron and “mop cap” style bonnet worn over pinned up curls. Colonial style shoes should be peeking out from this historical womens costume and a pair of spectacles are a necessity for seeing all the tiny sewing stitches. For a fun prop, carry around a partially finished flag secured down into a large embroidery hoop.
Shoes, Booze and Lots of Costumes – Sex in the City 2
The Sex in the City girls are at it again -- shoes, booze and, in this sequel movie, a romp through the Middle East. The years are flying by, and each of the utterly fab girls are wrestling with the inherent issues of a new stage in life; Carrie is getting used to married bliss with Big, Miranda is trying to balance work and motherhood, Charlotte is crazed over a non-existent affair hubby might be having with the nanny and Samantha is trying to keep menopause at bay.
Because New York City apparently wasn’t flashy enough, the girls head off on a luxury vacation in Abu Dhabi hosted by none other than the Sheik himself. While the local women are covered up head to toe in black robes and veils, the Sex in the City ladies try their best to keep it modest in their vintage Halstons, Manalo Blahniks and Hermes Birkins. The costume designer for the series, Patricia Fields, created more than 300 looks for the summer blockbuster – that comes down to 2 costume changes per each minute in this 148 minute movie!
The movie starts out with a flashback of the girls first meeting in the 1980s and these were some of the most outrageous costumes in my opinion. If you come from that era, can you even believe we wore that stuff?! Carrie was looking like an early pop Madonna in a petticoat, lavender corset, sleeveless flannel shirt and an overload of bangles, pearls and bows. Carrie also had a 80s costume where she gets right out of the cab in a womens costume reminiscent of the movie Flash Dance.
The 80s costume flashback for Charlotte featured a Lilly Pulitzer look skirt in preppy pinks and greens along with a cardigan thrown around the shoulders, and Tretorn sneakers with pink pom-pom socks (remember those?). Miranda, always the corporate gal, was shown as a total 80s go-getting attorney, rushing down the street in running shoes in her shoulder-padded matchy-matchy suit, starched white blouse and awful wedge hairdo. The Samantha Sex in the City costume featured her flashback before she was a public relations pro. As a wild bartender, Samantha is shown wearing peek-a-boo snake print pants, and a leopard tank under a studded denim vest. Red heeled booties, an outrageous bleach blonde wig and a Sony Walkman finished up her edgy Eighties look.
Some of the best Halloween costume ideas this year for fashion-conscious women are going to be based on the Sex in the City 2 movie. From the retro looks to the middle-eastern inspired flowing gowns worn while the girls were on vacation, each of these costume ideas is going to be a lot more fun with a Cosmo in hand. Go to the movies, check it out and then start planning your Sex in the City 2 today!
D’oh! It’s Doughnut Day
Calling all aficionados of frosted fried dough with sprinkles on top – it’s Donut Day, officially celebrated the first Friday in June. More delicious than nutritious, this celebration America’s favorite breakfast treat originally started in 1938 by the Salvation Army as a way to honor and raise fund for the volunteers of World War 1. However, it was American, Hansen Gregory, who takes credit for inventing the ring-shaped snack in 1847. It turns out that punching a small circle out of the center keeps the dough from getting too greasy during the frying process. There are many ways to get your fill of doughnuts on Donut Day from driving around town filling up on free doughnuts to dressing up as your favorite doughnut-loving character.
Think of the ultimate donut lover and none other than Homer Simpson will pop into your mind. D’oh! This loveable goof-up, doofus dad of The Simpsons is known to be lead by his appetite and would happily exchange his soul for a single donut! While at work at the Springfield Nuclear Plant, Homer is often distracted by the allure of a pink-frosted donut – but in the end, the town never blows up and the big guy gets his snack. There are several Homer Simpson Halloween costumes that would be “tasteful” to wear on Donut Day. A typical Homer costume features blue pants and a white shirt; if you’ve got a spare tire around the middle, let it all hang out -- if not you can slip a padded costume belly under your shirt. A Homer Simpson costume also needs a latex map of his bald, endearing mug to be complete.
Another costume for Doughnut Day is to suit up as a member the profession that is so linked to donuts that it’s hard not to crack a joke. Policemen, stereo-typed in a good-natured way, have long been accused of having a weak spot for coffee shops serving doughnuts around the clock. Really, if you think about it, a donut makes a good carbo-loaded pick-me-up for the hard-working cop on the night shift. Dressing up in a policeman costume is a funny costume idea, especially when you can get great costume prop to accent the look – a donut “purse” that attaches to the arm via a handcuff!
Other ways to be the sweet center of attention on Donut Day is to dress up as a larger-than-life donut in a Halloween costume that is designed as a huge “O”-shaped sheath embellished with faux sprinkles. If you want to make men drool, a sexy costume called Christy Kreme s a va-va-va-voom version of the popular doughnut shop uniform. Or, dress up as a donut baker in a costume that features a white apron, puffy white apron, rolling pin and box of donuts.
Harry Potter’s Wizarding World
The character of Harry Potter has become a hero for our times since first introduced by writer J.R. Rowling in 1997. At the beginning of her beloved seven-book series, Harry was a scared and frightened boy just learning to cope with his wizarding ways. By the end of the epic tale, Harry had become an admirable, wise-for-his-years young man. His popularity is so far-reaching that the novels have been translated into 67 languages. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly magazine named Harry Potter 2nd on the list of “Top 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.”
More proof of the Harry Potter craze -- the soon-to-be grand opening of a new Universal Studio 20-acre amusement park in Orlando, Florida called “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” Scheduled to start wowing young and old fans alike on June 18th, the theme park will feature Howgwarts Castle, Hogsmeade village, Hagrid's Hut and other amazements from the books and movies. And, of course, marketing execs have it all planned out to coordinate with the Deathly Hallows movie sequel this summer.
Get into the hijinx by dressing up in your favorite Harry Potter costume. From Harry Potter himself, in a gold and maroon scarf, sweater with Gryffindor crest, dark cloak and pair of round black glasses to any other of the cast of school chums – Hermione, Ron Weasley. Of course, you’ll need all types of costume accessories to work magic such as a wand, wizard hat, book of spells and a trusty owl to deliver messages. Invisibility cloaks, chocolate frogs, marauding maps, and a Quidditch broom are all other useful items to have if you are a Harry Potter wizard.
Dressing up as the villain is always an option for Harry Potter fans who enjoy the Dark Arts. Costume ideas include student, Draco Malfoy with his slicked back blonde hair and Slytherin robe, soul-sucking dementors or the ultimate bad guy, “he-who-can’t-be-named”, Lord Voldemort. Women who are on the dark side can dress up as Beatrix Lestrange, played by Helena Bonham Carter or the prissy Deloris Umbridge, a professor of Dark Arts and the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic.
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