The Best Costume Ever

What is it? Seriously. I need to know. I need ideas not only for myself, who plans on attending an awesome Halloween party with friends, but for one of my characters, who needs to dress up to infiltrate an All Saints Eve shindig to steal a diamond that contains an ancient secret no one knows exists except the heroine and her grandmother...or so they think.

So what does one wear to such an occasion? The fictional one, I mean. This chick's gotta slip in, grab the gem, and get out without seeming suspicious. Oh, and there are hunky guards searching everyone who comes and goes. Should she wear as little as possible to draw all attention her way and fool everyone into thinking she's somewhere when she's not? That would mean going as Lady Godiva or maybe Eve, as in Adam and. That could backfire, though, in that, well, where does she hide the diamond? Yeah, that's a problem.

The other option is that she dress as something very innocuous, something like a witch, vampire, cat, etc., to blend in. The problem is this is a very elite party where invitation-only guests take delight in trying to outdo each other in the best costume department, no matter what the cost. And why not? The host is offering a $1,000,000 cash prize for the most glorious costume. Rich and manipulative, he enjoys watching his vapid friends try to beat each other at such an inconsequential game. The truth is, he just picks a winner by a lottery drawing at the end of the night, but the drama that unfolds through the evening greatly entertains him. So the point is, my heroine couldn't just walk in as a zombie and get by with it, unless she taped real organs to her body or something. She's not going to do that, so she's going to need something extra special to blend in. But what?

I have that same problem. What do I wear this year for Halloween? No, nobody is offering a cash prize for the best costume, nor do my friends try to outdo each other. We just like to dress up to be silly and hang around telling stories of the good old days when we could all still eat our kids' Halloween candy and not worry about it sticking to our teeth or irritating our gall bladders.

Got any ideas? Last year I went as a cat,the same as the year before. I want to do something different, though still fun, but getting a costume together can be a major endeavor. I hate to buy a costume--although I did get my $20 worth out of the kitty costume--because they never fit right, and the really cute ones don't come in size Way Bigger Than Anyone Else Who Ever Wanted to Dress as Tinker Bell at Your Age. I know what I speak of here, as I have been searching Amazon for costumes. I'll dig through a ton of them until I find one and go, "Woo-hoo! It comes in extra large." Then I read the description and discover that not only it is made in a country that routinely adds broken glass to their export products for some unknown reason, but that the company's extra large is the equivalent to size 8-10. Really? In what species?

Any costume experts out there willing to share some free advice? If so, please comment with your ideas. And if you're looking for your own costume, I do have a nice used cat outfit you might be interested in. :)

Happy Halloween and Happy Reading!
 

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