Being someone you're not

Mascchere
Originally uploaded by mrbadguyva.

If I have a say in it, one thing I'd like to do before I fall off the mortal perch is to be in Venice for the Carnevale.

For those of you who don't know, this is an annual festival, held in April I think, in which the city fills up with mask-wearing revellers who dance and celebrate something pretty special. I will clearly need to work out what that is before I go there.

But the point is, the 'masks and costumes and party' bit if what I want to be there for.

I read an article in yesterday's "Red Eye" (Chicago's equivalent of "The Messenger") in which a female columnist reflected on the Halloween custom of wearing costumes.

She posited that Halloween provides women with the once-a-year (ahem) opportunity to wear the dodgiest outfits possible - and get away with it. According to the 'journalist', the motivation for this is that women can hide their true personalities (and not their bodies) under cheerleader outfits or waitress mini-uniforms, and become someone they're not (but would like to be?) for the night.

I thought Halloween was about dressing up as something scary; not dressing up per se. But apparently I am mistaken.

So I got to thinking about my own outfit from the perspective of the columnist.

I am dressing as a vamp by default. I had wanted to go as the Angel of Death. So I figured that the black angel wings, the satin dress, and the black wig with pink highlights would be ideal.

But when I got home and tried them on together, they just looked too naff. So I bought cheap nail varnish and lipstick, a red plastic gothic medallion, and some black hairspray, and that was it.

The fact that my chest looks fabulous in this satin frock is just incidental. Right?

Hehe sorry Dad. Maybe next year I'll dress as something wholesome on purpose. Because wholesome is what I am, after all.

But just so you know, my new flatmate is going to a party in Wisconsin tonight dressed as "trailer park trash pregnant Britney Spears". I love that.