Halloween is my favorite holiday bar none. I don't go trick or treating, but I go to parties, clubs and bars and there's always block parties around. A couple of years ago, I did drag, which I had never done, and an acquaintance of mine who is an amazingly talented make up artist did my make up and lent me a wig of real human hair he styled for me, and another friend who owns an antique shop and has original Travilla gowns (Travilla designed many of Marylin Monroe's dresses, including the famous white halter one billowing from the subway undercurrent), lent me a spectacular couture evening dress with long gloves and a real sable stole, and I won first prize, $1000 (!), in a big contest my friends urged me to enter. Let me tell you, in those heels and that outfit and new face, I had no problem working the runway for the contest. Well, after a couple of drinks that is. I split the money with all of them, we ended up drinking a LOT and buying a LOT of rounds to random people that night. That was one of the funnest nights ever, even if my shoes did KILL me. (They were 5'' high)
The weirdest part was when I bumped into a co worker who didn't even recognize me, and after, oh, at least 5 minutes of him flirting and asking me if I was a model and which movie star I was supposed to be disguised as, and I was cracking up, I finally burst out laughing and said "Carlos, it's me, Michel, from work", he did a double take, then a triple take, and his jaw dropped so far down, and he kept looking me up and down saying "Man, you make a hot woman; no, seriously, I never... wow...you... wow.." and he had the creepiest hungry look on his face so I left him very quickly after that.
This year, if I train hard enough at the gym, I'd like to go as that blond muscle guy from Rocky Horror Picture Show, you know, Franken Furter's "Favorite obsession, with blond hair and a tan, and good to relive his tension...".
But my friend who has the antique store is only keeping the rights to sell the Travilla gowns until December, after which he is selling the rights to some big auction house, Christie's I think, so he wants me to come over to his storage place and pick out a couture gown so we can do a repeat of last time, he's asked all the same people to help me plan the look and get ready and style me, so we'll see...
Frankly, they're all much more excited about this than I am. I mean, the store owner, who is an older man and an artist, has already started sketching me in a few things. (?) I love Halloween, but going as a sailor would be just as fine for me too, and not such a mega production, and I also wouldn't have to worry about the obscenely expensive dress I'm wearing all night.
But I have to admit, I make a mighty fine woman after two hours of prepping. Just don't tell anyone it's me.