I’m a dresser-upper. Since I was a little kid I’ve donned the clothes of characters. From a pilgrim on Thanksgiving to a decked out green kid going to school on St. Patrick’s Day, I dressed up whenever I could get away with it.
High school spirit week was the best. I dressed in a toga, painted my face, and wore my dad’s clothes on different days. The costumes made the mundane fun. I joined the Drama club where I could play around with different roles and costumes without standing out as bizarre. Although my friends knew that my yen for flare went beyond the theater department.
I trick-or-treated through college. My future husband took me around as his little sister our junior year (and he still married me). I dressed as Pippi Longstocking. I may have garnered some strange looks, but since I’d made the effort, I got the candy. No, I’m not addicted to bite-sized confections and candy corn. I just love the fun of escaping into a different personality, trying on someone else’s exciting world, and reveling in it.
Hmmm…sounds a lot like creating characters and worlds for my books.
I carried on my love of dressing up into my adult life with Halloween parties and scare houses and historical period dresses. As my three children grew up I reveled in helping them choose costumes, helping them with their hair and make-up. My favorites include, zombie race car driver (with cardboard car), Medusa (with plastic snake heads on the ends of her hair), and a fairy/unicorn/witch (5yo’s have a hard time deciding on one costume). And of course I still dressed up to hand out candy.
The year I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I happened to find an adult sized complete Snow White costume second hand. The black bobbed wig fit my bald head perfectly. I dressed up and presented a dramatic retelling of the story to my daughter’s pre-school class. They loved it! 
I know that not all authors dress up like I do. But it gives me a great excuse to do it. We create characters, writing them to act out glorious scenes on the page. It isn’t much of a stretch to make those characters come to life by dressing up in Scottish country dresses, English court gowns, and Regency tea party dresses. And I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful mom who sews some of my dresses
Tips for working fun dress-up into your life:
- It’s Halloween. Wow your family by putting together a costume. Either buy one or fashion a fortune teller costume with a skirt, hoop earrings, eye liner, and scarves. Hold a Magic Eight Ball for effect.
- Fashion a head wreath of faux fall leaves and berries to wear to fall events. Have fun with it! Hats, wreaths and scarves are great ways to start small in dressing up your everyday life.
- Wear funny hats while driving and watch someone smile when they see you at a stop light. You just made their day! I like to bite into an apple while wearing the Snow White wig and make-up.
- Wear a tiara around the house one day. See if your kids notice. Feel free to wear it to the grocery store : )
- Opt to dress up when attending one of the themed parties at a writer’s conference. They are so much fun!
- Volunteer to read to kids in school or hospitals while wearing a fairy or princess costume. Feel free to keep the costume on all day afterwards.
- If your monthly supper club or bunko game has a theme, dress to match. Hearts for Valentines, beer hall maid for Oktoberfest, an eye patch for Talk Like a Pirate Day (it’s in September). If your meetings, dinners, and clubs don’t have themes, suggest them.
- Declare one day a month as dress-up day, informing every member of your household that they must dress up if they want to be fed (a little hunger usually gets everyone to play along). Let them take turns choosing a theme: PJ day, favorite movie day, zombie family day…
- Choose one of your favorite characters from a book and make or purchase the costume. Wear it whenever you want and if someone remarks on your odd dress, just inform them of the character you are portraying with your head held high. After all you are being “literary”!
Do you dress up for Halloween or any other time of the year? What’s your favorite costume?
