In alpine Europe, Perchta the Belly-Slitter (a.k.a Berta/Berchta/Frau Percht) roams during the Twelve Days of Christmas, and if you piss her off, she'll cut out your entrails and stuff you full of straw and garbage. And you thought Krampus was all you had to dodge to get through the holidays! [more inside]
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey on Jan 4, 2010 - 23 comments

Rob Cockerham is no stranger to giant Halloween costume projects (and no stranger to MeFi). Every year he famously chronicles his costume builds (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) including everything from idea to final design. This year we not only get to see how his "Money you save with Geico" costume went together, he also published shots from other bay area halloween costume builders (now that's a sub-genre) including the awesome Tauntaun that beat him and the Transformers Bumblebee costume that took ten months to create and went all the way to win in Las Vegas costume contests.
posted by mathowie on Nov 24, 2009 - 34 comments

21 Halloween costumes that will not get you laid. Probably NSFW. Looking through these, I'm sensing a certain theme. 21 fun, ad-choked clicks. sorry.
posted by Slithy_Tove on Oct 31, 2009 - 58 comments

The New Yorker's "Critterati" contest invites you to "take a picture of your pet—dog, cat, ferret, iguana, or any other nonhuman member of the animal kingdom—dressed as a character from literature, and upload it to newyorker.com by October 25th." Gallery | About | Rules | Enter. [more inside]
posted by taz on Oct 22, 2009 - 42 comments

Violin. Them Heavy People. Egypt. The Kate Bush 1979 Xmas Special (QLYT)
posted by fire&wings on Apr 26, 2009 - 21 comments

Perhaps the test didn't work out and you need to retire the replicant. [more inside]
posted by P.o.B. on Apr 14, 2009 - 54 comments

The title says it all: Pets Who Want To Kill Themselves.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Feb 7, 2009 - 32 comments

"You're a paper doll and you're confronted with a horde of hungry zombies. Whose weapon do you wish you had?" Pick your doll. Dress her up naughty or nice. Pick a pet. Stick around for Mermaid Monday, and have fun. My girlfriend says she'll wear this Cupcake Dress for me. Be sure to check out Hobbit Girl. Or the Original Silk Spectre (Sally Jupiter) from Watchmen and Rachel from Blade Runner. There's the obligatory wtf? And finally Sarah Palin. Sorry guys, she doesn't draw men (even if she likes all the same things you do). [more inside]
posted by cjorgensen on Nov 12, 2008 - 9 comments

It's Parade Day, the culmination of the island's biggest and best party of the year, Key West's Fantasy Fest 2008. It's a small party, (in that Key West is only 4-by-2 miles in size), but it increases Key West's population from 27,000 to over 100,000! What's the attraction? Well aside from the body painting [NSFW], casual debauchery [NSFW, GGW, and possible WTF], great freakin' music, freaks getting freaky over freak nakedness, photo ops [again, NSFW], and a pretty much non-stop outrageous gay-straight-bi-leather-whatever One Human Family sexy fun fun fun [NSFW] celebration, Parade Night is miles and miles/five hours of out-of-this-world partying island festival [possible NSFW, whatchutink]! Come now!
posted by humannaire on Oct 25, 2008 - 6 comments

Halloween is lurking ever nearer, and you need costumes and home decorations. Even if you're not as crafty as a witch, Halloween is a good time to start because the results are supposed to look deformed and grotesque. And you're dreaming of a green Halloween. Fortunately I just happen to have a few links to get you started. This garlic wreath could help you keep the vampires away, and this eyeball wreath may work on everyone else. For a geek-style Halloween, make a Mac-o-lantern. You could also decorate the house with a vinyl record cat clock, tin can candle lanterns, a ghost mobile, CD cat coasters, or a skeleton doll made out of old socks. For outdoor decorations, lawn tombstones can be made out pizza boxes and old newspapers, a skeleton out of old plastic containers, and there could be a ghost or two hanging about. You could adorn yourself with a skeleton brooch made out of tin cans, and if you've got old clothes or linens lying about the children in your life might like a few cute monsters to cuddle. If your kids (or you) have finally outgrown dolls, give the dolls a zombie makeover. For costume ideas, check out the Daily Green's list of the best recycled costumes on the Web, then send the kids trick or treating with pumpkin or black cat canisters. Just please be careful with those shears and x-acto knives or the blood and gore on your costume may be a little too organic.
posted by orange swan on Oct 24, 2008 - 28 comments

Yes We Can (eat babies)!
posted by youarenothere on Oct 7, 2008 - 41 comments

Dogs in wigs
Dogs in wigs
Dogs in wigs
Dogs in wigs
Dogs in wigs
This is a little weird.
Mouseover text for more info.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew on Jun 17, 2008 - 21 comments

Artslynx's theatre resources section is a goldmine of links to research and support sites for every aspect of theatrical production and dramaturgy. Especially useful are the Artslynx timelines. Need to know when cling wrap came into usage? Check out the prop timeline. Lots of additional links to outside timelines and history sites for anyone with a thirst for obscure sociological information, a love of craptacularly designed scrolling pages, and generally and too much time on their hands. For example: food, fashion, ephemera, and people who have died onstage [more inside]
posted by stagewhisper on Dec 7, 2007 - 3 comments

A top immigration official has apologized after awarding 'most original costume' to a Homeland Security Department employee who dressed in prison stripes, dreadlocks and dark makeup for a Halloween gathering at the agency. [more inside]
posted by Artifice_Eternity on Nov 6, 2007 - 50 comments

What goes together more than geeks and hawt (ok... some scary), comic-book costumed girls?
(mildly NSFW??)
posted by jpburns on Nov 3, 2006 - 37 comments

In honor of Halloween, the greatest costume ever: a playable Pac Man arcade cabinet.
posted by jonson on Oct 31, 2006 - 24 comments

The Daily Puppy's Halloween Parade 2006. More dogs in costumes. Cats in costumes. Dogs in bee costumes. Hamsters in costumes.
posted by Saucy Intruder on Oct 31, 2006 - 20 comments

Petticoat Pond Transgenerational Poufbunny Pinup Parlour. mnsfw!
posted by riotgrrl69 on Sep 25, 2006 - 36 comments

SpandexMan - Your source for hot spandex costumes. mnsfw!
posted by thirteenkiller on Sep 25, 2006 - 33 comments

Attention all precociously edgy kids: Have you bought your costume yet?
Your parents may insist on insist on something a bit tamer...
posted by hermitosis on Sep 10, 2006 - 40 comments

Charlie the Pug dressed as famous people.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Aug 25, 2006 - 17 comments

It's that time of year again. Zombies. San Francisco. Vancouver. And in case you missed the big one last year, Vancouver 2005.
All this right on the heels of another, and bigger, Skytrain Party, celebrating robots and the new station.
When you live in No-Fun City, you gotta make your own.
posted by Extopalopaketle on Aug 19, 2006 - 21 comments

Clothes for the sophisticated guinea-pig-about town. Don't forget to check out their wide selection of hats.
posted by ozomatli on Jun 1, 2006 - 22 comments

Remember Elvis's gold lame suit? And how about Hank Williams' white suit with musical note sleeves? How about Roy Rogers' crazy cowboy outfits?

We have one man to thank for all these outfits, the height of hillbilly hepcat sartorial magnificence. That man was Nudie of Hollywood.
posted by Astro Zombie on Mar 8, 2006 - 20 comments

Beedogs.com. Dogs in bee costumes. That is all.
posted by onlyconnect on Nov 11, 2005 - 33 comments

Cowboy Action Shooting. Old West fantasy gunfighting competitions. Antique guns, frontier aliases, and period costumes. That's right, costumes. Oh, dear lord, the costumes.
posted by Gamblor on Oct 7, 2005 - 25 comments

Dogs in bee costumes
posted by jonson on Sep 19, 2005 - 46 comments

The Nature Anthem Quicktime video.
posted by Mwongozi on Feb 19, 2005 - 27 comments

The real-life Edna Mode - If you aspire to cartoonish superhero proportions, where your massive muscles and barrel chest allow you to leap computer-generated buildings with single, animated bounds, you should take a lesson from Mr. Incredible: Sew your underwear to your shirt. Salon link; advertising supported free access
posted by GriffX on Dec 21, 2004 - 15 comments

Melfi's office is one of the few places where one always sees the characters' feet. An interesting behind-the-scenes look at dressing the Sopranos by Emmy-winning costume designer Juliet Polcsa.
posted by kirkaracha on Dec 15, 2004 - 14 comments

2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes. A do-it-yourself guide to this season's quickest, least expensive, and spooky-ookiest halloween costumes. My personal favorites are: Florida's Electronic Touch-Screen Voting Machines, The Littlest Prisoner at Abu Ghraib and Jenna Bush's Liver.
posted by Brilliantcrank on Oct 28, 2004 - 24 comments

Snatch first prize at a Halloween party! There's plenty of, umm, interesting costumes over at Ronjo. The kids' ones aren't of the pimp and ho caliber, but the doggie pimp is excellent. Or you could just become a prophylactic superhero in your spare time.
posted by bbrown on Aug 23, 2004 - 15 comments

Every Sunday, it's Halloween in Harajuku. Hanging out by the train station at Tokyo's most fashionable district are young women dressed as nurses, but with white faces and a trickle of painted blood dripping from a lip. Men in their late teens or early twenties fidget under huge manes of spiky green hair and layers of black leather.
Some really amazing costumes can be seen here. And by amazing I mean interesting, and by interesting I mean freaky.
posted by Jase_B on Jul 19, 2004 - 30 comments

The Fursuit & Costume Archive has a most impressive collection of videos of people in animal costumes. Are you furry-curious?
posted by sciatica on Apr 3, 2004 - 21 comments

There are an amazing bunch of costumes available at this japanese site. Some of the best are the godzilla, clown, and werewolf. The masks and wigs aren't bad either [via misterpants]
posted by mathowie on Feb 20, 2004 - 12 comments

mr. deadguy / biomorphs / death studios / ghastly creations / lubatti designs / nfx studios / monster mayhem / the monster lab / twisted toybox / 1313
posted by crunchland on Oct 20, 2003 - 16 comments

"A Kmart Exclusive! This Inflatable Costume from Pumpkin Time is sure to make you the comic hit at any Halloween Party. The cool and comfortable costume self inflates and requires 3 "AA" batteries (not included) to do so."
Other designs:
--You think your kids are scared of clowns now...
--Can Paul Prudhomme sue for this?
--Aarrgghh!! My eyes!!!
"So, Little Tommy, what do you want to go as for Halloween?" "I wanna be Jiminy Glick!"
...with 3 AA batteries. Now it's official: Kmart is doomed.
posted by wendell on Sep 23, 2003 - 40 comments

It's not too early to think about Hallowe'en. This year, why not go as Dr. Zira?
posted by plinth on Sep 20, 2003 - 5 comments

An Elegant Gothic Lolita, EGL or Gothic Lolita for short, is a Japanese teen or young adult who dresses in amazingly elaborate Gothic looking babydoll costumes. Of course, you could make your own.
posted by signal on Jul 22, 2003 - 38 comments

You need to dress a cat. And you will say to a cat together with a family. "It has changed just for a moment". [ "it being very dear" or ] You will pass pleasant one time. Costumes for your cat + some great Engrish. (via Boing Boing.)
posted by Vidiot on May 24, 2003 - 9 comments

Scotty the Blue Bunny - add some color to your next party or family get together with Scotty. "There's something to be said about a seven foot pastel rabbit hurling insults at a party-worn Sunday evening crowd..." via Presurfer
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 18, 2003 - 10 comments

Shopping Bliss "Selected police officers were tasked to wear mascot costumes as they patrol the shopping malls in the capital to make their presence less obtrusive and more friendly." - welcome to mall security, LSD style.
posted by jdaura on Jan 5, 2003 - 18 comments

Inarguably, I think, using contact lenses solely to change the way you look (for halloween, perhaps) is a wonders-of-technology experience, one that reached critical mass some time ago. There have been cases of permanent injury, though, and the NY Times reports that the F.D.A. is cracking down. How great is the risk, and can it be mitigated? (Other than, you know, by actaully getting them via perscription.)
posted by Tlogmer on Oct 29, 2002 - 21 comments

Comic-Con is coming If you live on the west coast and are even tangentially interested in comics, you should head to San Diego this week. The biggest convention in the country starts Thursday and there WILL be costumed weirdos. (and even worse, web cartoonists)
posted by clango on Jul 29, 2002 - 7 comments

Who could build the MeFi mascot? Mascots Interntational, silly! (via my friend Leslie) Imagine "Pancake Bunny" entertaining your kids during the International MeFi Convention in glitzy Las Vegas. If MI could make "Freddy Combine," "Mr. Crab," "Ripster" and "Mazola Bottle," they apparently could make anything.
posted by schmedeman on Jan 17, 2002 - 16 comments

Women's Bodies or Women's Fashions: What Should Come First? Comfort in Western dress is a relatively modern and liberal concept. In the last few years, though, it seems to have been forgotten by increasingly unforgiving - even sadistic - designers. Or is it just Art? Last Wednesday, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a new exhibition called Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed. Judith Thurman, in the current New Yorker, suggests things have gone too far. The question is: should leading designers be free to be absolutely creative - as they seem to be at the moment - or should they adapt their creations to the actual shape of women's bodies? Has "haute couture" finally become an art in itself, with no pretence of actually clothing real women? Is, in fact, a certain hatred of women involved?
posted by MiguelCardoso on Dec 10, 2001 - 23 comments

Snake bags and mullet wigs does not a costume make. I thought Halloween was supposed to be about looking scary to keep the evil spirits away? I also dislike the idea of buying a costume - seems disingenuous. Slightly more inside...
posted by bradlauster on Oct 15, 2001 - 5 comments

Pimp Hats for you and me... Looking to be a pimp or "playa" this Halloween? Check out the gear... yiz-ow! Remember, kids: "Don't hate the Playa, hate the game."
posted by crankydoodle on Oct 1, 2001 - 8 comments

Some Unusual Sumo Photos What do Sumo wrestlers do when they are not competing in the dohyo?
Playing tug of war and dressing up like Sailor Moon. Cool.
posted by lheiskell on Jun 9, 2001 - 10 comments

Disney cast members no longer have to wear dirty underwear. Apparently those Mickey and Goofy suits come complete with a set of undergarments that the employee had to wear, and turn in at the end of the day to be laundered -- that was the plan, anyway. Turns out those undergarments weren't being washed thoroughly. "Some workers had complained about getting pubic lice and scabies. 'Things have been passed around,' said Gary Steverson, a stilt walker at Animal Kingdom. 'I know I don't want to share my tights and I don't want to share my underwear.'"
posted by RylandDotNet on Jun 7, 2001 - 13 comments