Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wicked Witch of the Ginger

As Halloween approaches, I find myself reminiscing on the costumes of the years past. As a child, there were a few staples that made it through most of my development years. Unlike my little brother, who opted for ninjas or Pokemon characters; I often chose a more feminine side of the spectrum.

She hates hydration. Smart woman.
The first Halloween I can recall, I was a wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz. She was my favourite. You can't really argue with a bitchy powerful woman who has army's of monkeys and refuses to drink water (my guess is that she was holding out for Diet Coke). Then, I can remember desperately wanting to be Christine from Phantom of the Opera (the play I developed an obsession with from about the age of 7). My mother didn't gel well with the idea of her 7 year old boy going out as a girl, trick or treating - it was the early 90's after all. We opted for the 'safer' choice of going as the Phantom himself. Over time I gave my best portrayal of a witch each year, as it was the only female character I could get away with. Whether it was Bette Midler from Hocus Pocus, or The Grand High Witch as portrayed by Anjelica Houston in "The Witches" (Grand High Witch being a name I lovingly call my Aunt Judy to this day). Then high school happened. At that point, I was more confident in myself: and could be any damn character I wanted for Halloween. It was also the peak of the success of the Spice Girls. I think you can reasonably guess what came next.

My wig was better.
The trip to Value Village was awful - I can still remember the musty scent of neglected clothing reeking up the whole of the London, Ontario location. I must have sifted for hours through junk, but had an obvious goal in mind: I was going to be the best Ginger Spice that Woodstock had EVER seen. Finally, after subjecting my fingers to more mould and bacteria than any sane person should, I spotted a silky magenta dress in an XL to accommodate my then "husky" figure. This would work perfectly. I already had blonde hair, so I shopped around for a fire engine red wig that I could place behind my golden bangs (which I would part to the sides). Any hardcore Spice Girl fan knows that you can't leave the house as Ginger without a good set of platforms. I had to settle for some brown suede classics, in a male size 10 - as London stores didn't carry women's shoes that large (I hope their drag community has since improved). When all was said and done, I may have looked like a chubby little boy in a dress - but to me, I had gained not only some self confidence - but a little shock value from my parents. It takes a big man to dress in drag, and I have not ventured back since those days. But I will always fondly remember my night as Ginger.

In food news, today we had a team lunch at work - and were treated to Bugers from The Big Smoke. I had a  Crazy Burger and loved every minute of it. Suffice to say, I will be holding back on dinner and compiling a sandvestite (see Yellow Rodeo).



Thanks again for reading skinabees - yesterday was my LARGEST amount of readers to date! I appreciate you coming back to read my ramblings, and please feel free to leave comments to let me know how I'm doing. Don't hold back, I thrive on negative reinforcement.

XO
C

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