MANILA, Philippines - I used to invest so much time and energy into Halloween because my friend Carla and I used to throw themed birthday parties together every October (our actual birthdays are in late September) when we were in college. It’s ironic, considering I had no income to speak of back then. How did we do that?
These days, I’d rather avoid all the traffic and congested parking lots of Halloween parties. I can’t afford to throw my own anymore, plus the fact that I wouldn’t be able to handle the humiliation of nobody showing up. But if I was absolutely forced to go to one, I’d probably just rummage through my closet for costume ideas instead of having them made or scouring the ukay-ukay. When it comes to “shop-your-closet” ideas, nobody else provides greater inspiration than The Sartorialist, the original street style blogger.
Looking through his latest book, Closer, I’ve decided to go through its pages and pick the top five looks that I think would make great costumes this Halloween. More than creativity and a little imagination, I believe you need a pair of balls to actually pull these looks off. If you do, kudos to you! You totally look stupid-slash-creepy.
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The Sartorialist: Closer by Scott Schuman is available at all National Book Store and Powerbooks branches nationwide.
Happy hobo
Scott Schuman always seemed to have this thing for the “homeless” look. Sometimes he takes photos of actual homeless people, another time he followed a vagrant around only to discover that he worked for Ralph Lauren and that the derelict look was intentional. This look is no exception and can work for men or women. Simply find some of your father’s itchy polyester suits from the '70s and put them on, along with a stupid-looking hat. Cut up random pieces of fabric and stitch them together to make a scarf and spray some old shoes with gold spray paint. Muji carrier bag is optional.
Shakespeare in the park
There’s always at least one (or two, or three) WTF looks that The Sartorialist is so fond of. This is one of them. It reminds me of Pippi Longstocking after rehearsing for a period play. Whatever it is, it’s totally ukay-able. If you’re not feeling this for Halloween, you can also wear it to Philippine Fashion Week and wait for a Stylebible photographer to snap you. I mean, the look is Sartorialist-approved. How could they not?
Front-row fixture
Ah, Bryanboy. The least-polarizing fashion blogger of them all. Not. Especially after that explosive Rogue exposé. This look is for the dudes: Wear something tailored and fitted and pair with your girlfriend or sisters’ accessories and handbag. Don’t use your mom’s. The “tita” look is so not Bryan Yambao. Ditch the handbag if it came out more than two seasons ago. Complete the look with a D-SLR. If anyone still doesn’t get the look, pull out a photo album full of credit cards with different variations of the name Bryan Grey Yambao.
The guardian of fashion
I would suggest this look for the ladies in cougar town. First things first: Unless you regularly bake under the sun, you need Sally Airbrush Legs. Bottles of them. Spray them everywhere, not just on your legs, duh. Set with loose powder or risk staining your costume. Find the gaudiest, most over-the-top baubles and headpieces and pile everything on at once. Last, follow lessons one to 10 in Anna’s Fashion Shower music video for H&M. No cheating!
Street style blogger
Still stumped? That’s okay. Just put together the weirdest things and throw a D-SLR around your neck and snap photos of people in their costumes. You can also ask companies to send you free clothing, wear them, and not tell anyone about it. Full disclosure can kiss your fashionable ass.
Here is a photo of street style photographer Rei Shito just because she kind of scares me.