The theme for Costume College 2026’s Friday Night Social was My Villain Era Party, and it took me a while to figure out what to wear. C’mon, villains, that’s right up my alley! There were too many cool villains to choose from. Finally, I settled on Erzsébet Báthory, the so-called blood countess who bathed in the
Who doesn’t love a costume piece that does double duty? When I saw this pattern by Rabbit & Hat for a lace-up bodice with tails that was intended to be reversible, I knew it would be handy. Turns out, this became the perfect costume for two different vampire balls around Halloween 2023. The pattern itself
When I decided to go to the Anne Rice Vampire Ball in New Orleans for Halloween 2023, I just wanted to wear something fabulous. Much like when I made my first outfit for the Portland Vampire Masquerade Ball, I let myself fantasize about what shapes, styles, fabrics, and trims inspired me. I wasn’t going to
When Nadja opens a nightclub in season 3 of What We Do in the Shadows, I immediately wanted the red outfit she wears! It’s just so flashy and fun. Also, it’s a little less “typical vampire” than a lot of what she wears, and thus a bit less like my own everyday clothes or things
The final gown I wore to the Portland Vampire Masquerade Ball turned out pretty close to my vision. My mom helped out by doing a lot of the appliqué of the motifs on the forepart (though once I saw how the bat-shaped sequins looked, I had to sew them all over the stomacher myself). Accessories
I had dreamed of returning to Venice’s Carnevale for my 50th birthday — I’d gone for my 40th birthday and wanted to bookend the decade in an even more spectacular style. Alas, I’m spending this birthday in the middle of a divorce and having just moved to a new house, which used up all my
This has been a bucket-list costume for ages, yet I finally made it as a quickie last-minute version in less than a month. The occasion came about because Bella Donna Historical Performers were singing at the PEERs Bal des Vampires right after Halloween, and they decided that their costume theme would be around the Bram