Masks Off: Colorful unchained
Halloween is approaching and so is my joy of planning a freaky costume. Since earliest childhood, I have always loved dressing up. tinkering creative costumes, doing colorful updoes and make-up. Luckily, Halloween has become more popular in Austria for the last 5 years, so I am not a single weirdo strolling through the nights bewitched and scary on October 31. Today’s daily prompt asks for a Halloween costume channeling one’s innermost and true self. Would I dare to wear it?
When I saw the prompt, I thought of creepy, dark and scary costumes and horrifying make-up in the first place. Approaching the topic from a different angle, I asked myself why and what about dressing up I like the most. For me, it’s like jumping into someone else’s skin, identifying myself with another role, meeting unexpected perceptions and challenges. Escaping reality through a magic coat can feel like a journey in a time machine, it can open up unknown wonderlands but also mystic darkness dependent on the fantasy and ideas the costume is built on. Sketching a costume channeling and mirroring my innermost self would look like a motley colorful explosion, a gaudy potpourri. Actually, nothing like the scary, horrific picture that came to my mind at the very beginning. Being truly happy is a gift and I only cover it with my terrific dreadful magic coat during All Hallow’s Eve.
