Halloween is SRSBZNZ (Part I)

Halloween - also known as All Hallow's Eve or The One Evening Every Year When Geeky is Cool - is almost upon us! Okay, so it's not TOTALLY almost upon us, but SRSBZNZ is nothing if not prepared (we're like boy scouts ... not really). But Halloween isn't the only thing coming up for which we want to help you prepare. November 19 marks the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.

But SRSBZNZ, you may ask, what do these two events have in common? Why are you writing about them together? The answer is simple, friends: They are both events that will be totally epic and involve costumes. We figure, if you dress up as a Harry Potter character for Halloween, you can have a twofer costume - one for October 31st, one for November 19th. Why NOT dress up for the penultimate Harry Potter movie? Ooh, SAT word ... strategically placed to convince you to wear more costumes.

Our first costume idea: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes.

Yes, we know that Ron Weasley is a dude, and this is a GIRL'S guide to sci-fi and fantasy, but fashion loves a little androgyny. And we love Ron Weasley. Also, we may or may not have dressed up as Sgt. Nicholas Angel last year, so we are clearly forerunners in the Breaking of Gender Barriers for the Sake of Halloween.

The goal in posting these costumes is twofold: one, we would like to inspire you to dress like characters from Harry Potter, and two, we would like you not to have to spend a gazillion dollars on some stupid costume-in-a-bag that you will only wear TWICE, because you are going to wear it to your friend's epic party AND to the midnight showing of HPDH1, right? RIGHT? Anyways. We want the costumes to be made from items that you might like to wear to class/work/shopping/lounging around the house because apparently you like to dress fancy even when you're not going anywhere.

Jeez, get to the costumes already! Okay, okay. First, our inspiration (via):

And here is our version:

SRSBZNZ Halloween: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes

You probably already own a pair of black slacks - we don't, because we are rebels, and also because our job doesn't require them. If not, you can substitute with black skinny jeans or leggings. Black shoes of any kind are fine - we are totes into those black patent brogues, though. (Again, since this is a GIRL'S guide etc etc, we're assuming you speak fashion and know that patent = shiny and brogues = a type of shoe.) Also on our Wish List: the lace shirt, top left, and BOW TIE ("Bow ties are cool!" - The Doctor) and we kind of dig that necklace, which was our way of interpreting the "dodgy little collar" that makes Ron get all voice-cracky. GAH WE LOVE RON WEASLEY.

If you want to get totally gender-bendy on us, you might try creating your dress robe costume from a black maxi skirt and pirate shirt. Maxi skirts are totally trendy this fall, so people will say, "Who is this fashion master and can she help us dress like Ron Weasley in our daily lives," while the pirate shirt will be of great assistance next time you want to dress up as Captain Jack Sparrow. Note: We do not suggest that you wear this pirate shirt on a regular basis, unless you are tall and willowy like our friend Katie, who is a goddess and looks good in crazy puff-sleeve blouses because she looks good in EVERYTHING.

We added a magic wand to this collection because, well, duh ... but if you want to get super cheap on Halloween, we suggest a stick. If you worry that a dead twig from your favorite backyard tree won't be authentic enough, you can color on it with a brown Sharpie. Problem solved!

Stay tuned for next week's costume, which will probably be the one we choose to wear for the next two months ...


(Click on the picture to see the original collage on Polyvore and to find out where you can purchase any of the items pictured above.)