HALLOW'S EVE GOTHIC

Halloween traditions are as ancient as the Celts celebrating Samhain -- the most magically powerful of nights when the worlds of the living and the dead collide.  Back then, bonfires and costumes would ward off mischievous ghosts wreaking havoc with the harvest.  Divination would set the course for the following year.  Druids and villagers alike would disguise themselves in animal heads as part of the festivities.

Separately, while musing on the origins of All Hallow's Eve, Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting was percolating in the back of my mind.  No connection, really.  Merely that The Sartorialist's recent images of couples in such upright positions couldn't help but remind me of this vestige of Americana.

A surreal take on American Gothic
Unlikely couple: no pitchfork, just a widow's bouquet
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete

So, just as Halloween has come through the ages from the pagan, adopting Christian traditions along the way, my thoughts have come together here in a Halloween Gothic scene -- with traces of Druid traditions, and Tim Burton's magical world (refer to previous post here).  And instead of a pitchfork, I wield a widow's black rose bouquet.

A widow from Sleepy Hollow?
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete

I am still tweaking all my Halloween ideas, but with several parties going on this weekend, I may try several looks!

Are you celebrating Halloween?  What costume did you decide on?

Photo details:

Top hat: Scala
Green, velvet gown: handmade, from an estate sale
Cameo brooch choker: my grandmother's
Velvet booties: Sam Edelman
Velvet gloves: thrifted
Black rose bouquet: Party City