Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween 2008 - Clue Characters

I'm sure many of you grew up playing Clue (or Cluedo outside the U.S.) and are very familiar with the colorful, iconic characters in the game (from left to right Mrs. White, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum). Since there 6 suspect characters, split evenly between men and women, it seemed like the perfect Halloween Costume theme for us this year.

Like most years, Felicia spent many weeks with long days sewing all the costumes, starting with the idea in early October to completed costumes a week before Halloween. Apart from Michael's pants, everything you see was the result of Felicia's sewing talents.

Blaine's costume included such touches as a leopard-print ascot, epaulettes, a monocle and an embroidered name tag for "Colonel Mustard".
Felicia found a beautiful "feather brocade" fabric for the bodice and cuffs of her dress. Also notice the real peacock feathers on her hat.
Michael's coat was a purple herringbone pattern, fully lined and included four working pockets. The corduroy vest and bowtie were also sewn by Felicia.
Rosemary was thrilled to play a sexy Mrs. White and to have her hair up in a French Twist. Felicia worked up a flattering design that flairs out slightly at the knees. We have to think twice about letting her out of the house in this.
Jason, played the role of the rich tycoon in a green "smoking" jacket. His tie had a dollar sign pattern and his pockets were filled with wads of "Mr. Green money" to give away. I'm not sure if it influenced the judges, but it seemed that people were reluctant to say the Mr. Green was responsible for Mr. Boddy's murder, after that.
Amara was a stylish Hollywood starlet, Miss Scarlet. She was thrilled with all the details from the ruffles on the skirt to the fluffy/furry cover-up.


In the past, Felicia would have been sewing right up to Halloween. But this year we wanted to join two local costume contests which were held the weekend before Halloween. On Saturday we went to the parade and costume contest near Blaine's parents. We were proud to win first place in the family/group category. (This is in addition to the individual awards that Blaine and Michael received in their respective age groups.) Then on Sunday, we entered the costume contest downtown. Not only did we win first place in the group category but we received a special Best In Show trophy recognizing efforts both this year and in prior years. It was quite an honor.

We spent much of the time during the parade insisting, "I didn't do it" then pointing fingers at another suspect like "Professor Plum, in the Study with the Lead Pipe". Each person had somewhat shady alibis and really got into their characters. Rosemary couldn't explain why she spent an inordinate amount of time dusting fingerprints off a candlestick. Amara offered her autograph to anyone that would say she was innocent. And Jason was handing out
$100 bills to anyone that would side with him. Colonel Mustard tried unsuccessfully to deny that he could have used a revolver, so just kept deflecting suspicion over to Mrs. Peacock. I think the crowds liked getting involved too.

2 comments:

  1. Hey! You guys look awesome! I am in need of a colonel mustard costume! If you have any ideas or know of any places where I could purchase a costume like the one in this picture please email me at aldrickbarr@yahoo.com!

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  2. Al, all the costumes were custom made by my wife. She based the shirt pattern on a basic button down men's shirt, but made with a thicker mustard-colored material. She also added details like the buttoned pockets, embroidered name tag, epaulets, buttons, etc. The pants were also a custom design with shorter legs and elastic gathering. I found the knee-high socks, the shoes, the pith helmet and the beard to add to the ensemble. Also, the monocle was originally a pair of gold spectacles, cut in half and then with an added gold chain.

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