My first outfit was my black widow (not The Avengers' Black Widow, but more the traditional homicidal wife deal) outfit.  I'd had an idea for this, and knew that I wanted a black hat with a spider on it (easy enough to make), a full length spiderweb body stocking (thanks, Amazon!) to cover my arms, neck, and legs, and a web as a high collar.  And of course, a hot black dress to complete the look.  I already had my Black Vamp, but it wasn't quite the look I wanted.  I had eyed the Black Masuimi when it first came out, but wasn't sure where I would wear such a fabulous dress.  The lace on the cups reminded me of the lacy texture of the web body stocking, and the higher back and low-cut front had the sexy, femme fatale look I wanted for this outfit.  Not to mention I knew it would be comfortable since it was bengaline!  And here is the end result, as you can see.  I had a ton of compliments from people I had never met who wanted to know all about the outfit (I wish I had a better photo of it).  This dress was perfect for my outfit, and I have worn it elsewhere, minus the webs :)

That same Halloween my boyfriend and I also got invited to a last minute Pirate Murder Mystery party.  I don't exactly have a lot of pirate gear in my closet, and didn't want to spend the money on getting stuff that I knew I wouldn't use after that party.  But I did have my DD Polka Dot Wiggle Dress!  I usually wear a colorful cropped cardigan with it to make it more work-friendly, so I was excited to convert it to a pirate outfit for one night.  I based the look on a Jolly Roger flag, hence the black and white skull bandana with glitter crossbones sticking out of it.  And the Skully Pin got a pirate makeover in the form of some tiny glitter crossbones on the back of it.  My makeup was supposed to be a full on skull-face, but following childhood tradition, I got sick and kept the makeup to a minimum since I knew I'd be coughing and blowing my nose all night (my excuse was that I was a pirate named Consumptive Connie).  As far as I know, no one else got sick, the murderer was caught, and I had one of the more interesting costumes of the night.  

I also opted to dress up that year for work.  I kept it simple with my Red Heidi dress, a white belt, some red & white striped tights, and a candy swirl fascinator I made.  Easy, it doesn't get in the way of things, but it's fun and the kids like it when someone dressed as candy gives them candy.  Okay, they probably only cared about getting candy!  As you can tell, my chihuahua-pug Chloe looks thrilled to be a part of this photo.

Earlier this year my roommate decided he wanted a James Bond-themed party.  I'm not up to speed with my Bond knowledge, but I figured that I could replicate Eva Green's Vesper Lynd look pretty easily.  The Black Vamp dress was perfect paired with a fake Algerian Love Knot necklace made of Sculpey clay and some silver chain, the Masuimi shrug, and a serious amount of hair pomade and bobby pins to try and do that updo she has.  Trust me when I say that if I can get my hair to do that, pretty much anyone can.  And anytime one can wear a Vamp dress, one should!  And yes, I dressed up my dog.  Because she likes her pearls and she can't very well run around a classy party only in her pearls.

The latest PUG-based costume I've worn is my Star Wars one.  Star Wars and PUG?!? Yes, I worked a PUG dress into a Star Wars outfit.  Let me explain;  I know very little about Star Wars.  I've seen the original three, but that's it.  So when my friend decided to throw a Star Wars-themed party, I knew I had some research to do.  Princess Leia is the only female character I know, and I figured everyone would go for that.  And then there are a bunch of robots and people in robes.  I'm sure someone reading this is horrified by my casual dismissal of so many key characters, so apologies for that, but for me, this is what I see.  That and that the Grace Dress with its red and black design is vaguely Darth Maul-ish (I work in a place that sells Legos so I do know that character from the boxes).  I did some research and found out that there's a whole group of Sith people, including Darth Talon, a female Sith.  Pin-up Darth Talon outfit?  Okay!  One black petticoat from the Pinup Girl Boutique and a red and black felt hat later, and I had my Star Wars costume.  Very loosely based on Star Wars, but hey, it's better than trying for a sexy Jabba the Hut costume.  I did a whole row of victory rolls going down the back of my head ending in some loose ringlets at the bottom to mimic Darth Talon's lekku (those tentacle things on her head), and some black face makeup based upon her markings.  I sadly didn't a full-length shot of the whole dress, but trust me, the Grace Dress is gorgeous (at the last Ladies' Night out even at the boutique I'm pretty sure I spotted a purple floral version for this winter!). I didn't score any points in the trivia contest, but I think I did an okay job on the outfit!

And that's it... for now :)  I can't wait to see all of the Halloween PUG outfits this year!

Happy (almost) Halloween!