Notebooks of Scott

For this past Halloween, I was Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

Choosing the character:

I have known the basic premise of Dorian Gray for years and it has always been rather fascinating to me. Sometime in June, I ran across the 2009 movie adaption of the novel. I’ve always liked the look of Victorian era clothing and the movie sparked the idea of making a costume in that style. In order to better understand the character, I read the actual novel (See the Project Gutenberg Entry). Suffice it to say, The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of the most boring books I have ever read, but the idea stuck with me and I asked my sister to help me make it (she did the majority since I have almost no sewing skills and she is a fashion design major).

The Costume

The costume is based on Victorian men’s fashion from the late 19th century. The parts that my sister and I made were the morning coat, ascot, and the vest. The shirt was a normal white button down shirt with the collar turned up. The pants and shoes were from my suit.

I drafted the slopers with my sister’s assistance and then she drafted the patterns based on drawings and pictures I provided.

I made the tie pin out of 3 small key rings soldered together and a beaded necklace found at Michael’s.

All in all, it was a pretty successful costume. I rather enjoyed wearing it and am considering incorporating some of it into my everyday wear.

Every Halloween,, front porches across the United States are invaded by carved, candle lit pumpkins. Yet, as common as Jack-o-Lanterns are, it seems an odd tradition to carve faces on pumpkins. Of course, there is a reason for the tradition, and it starts in Ireland.

According to Irish legend, a man named Stingy Jack twice tricked the devil into promising to not claim his soul when he died. Needless to say, making deals with the devil isn’t something God would be too happy about, and when it came time for Jack to die, God refused him entrance to heaven. The devil, as promised, also refused to take him. So Jack was given a piece of glowing coal and sent to wander the Earth for all eternity. He placed this coal in a hollowed out turnip and thus the Jack-o-Lantern was born.

Carved turnips (mostly without candles) existed in the British Isles for centuries, but it wasn’t until the Irish began immigrating to North America that the tradition turned to pumpkins, a fruit native to this continent.

More Info

• The History of the Jack o’ Lantern
• Turnip battles with pumpkin for Hallowe’en
• Jack-o-Lanterns via Wikipedia

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