Halloween Through the Years
LBAF will return to regular law-related programming next week - I promise!
But Halloween is one of my favorite days of the entire year. I grew up in a family of “Halloween People” - my parents went all out decorating our house and threw truly legendary Spooky Bashes (which, I’ve recently learned, were also fundraisers! Amazing). But I inherited the Costume Gene + Spooky Season Obsession from them.
Growing up, my mom specifically had a rule that my brothers and I couldn’t buy our Halloween outfits, which resulted in some REAL original stuff. As a kid, it was all about the candy haul; as an adult, it’s more of a “how close can I get to the inspo pic?” challenge.
I’ll let you judge for yourself as I present my Halloween costumes through the years - or at least, the ones with photo evidence!
TINKERBELL
circa 1999, 5 yrs old
Ft. my younger brother as Captain Hook. Every time I see this pic, I think of the same song lyrics from Baby Bash -
“Sugar how’d you get so fllyyyyyyyyyyy”
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
circa 2001, 7 yrs old
I remember liking the skirt and the wand on this one; the hat, on the other hand, simply didn’t go (which is why it’s in my hand and not on my head).
As you’ll see, Harry Potter characters were a Halloween STAPLE for the Vann family.
HERMIONE GRANGER
MID-POLYJUICE TRANSFORMATION
circa 2002, 8 yrs old
This costume is an All-Timer. I mean, it’s the epitome of my mom’s mantra that we needed to be creative on Halloween. It’s not enough to just be Hermione, let’s add tail & some fur to the picture!
*Additionally, a costume incorporating full arms & leg coverage is a sure sign that you’re a Midwest Child.
MEDUSA
circa 2003, 9 yrs old
I was absolutely captivated by Greek mythology in fourth grade ( couldn’t tell you why - shout out to my teacher, Mr. Croon, for sitting through my Final Project on the Greek gods from Hercules). So Medusa totally checks out. Snakes, snakes everywhere.
I departed from the Harry Potter theme this year but don’t worry, my brothers had it covered (Tuck is a Quiddich H.P. and Tan is Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans!)
MASQUERADE BALL DANCER
circa 2004, 10 yrs old
Like Medusa, this costume came as a DIRECT result of seeing Phantom of the Opera during the summer of 2004 - in London, no less.
If I’m totally honest, I’m still obsessed with the musical and masquerades in general. This hair though? Not so much.
A BRIEF INTERLUDE…
Not sure what happened to my costumes between 2004 and 2015, but we’ll carry on with what we’ve got. An Honorable Mention for one of these - the old Sack o’ Taters, where I literally wore a potato sack with potatoes hot glued onto it. Iconic.
PIGS IN A BLANKET | SHARK WEEK | THREE BLONDE MICE
circa 2015, senior year at USAFA
The 3-group Halloween may have been the pinnacle of my costume career. On the left, I present “Pigs in a Blanket” - a HUGE hit in the Denver bars and one of my comfiest costumes to date. In the center, we have “Shark Week” with myself and my fellow pole vaulters on the USAFA track team. On the right, “Three Blonde Mice”…I don’t often go for punny costumes, but this one was too good (and quite easy) to pass up!
LUCKY,
THE LUCKY CHARMS LEPRECHAUN
circa 2017 in Fargo, ND
I spent this Halloween downtown Fargo with two of my best Minot girlfriends, and it was THE best. I threw those Charms all over Fargo - just handfuls of charms, up in the air. Also let drunk strangers reach their hands right into the box for a little midnight snacking…my post-COVID self can’t even.
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MINOT
circa 2018, Minot ND
More issues than Vogue. SUCH a fun costume, even if we did have to explain it every three seconds!
HALLOWEEN ELLE WOODS
circa 2019, 1L at HLS
Dressing up as Elle-Woods-on-her-first-Halloween-at-Harvard-Law for MY first Halloween at Harvard Law…it just made sense.
For more on this particular Halloween, read this post from 2019!
ARIANA GRANDE + PETE DAVIDSON
circa 2020, 2L at HLS
Unfortunately, I’m married to a non-Halloween guy. So I’m constantly challenged to find costumes that (1) require an amount of effort on my end but (2) can be easily created using existing garments for him. I must say, I couldn’t have made it easier on him.
Last, but CERTAINLY not least…
ELLE WOODS IN ALL HER PINK, SPARKLY GLORY
circa 2021, 3L at HLS
Okay, Elle isn’t a 3L during this scene in Legally Blonde. But I’m a 3L and this is arguably THE most Elle Woods outfit of all time, so it was a must-do final Halloween costume for my time at Harvard.
Did some people mistake me for Sharpay from High School Musical? Or the Mayor of Whoville? Maybe. But in my heart, I was Legally Blonde all the way.
💕💖💄💞💗👛🎀
My virtual suggestion box for Halloween ‘22 opens at 12:01 on 1 November 2021 - all submissions will be considered.
