if clothes could speak

every piece of garment tells a story.

halloween, like many other festivals, that we celebrate turned into big business events over the years. while here on the online edition, i do care a lot about the commercial aspects of the fashion and makeup. i also would like to take a little time off to share with you the background story of some asian 'ghastly' friends and spirits. think of it as a mood board for halloween.

the 'jiang shi' (vampire)

image from Jimbo Jones

they are reanimated corpses that hop around, killing living creatures to absorb life essence from their victims. these vampires are said to be created when a person's soul fails to leave the deceased's body. jiang shi, as compared to vampires, are mindless creatures with no independent thought. one unusual feature is its greenish-white furry skin, perhaps derived from fungus or mould growing on corpses.

the pontianak

image from msn

in folklore, a pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries. if the cry is soft, it means that the pontianak is close. if it is loud, then it must be far. some believe that if you hear a dog howling, that means that the pontianak is far away but if a dog is whining, that means the pontianak is nearby. its presence can sometimes be detected by a nice floral fragrance identifiable as that of the plumeria, followed by an awful stench afterward.

a pontianak kills its victims by digging into their stomachs with its sharp fingernails and devouring their organs. in some cases where the pontianak desires revenge against a male individual, it rips out the sex organs with its hands. it is said that if you have your eyes open when a pontianak is near, it will suck them out of your head. pontianak locate prey by sniffing out clothes left outside to dry. for this reason, some malays refuse to leave any article of clothing outside of their residences overnight.

the pontianank is associated with banana trees and its spirit is said to reside in them during the day.

casper the friendly ghost

graphic from cracked.com

i am too spooked to write further on other folklore. so i need something to lighten the mood. anyway, casper is like a dead child, forever haunting the earth, unable to rest. it's a tortured apparition who spends all of his time in a graveyard, hanging out behind his own gravestone. only difference, he's born to loving parents before he passed on. (i think that is the first time i used the word 'love' the entire week!)

so as you roam the streets this halloween and happen to come across the various costumes, take time to appreciate the fashion and more importantly, the stories behind them. after all, ghosts were people too!

fash'on... BAM!

freaky fashion - the conventional

when it comes to halloween fashion, there are the conventions too, the safe outfits (think the fashion world's little black dress). when you don these outfits, people automatically know you are heading to a halloween event and not some themed costume party (although the two have been blurred in recent years). what i did is to group these costumes for easy selection.

the conventional scary

vampires, zombies, devils, mummies, dolls that come alive (think chucky!)... these are the ones who appear at halloween parties every year. strangely, no one really gets sick of them. perhaps they only appear once a year (much like santa) hence people are more than glad to see them and pose with them for pictures. 

Kate Beckinsale as the devil

therefore, if you turn up in a conventional scary outfit, expect some pictures but not too much.

the conventional silly

what constitutes the conventional silly? costumes that get you asking, 'which level of hell did that come from?' when you look at the conventional silly, you know they are hoping that you would laugh with them but unfortunately, you end up laughing at them. either the costume is totally whacked or the person deserves to be whacked! 

image from humorsharing

like seriously, which person in their right frame of mind turns up at a halloween party as a USED sanitary napkin? how is anyone supposed to have decent conversations with something that has been down... there!

image from geekfill

talking about down there, the toilet bowl deals with a whole load of crap, we don't need any further public displays. thank you very much. if you went 'so cute' at the picture, you need to be flushed down the pipes too cos that was plain cruelty. would people take pics? you're sure that they would, only because they will need to hold you ransom someday.

if you were planning to go with something totally different, out of this world, a trend setter... remember these wise words: DON'T!

the conventional smash-hit

this has everything to do with what is the biggest movie in the box office or what is in the trends. just think back the last few years when there was potter-mania, twilight fever (the number of edwards, jacobs and bellas) and even x-men. for the conventional smash-hit, when you dress up, you are probably expecting a lot of photo moments and everyone will be raving over you but when you turn up at the party, you will have the sad realisation that your halloween mother actually gave birth to a dozen of you. you will be unique, just like everyone else.

image source (clockwise) pic1, pic2, pic3, pic 4

so what's the BIGGEST trend now? 

i got to give it to psy's oppa gangnam style, so club owners and party people... prepare to be swarmed by this look this season.

courtesy of tumblr

fash'on... BAM!