Dressing up for hallowe'en is, I suppose, seen widely as a childish affair, but as many of you have seen (BBQBeefburger costume, sbc costume, sixties costume), I enjoy costumes and i'll take any excuse to make/wear one.

And I just had a cool idea for my hallowe'en costume this year, if I have time:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor#Other_effects

QuoteA plague doctor's duties were often limited to visiting victims to verify whether they had been afflicted or not. Surviving records of contracts drawn up between cities and plague doctors often gave the plague doctor enormous latitude and heavy financial compensation, given the risk of death involved for the plague doctor himself. Most plague doctors were essentially volunteers, as qualified doctors had (usually) already fled, knowing they could do nothing for those affected.
 Considered an early form of hazmat suit, a plague doctor's clothing consisted of:

• A wide-brimmed black hat worn close to the head. At the time, a wide-brimmed black hat would have been identified a person as a doctor, much the same as how nowadays a hat may identify chefs, soldiers, and workers. The wide-brimmed hat may have also been used as partial shielding from infection.

• A primitive gas mask in the shape of a bird's beak. A common belief at the time was that the plague was spread by birds. There may have been a belief that by dressing in a bird-like mask, the wearer could draw the plague away from the patient and onto the garment the plague doctor wore. The mask also included red glass eyepieces, which were thought to make the wearer impervious to evil. The beak of the mask was often filled with strongly aromatic herbs and spices to overpower the miasmas or "bad air" which was also thought to carry the plague. At the very least, it may have served a dual purpose of dulling the smell of unburied corpses, sputum, and ruptured bouboules in plague victims.

• A long, black overcoat. The overcoat worn by the plague doctor was tucked in behind the beak mask at the neckline to minimize skin exposure. It extended to the feet, and was often coated head to toe in suet or wax. A coating of suet may have been used with the thought that the plague could be drawn away from the flesh of the infected victim and either trapped by the suet, or repelled by the wax. The coating of wax likely served as protection against respiratory droplet contamination, but it was not known at the time if coughing carried the plague. It was likely that the overcoat was waxed to simply prevent sputum or other bodily fluids from clinging to it.

• A wooden cane. The cane was used to both direct family members to move the patient, other individuals nearby, and possibly to examine the patient with directly.

• Leather breeches. Similar to waders worn by fishermen, leather breeches were worn beneath the cloak to protect the legs and groin from infection. Since the plague often tended to manifest itself first in the lymph nodes, particular attention was paid to protecting the armpits, neck, and groin.

The plague doctor's clothing also had a secondary use: to intentionally frighten and warn onlookers. The bedside manner common to doctors of today did not exist at the time; part of the appearance of the plague doctor's clothing was meant to frighten onlookers, and to communicate that something very, very wrong was nearby, and that they too might become infected. It's not known how often or widespread plague doctors were, or how effective they were in treatment of the disease. It's likely that while offering some protection to the wearer, they may have actually contributed more to the spreading of the disease than its treatment, in that the plague doctor unknowingly served as a vector for infected fleas to move from host to host.

Can you imagine anything more creepy?


It's ambitious but it should be fun to make if I have the time...


Anyone else got ideas for costumes?

i've always wanted to do a plague doctor costume. the mask could be made out of old leather shoes or something if you wanted to do it properly.

I was thinking about going as the spy as Team Fortress 2! I'm short enough so people don't think I'm a creepy Grade 12 still trick or treating or I'll just go as Konata again >w<

Old fashion Joker. Maybe my own version of him. My GFs gonna be harley, and all will be good.

Home made NEVER bought.

EDIT: My friend Devon did that costume before Leek, turned out very well.

I wanted to be the Joker but my brother is a douche and stole my idea. So now I don't know.

i read about that in school one time...



anyway, i plan on making a Pac-Man costume.
im trying to make it look like that one from the xbox Pac-Man championship commercials.

I attempted to do a ZombieLincoln costume last year with my stilts, but I couldn't complete it.

Fuck anybody who wants to be joker. You are the most unoriginal shits ever. Now that the Dark Knight is out every stupid fuck and his mother wants to dress up like the joker.

I'm thinking of doing something. There's usually costume parties in college if I remember correctly.

Not sure what I'd dress as.
I'm not in shape enough to do most of the TF2 characters, but pyro would be possible, if I just make a flare-gun and an ax and not a full flamethrower, since that looks like it would take way too much time.

I'm going to dress like a zombie for a halloween party.

Hey catclock I saw a pretty good Spy cosplayer at PAX.

I also saw a guy in riot gear with Umbrella Corporation patches. It was badass.

Hazmat Official. Gas mask, rubber suit, ect. Or Maybe the Pyro!

Quote from: THORCLOCKTHORCLOCKTHORCLO;1395309Fuck anybody who wants to be joker. You are the most unoriginal shits ever. Now that the Dark Knight is out every stupid fuck and his mother wants to dress up like the joker.

That's why I want to do the original Joker, which is something I've wanted to do for years.

TF2 costumes are second place for the least original.

I would dress up as Nicky Two-Vests if there was any chance I would leave my house for Halloween.

Quote from: THORCLOCKTHORCLOCKTHORCLO;1395313Hey catclock I saw a pretty good Spy cosplayer at PAX.

I also saw a guy in riot gear with Umbrella Corporation patches. It was badass.

You were at PAX? You bastard

Not everyone is a gamer, thor, so I'd say it's pretty low on the unoriginal side, especially seeing that it wouldn't look easy.

OMG I HATE YOU YOUR COSTUME IS COMMON BAHBAHBAH >=(