How Do You Do, Halloween?

Coat: POPSUGAR, Kohl's

Bag: Cat & Jack, Target

Bright Black Necklace Cadaverous Cameo Necklace

Tights: K. Bell, Marshalls

Fabulous Felt Halloween Candy Barrette

Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy

Boots: ShoeDazzle, Zulily; Necklace and lime bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Bag and orange bangle: Worthington/Mixit, JCPenney

Dress: Lily Rose, Kohl's

Eye See You Necklace

Trick or Treat Trio Barrette Brooch

Tights: Isadora, Zulily

Pleasant Crescent Barrette Brooch

Creepy Castle Necklace

Sweatshirt: Forever 21

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Dress: BeBop, Macy's

Today's post title means this: How are you, Halloween?  Feeling festive, or bogged down by seasonal allergies?  But if you remove the comma, then it means this: How do you do, that is, spend Halloween?  The rest of this post is my answer.

I have no new handmade accessories, but rather the best of Tote Trove spooky style. One thing is as new as last week; the rest I've had for years.  Here it is mixed with my mass-produced treasures on my church bench, decked out for All Saints-slash-All Souls Day:

And now on to my Out of Print "Fight Evil, Read Books" tee (which, yes, in the outfit pic looks like it says "boo" instead of "books" in the happy accident of my hand.  Just had to hog that hip, lefty, huh?).

When I saw this tee, I was like, Halloween as a force for good -- in the name of reading.  I love that!  I also love Out of Print's retro library card tags:  

The names make me wonder if these people are real and if so, are they still alive?  Take Bob Falcone. Maybe he had a fatal pumpkin carving accident since he checked out 101 Ways to Woo Your Cousin instead of How to Carve a Pumpkin.  What's he up to this Halloween?  Haunting a library?  Or surprising people, Psycho style, in the shower?

On that unsettling note, have a safe and happy Halloween.  Steer clear of razor blade Reese Cups.  

And Bob.

Fate Gate: Written in the Scars

In the midnight hour . . .

At the stroke of midnight . . .

Before midnight . . .

Pop culture is rife with allusions to what happens when night melts to morning.  Billy Idol, Cinderella, Ethan Hawke, and countless others have spun or starred in stories about the mythology of the witching hour.  So I knew that Matt Haig's novel, The Midnight Library, would be, if nothing else, mysterious.  Which is always nice around Halloween.  I heard about it on Ivy's Closet, and I don't take librarians' reading lists lightly.  Billy Idol, not so much.  Although I am a fan of '80s pop rock.  And comic relief.  

Anyway, The Midnight Library is the story of Nora Seed, a multi-talented but depressed thirty-five-year-old caught between life and death in the purgatory of a library -- the Midnight Library.  The librarian is Mrs. Elm, an elderly sage who was Nora's high school librarian.  Mrs. Elm supplies Nora with the Book of Regrets, a tome listing everything she ever wanted to be, including a rock star, an Olympic swimmer, and a philosophy scholar.  Nora picks a regret, then opens the corresponding book to live the life she thinks she missed out on.  Sometimes she stays minutes, other times days.  If it's the right life, then she'll end up staying forever.  But if it isn't, then she'll return to the library to try again.  So, yeah, it's the whole parallel-universe-space-time-continuum-butterfly-effect thing.  Which I could've better explained by saying that Nora works in a music shop called String Theory.  

Nora's journey is fascinating, scary, and sad.  But it's also perplexing.  Because as she test drives more and more destinies, she begins to realize that they're as similar as they are different -- and that she's unsure what it is that will make the right one "right."       

Innovative yet familiar, The Midnight Library elegantly combines the best-loved elements of It's a Wonderful Life, NBC freshman drama Ordinary Joe, and every Choose Your Own Adventure book to deliver a sci-fi-tinged, timeless tale of gratitude and self discovery.  Rich in symbols and nuance, it's also a modern parable about the importance of mental health.  When I reached the last page, I was so engrossed that I didn't want it to end.  Nevertheless, the ending was perfect.  I wouldn't go back in time and/or across universes to change a thing.  

Unlike Billy Idol, who, according to Behind the Music, was caught with the nanny on the baby monitor. 

Fright Night Love Bite

Shoes: Anne Michelle, JCPenney

American Rag, Kohl's

Yellow Confection Affection Necklace

So, Kohl's

Bag: Francesca's

Wild Fable, Target

Pink Confection Affection Necklace

Halloween is almost here, and that, of course, means candy.  So I got in the spirit and made more candy necklaces.  

Sure, they're more reminiscent of Cupid than Dracula, right down to the conversation hearts and lollipops that've been fermenting in my kitchen since February.  But Valentine vibe or not, I'm very happy with how they turned out, which is, in two words, scary cute.

Dracula, if you're out there, then I hope that they'll tempt you to switch up your neck candy. 

The Ghost of Grunge

Boots: ShoeDazzle, Zulily

Hoodie: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Clips: Wild Fable, Target; Sunglasses: Amazon

Dress: Vylette, Kohl's

Grape Jelly Earrings

Bag: Circus by Sam Edelman, Kohl's

Sandals: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Skirt: Tinseltown, Kohl's

Colorful Caverns Necklace

Top: Awake, Kohl's

Henrietta Heart Clips

Pants: Vylette, Kohl's

Bag: Betseyville, ROSS

Yellow top: Forever 21; Striped top: Mossimo, Target

Houndstooth bangle: Target; Other bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Sunglasses: Betsey Johnson, Zulily; Ring: Old Navy

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Necklace: SHEIN

Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target; Choker: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Bag: Olivia Miller, Amazon; Top bangle: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Bottom bangle: B Fabulous; Daisy clip: So, Kohl's

Dress: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Sailor Swoon Earrings

You may have noticed that I have a guest star in the last outfit pic.  Ever since I first saw this "grunge character" (because yes, that's what he's called in the Microsoft Paint 3D image library), I knew I had to abduct adopt him.  I especially like how he's a husky ginger, that least menacing of alt-thug archetypes.  And although I know that "grungy" isn't the best adjective to describe looks featuring beaucoup Betsey, this icon of  '90s street style has found a home here.  

At first, I put him in the tree, poised to pounce.  But then I thought, no, he's not chasing me -- he's the one trying to run away.  Maybe he's afraid of my shadow or my SHEIN necklace that boldly says CAUTION.  Or maybe he's scared because he's responsible for the broken windmill in the pink pants pic.  Remember that windy spring night when I risked life and limb to save it?  Well, since then a blade has gone missing -- and I think maybe Grungy's to blame.  

Which leaves one thing to say: 

Run, fat boy, run.

Lean, Mean Halloween Queen

Top: k Club, Kohl's; Skirt: Xhilaration, Target; Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's; Bag: Worthington, JCPenney; Belt: Marshalls

Trick-or-Treat Trio Brooch Barrette

Top: TJ Maxx; Skirt: Wild Fable, Target; Shoes: ShoeDazzle, Zulily; Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily; Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

 

Cool Ghoul Necklace

Top: Nine West, Kohl's; Skirt: Tinseltown, Kohl's; Boots: UNIONBAY, Kohl's; Bag: Nordstrom; Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Halloween Queen Necklace

Orange, black, purple, and green make for a spooky style scene.  Because when it comes to Halloween, I go for glam over gory.  And also, if I'm counting Mr. Alien in the trick-or-treat trio, then the intergalactic.  Speaking of which, if there are little green men (and women!) out there, then do they dress up as us when they demand candy?  Or do they skip the costumes altogether and emulate us by bullying people into relinquishing their Reese's Pieces?

And we say they're the mean ones.