Halloween has come and gone again, and as I woke up the next morning, I was again thinking, is this all there is? Is Halloween really the only local event where adults can shamelessly dress up and go out?

I’ve seen costumers around my area from time to time – a couple in 19th century garb swirling through city streets on Troy Night Out, a woman in an interesting cloak at the annual lantern parade at a local park, a few women at the Victorian Strolls in Saratoga and Troy. Reenactors at historic landmarks in the area.

I went to a local craft store the week before Halloween, only to find they were completely out of the supplies I needed because New York City’s comic con had just taken place. Is that the closest place to go if you like to dress up? How is that possible?

Yet every time I search for costuming events in my area, I come up empty. Albany Museum of Art and History is nearly the only hit (mainly for its collections). Depressingly, the only other link was what looks like a con in 1989. It was such an old reference I didn’t even click on the link.

There are a few costumed events that happen around Halloween, but I can’t make costumes for my kids and also for myself in time for any of those, and I’m not one of those people who can do long range execution and planning for events that are months away.

Plus, the type of events I’ve found promise to be crowded – a bar with a costume contest, or a ticketed costumed event. The Victorian Strolls were too crowded for me, and that was before the pandemic. What I want is more of a living room-sized group of costumers who just want to dress up and hang out.

I feel a lot of hopelessness sometimes about ever being able to costume with others on a day other than Halloween – What’s the point of trying to connect with other people who costume if there’s not even an online presence in the area?

I know you are out there, fellow costumers, so I’m going to be vulnerable. I have a vision of a small group of local costumers who get together once every couple of months (or more or less often depending on our availability and interest). Some of those meet-ups would be crafting/sewing bees to work on our current projects, and some of them would be costumed meet-ups.

I envision something that mostly takes place out-of-doors with everyone in the group being vaccinated. I saw a group in Colorado who does costumed hikes dressed up like characters from Lord of the Rings. That sounds amazing. Maybe a park stroll, walking through a historic neighborhood, or a trip to the Albany Art and History museum wearing costumes of the era being featured.

As we build our costume wardrobes, or based on our interests, we would plan small themed events around ideas like…

• Historically accurate or screen accurate interpretations of characters from historical movies or TV shows
• Mashup night (Regency Loki Variant, anyone?)
• Royalty Night (dress up as a member of royalty from any era that interests you)
• Decade get-togethers, 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s, etc.
• A medieval or fantasy hike
• A visit to a historical site in clothes of that era

I’m thinking more about historical costuming because that is what I’m most interested in, but I’m open to cosplay or a combination of the two. I’m hoping having the prospect of an upcoming event would provide the motivation some of us need in order to get our projects done.

I would like this to be up and running in the next two years, and I’m going to keep sewing for now like it’s already a thing.

This (for now, imaginary group) is for anyone who enjoys costuming and feels like it might be even more fun with a few other like-minded people. It’s for people at every level of costuming – from people who like the idea of costuming but haven’t done anything about it yet, to the people who don’t have a crafty bone in their body but have found other sources for costuming creation, to the people who already have complete ensembles from the clothes to the wig or hat to the accessories, all lovingly sculpted/handsewn/embroidered/hot glued.

I need to mention this – if you really want to costume and you don’t know how you can possibly fit it into your budget or schedule, I want you, too. I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s a cheap hobby, because sometimes it is not (especially if you get shoes to go with every outfit), but there are ways to make it work.

If you are a costumer near Albany, NY, let’s get together and make something happen. I’m tired of costuming by myself.

You can DM me on the side bar of my blog.

The plague doctor mask was my piece de resistance for Halloween – my partner wore it as it wasn’t a good fit with my glasses. I used the pattern from SKS Props, and cut circles from a plastic water bottle for the eye holes. I didn’t have the 6mm foam called for, so instead I glued together three layers of 2mm for each pattern piece.