Halloween Costume Prep
Costumer Rip Claassen offers last-minute ideas for Halloween
So what are you going as this Halloween? It’s down to the wire in choosing a costume. And if you want to go as, say, Elsa or Anna, you’d better just, well, let it go.
“Every costume shop in the area is out of Frozen costumes,” says Rip Claassen of the American Backstage Company in Alexandria. That includes his own — but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a Nordic fairytale princess, or prince. It just requires a little more imagination and a little more work to re-create the look.
But why live in a fairytale when you can be a gay American hero from history? Claassen recommends going as Baron von Steuben. “In the Revolutionary War he was the gentleman who wrote the guide to military drill.” Steuben, who fled his native Germany rather than face prosecution for homosexuality, also served as General George Washington’s chief of staff at the end of the war.
You could also seek to set folklore straight — by which I mean gay. “Just this past year, a scholar at Oxford revealed that Robin Hood and Little John were a couple,” Claassen says, noting that Maid Marian was only added as Robin Hood’s love interest two centuries after the legend was originally created with his trusty sidekick. Both men were “forest archers — they’re both great medieval looks.”
“I have these high-quality costumes in my rental department — I rent them all the time,” Claassen says. Of course, you could create your own look using things Claassen has on hand, including “generic superhero suits” or a “tiger-striped loincloth.” He’s also got body paint “if you want to do something a little more suggestive … and show some skin.”
If you’ve haven’t already gathered, Claassen, who has worked in the local theater scene for 30 years, is a font of costume ideas. So if you’re stuck in an uncreative rut, you could simply seek out his counsel. Just realize he’s an insanely busy man this time of year, which is high season for the costume industry.
“If you’re asking for advice on how to create a look,” he says, “better to come at the slower times, usually between 2 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon.” — Doug Rule
The American Backstage Company is at 5380 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria. Call 703-212-8982 or visit americanbackstage.com.
[goldstar-plugin teritory=8]
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.