Aaron's Blog Bot: Halloween Jitters!

I mentioned in my last post how much I love Halloween. I really, really love it. It's the only day out of the entire year where it's socially acceptable to not be yourself and dress and act like a maniac without a single person looking at you funny. Also, free candy.

I go crazy for any excuse for me to dress up (like a formal event) or in costume (like a family event). So, naturally, Halloween, let's me go crazy. And I usually do. I usually decide on a costume and start planning at the beginning of September. And for the past five years I've assembled/partially made my own costumes. Gone are store-bought kits and cheap jumpsuits! (Though I still buy costume supplies, not against that.) And every year, people seems to be surprised by my ingenuity or creativity. I always get complimented on my costume, so that's an upside.

This year is a great year for costumes, with movies like Disney's 'Frozen,' MARVEL's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' and videogames like 'Destiny.' If I wasn't so set on my decision already, I'd be planning to dress as Star-Lord from 'Guardians of the Galaxy.'

Even the crummy costume kits look good for this guy

...but I'm not. Hit that jump and see what I've got planned...

GREEN

Oh, yes, I knew immediately as soon as I thought of Halloween I wanted to be the Doctor. The problem was..which one? And which outfit? Oh boy.

Eleven of the now thirteen incarnations of the Doctor

I thought about maybe my favorite Doctor, the 9th played by Christopher Eccleston (the one in the leather coat there above), but I had already done that for the season premiere event I went to in August, and it seemed too simple for people to recognize (or just too normal.) So, after some looking about, I settled on my FIRST Doctor, and my second-favorite, Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor. But...I also didn't want to do the generic, overdone outfit consisting of a tweed jacket, white shirt and red bowtie. I thought about doing his outfit worn during the second half of the seventh season.

I love the frock coat and the shades of blue and purple, and hell, it was recognizable. So, I looked for the replica coat and...well it's $400. So...I didn't really think that'd be possible without a reliable income. Plus, I'm not sure I'd wear the coat very often, I just don't do purple very well.

But then, I watched an episode of Doctor Who while I ate dinner. It was one of my favorites, "Closing Time." In it, the Doctor goes to visit someone he once shared an adventure with, and encounters a dangerous threat in the nearby department store. In that episode, he's wearing a coat he only wore a few times on the show -- that green one above.

And that did it for me. I love the outfit, I love the episode, and I love the coat. And I'd definitely wear green, since it's my favorite color. I looked up the replica coat and found it for $200 on Amazon. I figured it'd be worth it, since it's a great costume, a real coat, and a good replacement for my brown frock/trench coat that's getting exponentially small.

I went to work immediately looking for the small, cheaper things I'd need. Black slacks, a light blue dress shirt, and a burgundy bow tie. Luckily, I already had a pair of burgundy suspenders that I had passed down from my grandfather (thanks, grandpa!!). I already had the Sonic Screwdriver, too.

I found everything pretty quick, all in one store, too, thanks JC Penny. I got even luckier and found the right shade of bow tie at Hot Topic! The only thing I was missing was the nametag from the episode.