Everyone knows the best part of Halloween (other than the candy) is dressing up in costume. Most of us have at least one Halloween costume that stands out in our memory, whether it made us feel proud, slightly awkward or downright embarrassed. Whatever the case, these memories can make for amusing and even heartfelt stories later in life. Below, we’ll hear from members of the Diamond Certified Resource team as they reminisce about their most memorable Halloween costumes.
Matt Solis, Editor
“In 7th grade, I dressed up as Stevie Ray Vaughan. I had the flowing paisley shirt, a cowboy hat with a feather, a fake 5 o’clock shadow and a toy guitar with SRV etched on the body. Nobody had any clue who I was supposed to be. My math teacher came up to me during class and whispered, ‘Just so you know, I think you look really cool.’ It was then I realized that my costume was, in fact, not cool at all.”
Suzanne Carroll, Digital Associate
“In second grade, I was a clown for Halloween. My costume was a yellow jumpsuit with fuzzy, red pom-poms. What I remember most was the wig—it was curly, dense and rainbow-colored. I felt amazing in my clown wig, but it was also kind of itchy and uncomfortable. I didn’t care; I kept that wig on all night and wore it proudly. That Halloween, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the sake of style.”
Linda Molina, Ratings Specialist
“My favorite Halloween costume was the Wonder Woman costume my mom made for me when I was five. My favorite Wonder Woman quote is, ‘Now I know, that only love can truly save the world. So I stay, I fight and I give, for the world I know can be.’”
Greg Louie, Founder/CEO
“As a young adult, I started my first corporate job at a Silicon Valley company. Soon after, on Halloween, I came to work dressed as a baseball player. To my embarrassment, nobody else in the office had dressed up, so I felt like a fool at my new job.”
Joy Lanzaro, Director – Mediation & Compliance
“Halloween costumes weren’t a big deal in the Lanzaro household. Every year when Halloween rolled around, my mother was caught off guard as if surprised that I’d need a costume ‘again.’ With no time and no shortage of paper grocery bags from the local A&P, I went as the same thing every year: a robot. On Halloween night, mom and I would cut eye holes in one bag and a neck and two arm holes in another bag. Two bags and five holes later, I was ready to go. Mom assured me that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. I didn’t know my neighbors, and besides, I literally had a paper bag over my head—I was Roboto Incognito! That illusion was dismantled the night when a door opened and the woman inside smugly declared, ‘And you must be the Lanzaro girl.’ It was humiliating, which is not what mom wanted for me. The next year, the bag over my head had a mustache.”
Matt Soto, Production Manager
“In 2nd grade, I dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster, a costume that had been graciously handed down to me from my older brother. I actually chose it over a new costume because I looked up to my older brother so much.”
Char Leary, Director of Production
“When I was 12, I dressed up as a stereo system. I made the costume myself out of some large pieces of cardboard. At the top was a cardboard turntable, which had a flap for my head to pop out of. It wasn’t a particularly well-made costume, but at least you could tell what I was!”
Steve Israel, Ratings Specialist
“The costume that stands out in my memory was from when I was in kindergarten. Earlier in the year, our class had put on a special show for the parents where we all dressed up as farm animals. I played the part of a ‘Banty’ rooster, which is a nickname for a specific breed called Bantam. My mom made a silly outfit with a pointy beak hat, an old sheet and cardboard wings that attached to my arms. Later, since the outfit was already made, my mom made me wear it for Halloween. All the other kids got to go trick-or-treating as ghosts and goblins and princesses, and here I was a goofy-looking rooster! At almost every house I went to, they had to ask me what I was. And when I told them I was a Banty rooster, they invariably asked, ‘What’s that?’”
From all of us at the Diamond Certified Resource, have a fun, safe and memorable Halloween!