Halloween 2014: Chambered Nautilus Costume, Gangster Costume

When your son says in July that he wants to be a chambered nautilus for Halloween and continues to want to be a chambered nautilus all the way into September, you have to find a way to make it happen. Because how can you say no to a request that unique from a kid that committed?

So without further ado, the chambered nautilus costume:

His peers didn't get it, but it was a huge hit with the grownups handing out the candy. At one house, someone saw him coming from a distance and actually said, "Is that a nautilus?" and just went nuts over him and listed all kinds of facts about it. Clearly a fan.

Then there's the 1920's gangster costume. I didn't make it. We decided to see if we could borrow the trench coat (the cheapest ones at Goodwill were $42.00). The main question: "Who's shorter than 5'10" and has lived on the East Coast?" This left us with two people, one of whom had given away the trench coat he hasn't used since moving out here, and one of whom had to pull his out from storage, where it's been since he moved out here. Here being California, where no one has any use for a trench coat except as part of a gangster costume.

My favorite part is the pose. He is such a shrinking violet in public but he's a total ham when it's just us.

Happy Halloween.