EVERYONE IS A DUMMY!

My friend Linda Shafran described my blog writing style perfectly as, “Kathy is pissed off and they are dummies.” Today’s posting is a perfect example of that mind-set. I am mad at people who spend a lot of cash on Halloween costumes because it is a stupid waste of money!


Last year, on October 30th, I posted a blog called, “Halloween; A Senseless Excuse To Eat Candy.” I ended the posting with, “ I might sound like an old curmudgeon being so negative about a day that so many other people enjoy celebrating, but at least let us show some honesty in why we enjoy October 31st. It has nothing to do with honoring dead souls; it’s all about the candy. “ This year it is all about the costumes!


Crain’s Chicago published a story about adults spending a lot of money on costumes to attend charitable events on Halloween weekend. One such event is a fund-raiser for the American Diabetes Association. The ADA is a wonderful organization but they encourage guests attending the event to wear a costume instead of black-tie. One could be creative and cleverly design something out of old clothes already in their closet, but women involved in the event are quoted bragging about their expenditures.

Not wanting to embarrass this one woman any further about her foolish extravagant worthless spending, I am omitting her name. She forked out $1500 on a Marie Antoinette costume. Crain’s wrote, “She spent $800 on a custom-made, 18th-century dress with a plunging bodice, bell sleeves, elbow-length gloves and petticoat skirt. Then she purchased two platinum wigs at Fantasy and had them woven together to create the character's signature towering hairpiece, with ringlets, flowers and butterflies for good measure. “

Many times I have spent more than $1500 on an outfit at St. John. But I have bought suits or dresses that I can wear more than once, and for years. How often does one have the opportunity to dress up like Marie Antoinette? Not unless one plans on standing on Michigan Avenue as a street performer!

It is not only women who are stupid. Sonny Balani of the eponymous Balani Custom Clothiers had to this say about a customer, "He wanted to be the Joker for Halloween, and he had no problem dropping $2,000." Crain's reported the "staffers spent some 20 hours researching photos of actor Heath Ledger's Joker in the film "The Dark Knight" and stitching together the outfit. The client, Mr. Balani says, “also grew out his hair for months and hired a professional makeup artist to help him appropriate the character's scraggly, white-faced countenance."


For Mayor Richard Daley’s annual Halloween Ball which benefits the Cultural Center, one attorney (again I won’t name him to protect the stupid) told Crain’s that he, “…outfits his entire 10-person table in matching gear. The result, whether it's penguin suits or Elvises (“Elvii,”), can cost four figures.”


What makes this costume spending so maddening to me is that people are wearing them to CHARITY galas! Events that are raising MONEY for important medical research or for the arts, etc. Instead the guests choose to give cash to a tailor so they can look stylish just for one night instead of donating it directly to the not-for-profit.

Mayor Daley wears the same pumpkin decorated vest every year to his event at the Cultural Center. If that is good enough for Hizzoner, it should be good enough for everyone else in the room.

I will dress up as a dummy this Halloween but you won’t know it’s me because I will be surrounded by the real dummies who are wearing costumes.