On Halloween, everyone is in costume, so you’re able to fully live out your truths while disguising them behind someone else’s fantasy.
By day, my name is Luna, and I’m a stylist here at Dia&Co. I spend my shift sending clothes to beautiful women all over the country, promoting freedom of expression, and helping women see their beauty inside and out. However, after hours, I am New York City’s premier haunted doll. I spend my nights twirling into the moonlight, dressing up in undead garb and a creepy-cute makeup look. When performing, I am a new person. I’ve brought a character completely created in my mind to life through fashion and makeup.
As an “alternative” drag performer who favors the darker side of fashion, the Halloween season is a really special and reflective time for me. This time of year, being spooky is favored. But for someone like me, who’s a little spooky every day of the year, it makes me ponder: “Why is it that on this one day it’s okay to be different?” On Halloween, everyone is doing it, so it’s fine—there’s a certain freedom and safety on this day that makes people want to try something new. I can wear one of my most out there looks and not get heckled. I can walk down the street without hearing, “Oh man! Guess Halloween came early this year!” On Halloween, everyone is in costume, so you’re able to fully live out your truths while disguising them behind someone else’s fantasy.
Instead of sulking in a depression or constantly being anxious, I could control the darkness and filter my emotions through my makeup and choice of garb.
From as early as five years old, I remember getting into my grandmother’s makeup drawers, trying on all of her lipsticks while she was sleeping at night. When I was 14, my parents started allowing me to wear makeup and dye my hair. This opened up an entirely new world for me. I began to see that I could use fashion and makeup to express myself in ways I never knew were possible. I could put on an outfit that expressed my mood, my feelings, and whatever I was going through that day. If I was feeling sad, popping on some bright colors, flouncy materials, glitter lip gloss, and candy-scented perfume to brighten my day was the best medicine.
However, my makeup style wasn’t always glitzy or glamorous. During my teenage years, grief, hard breakups, and financial struggles started to take a toll on me mentally. I was drawn to hardcore music and the darker, goth side of fashion. On a sad day, I would dress in black, and wear a thick winged eyeliner look with a black lip. I would live out that fantasy, then come home and be able to take everything off. Instead of sulking in a depression or constantly being anxious, I could control the darkness and filter my emotions through my makeup and choice of garb.
Growing up, my father always encouraged me to go out into the world in all of my “crazy” looks. He advised me to explore and taught me that my style and fashion were my own. Now that he’s passed, the drive to share my art with the world has gotten even stronger. When I paint my face before a performance, I can’t help but hope he’s watching me proudly. I know he’d be so impressed with how far I’ve come from the shy, introverted, but still quirky and talented daughter he knew. And I’m still blooming day by day.
What I love about makeup and costume is the chance to choose who you want to be each day. The other night, I was dancing around a Brooklyn bar painted as a sad clown and singing love songs (a look inspired by my most recent break-up). The night before, I was living out my vampire fantasies in Manhattan, inspired by the movies I used to watch with my dad as a child. This Halloween, take advantage of the encouraged experimentation of the day and use fashion and makeup to show the world who you are inside. Only, don’t let it stop come November 1st. Own every aspect of yourself and use the positive outlet of style and aesthetic to make your feelings a tangible reality. Bring a little Halloween magic into the everyday.
