I can't think of a better place to capture a few spooky photos of the latest in "Haunt Couture" than Crown Hill Cemetery.
The historical graveyard, founded in 1864, is the final resting place of luminaries like Booth Tarkington and Benjamin Harrison (the 23rd US President), as well as the notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
It's also on the way to Clowes Memorial Hall, the site of this year's L'Opera Ball, so we made a quick detour en route.
The Indianapolis Opera's annual black-tie, costumed fundraiser on Halloween weekend inspired me to create this elaborate Dia de los Muertos look for two.
Most guests opted to complete their black tie ensembles with masquerade-style masks. I do love a masquerade, but masks are hot, and often interfere with your peripheral vision.
My favorite, elaborate Venetian-style masks also interfere with eating and drinking...not ideal for enjoying an extravagant four-course meal.
Our Day of the Dead look, on the other hand, stayed put all night without discomfort. Well, maybe there was a little discomfort when it came time to remove it...I may have underplayed that aspect of our painted faces to KDef when he agreed to do it.
If you follow Red's Shoe Diaries, you know I'm all about the details. So, our sugar skull faces weren't the only skeletal elements in our ensembles.
The skull motif was repeated in my crystal ring and KDef's cufflinks.
I also embellished my vintage 1940s hat with a skeleton hand broach creeping over my right eye; and a pair of burnished silver skeletal arms and hands (which began life as a necklace) cradled my updo.
One of my favorite elements was KDef's one of a kind scarf, which local designer Nikki Blaine made using fabric I designed myself on Spoonflower.com. I used an x-ray to create the subtle, repeating pattern.
Blood red satin on the back of the scarf complemented the pops of color in our shoes; my hat; fingernails; and lipstick (not to mention my hair).
To be honest, I originally envisioned an all black and white look, but black lipstick is incredibly hard to keep fresh unless you avoid food and drink altogether.
So, the crimson accents were actually the result of my desire to do a practical (and Red's Shoe Diaries signature) red lip.
I was really happy with the end result, and think the color added a perfect pop of drama befitting the theatrical setting for the evening.
...And when I say theatrical, I mean that in the most literal sense. Eschewing the standard blase hotel ballroom, we partied instead on the stage at Clowes: eating, drinking, dancing and gambling late into the evening. A hauntingly defrightful night, indeed.
Fashion is what you buy; Style is what you do with it!
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