Today is October 26, 2008 and the Third Annual Wonder Woman Day. Two incredible events are being held in Portland, Oregon and Flemington, New Jersey. These events raise money for domestic violence programs by auctioning artwork from top artists. Featured guests include current Wonder Woman scribe Gail Simone, past Wonder Woman cover artist Adam Hughes, and current Wonder Woman artist Aaron Lopresti. All proceeds are given to the shelters and community programs. Artists from comics, animation, and fine arts donate one-of-a-kind artwork for the auctions.

Andy Mangels, author and curator of the Wonder Woman Museum, has produced the event since its inception in 2006. He believes Wonder Woman holds a unique position in popular culture as a comic, novel, animation, and television icon. She symbolizes peace and strength: an ideal mascot for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Stacy Korn of Comic Fusion produces the New Jersey event. The public will be able to meet artists, take pictures, win prizes, and dress up as and meet their favorite heroes.

It’s a fantastic event that draws people from 4 to 80 years of age. In its inaugural year they raised more than $15,000. Artists and collectors had such a wonderful time supporting the first year, in 2007 they almost doubled the funds at $27,000. Hopefully 2008 will continue the trend with more needed funds. The event has been such a success in Portland that Mayor Tom Potter has declared October 26th Wonder Woman Day and encouraged all residents to observe the day.

Collectors from all over the world get in the act on Wonder Woman Day. See the full list of participating artists at the Wonder Woman Day website. Featured here: Alexander Chung and Ibrahim Moustafa.

Check your local comic shops to see if they’re promoting the event.

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, I give you the First Annual That Costume Girl Halloween Costume Contest. Whew, that’s a mouthful.

Send in your pictures of your Halloween costumes. All costumes are welcome (so long as they’re not obscene). All ages can submit their costume for the contest. There will be four brackets in which to compete.
Child: infant-10 years
Teen: 11-18 years
Adult: 19 and older
Group: 2 or more in themed costumes

The rules are simple: send in a picture of your Halloween costume. Costumes can be hand-crafted or store bought. I do not discriminate. A costume only becomes great when worn by the right person. Picture dimensions should be between 800×600 and 300×225 and in JPEG format. Email the pictures to me@ThatCostumeGirl.com. Include your name or screen name and your age in your email. Feel free to describe your costume, write a tutorial, or tell about your Halloween adventure. All pictures will be added to the Your Pictures Gallery and may be used in a post. The deadline for submissions is November 7, 2008. The winning entries will be announced November 10th right here in a post.

I may ask for opinions from friends and family, but the final selection of the four winners will be mine. Yes, there will be prizes.

Small blog-level prizes, but prizes none-the-less.

I give you fair warning to get your camera out on October 31st. I can’t wait to see what you wear!

ThatCostumeGirl has joined forces with Costume Craze to help make your costume dreams come true. Costume Craze is one of the leading online costume retailers. Perhaps you’ve noticed how often I link to their online store? So have they.

Costume Craze aims to make it easier for me to bring you the latest costume goods and news. Together we will review costumes and fill ThatCostumeGirl’s gallery with pictures of costumed folks. Part of our deal allows them to use some of my photographs on their site. Isn’t that exciting? I’ll be a virtual mannequin.

I’m glad to be a part of a forward moving enterprise like Costume Craze, even tangentially. They made the 2007 Inc. 500 fastest growing companies. CEO Kate has been honored as a finalist for Utah’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year two years running. Costume Craze is on the move. ThatCostumeGirl, that’s me, is riding in the sidecar.

Don’t worry, I’m not an employee. More importantly, I won’t ignore other costume avenues. It does mean I’ll recommend them more often than not. They have a great selection and competitive prices. Why don’t you head over now and take a look around the site? See how it fits you. Pick out a costume you like. When you place your order don’t forget your coupon code.

That’s right. Costume Craze is offering my readers free ground shipping. It’s equivalent to $5.99 off shipping and handling. It gets better. They will allow you to deduct that $5.99 from any shipping option you’d like if ground just isn’t fast enough for you. Incredible! Before you check out, make sure to type “thatcostumegirl” in the coupon box.

I’m enjoying getting to know the Costume Craze team. Matthew, Camille, Jeff, Teri, the Maloney Family and so many more have welcomed me with open keyboards. Check out their blog to keep up to date with happenings around the company. Thank you, Costume Craze.

I’m That Costume Girl. I like costumes.

I was a lucky little girl. My parents loved dressing up and acting silly. The whole family really. Notice the included pictures of Grandma and Grandpa better known as the Flower and the Bee (they had 13 kids).

Leading up to Halloween, my Mom would help me think of costume ideas. We had to plan ahead because we didn’t have the disposable income to buy a licensed costume. Planning might include selecting patterns, raiding closets, and searching thrift stores.

The first year I understood Halloween as a dress-up day, I chose to be a Ballerina. At the time I was taking toddler ballet and tap classes and had little pink tights and a tutu* available to me (Not true. My Mother made my tutu). I was cute, gosh darnit. My cousin Toby was a pirate. Arrrgh. We made a cute little mismatched pair. Next up were my Wonder Woman Underoos.

My approach to costumes and dress-up in general is to work with what you got. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid costume stores, not at all.

For example, You want to be Baroness (G.I. Joe is big this year). Where to start? Simple, start with a basic black bodysuit or catsuit, perhaps a Catwoman costume. Make a red Cobra emblem with felt, paint, or tape to affix to the chest, add a few toy guns, a pair of glasses, and maybe a black wig. There ya go! Not perfect, but you’ll turn heads and have fun. It’s not just about turning old coveralls into the perfect Kaylee Frye outfit, it’s about adapting and being creative.

Now I’m off to brainstorm costume possibilities. There are cons on the horizon.