Channeling 'Little Edie' Beale on Hallows Eve

 Last night I attended a proper Halloween fancy dress party, hosted by my awesome friend Sophie who made a fantastic goth/vampira-type with her white, shaded makeup and black fishtail dress with draped sleeves. I decided not to go scary (it's just so much work!) and instead had some fun getting kitted up as 'Little Edie' Beale with my 1950s brocade vintage coat and brooched head scarf (I feel terrible about the fur collar. Does it matter that the mink would have been long dead by now, anyway? No, no, of course not). As expected, no one knew who I was supposed to be. I was asked 'Are you in fancy dress?' (I admit it wasn't very costumey) and guesses as to who I was dressed as included a Romanian peasant woman and Anne Frank. I got that twice. (Geez, who would go as Anne Frank??)

So, who's 'Little Edie' Beale, you ask? Born in 1917, she was a New York socialite who modelled, danced and acted, and a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. When her parents divorced, mom 'Big Edie' got the 28-room East Hampton estate known famously as Grey Gardens. In the 50s Little Edie came to live with her. She became known for her distinct style of dress and has since influenced John Galliano, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs (his 'Little Edie' bag from fall 2007), and Patricia Field ('Carrie Bradshaw' has been known to go full-on Edie) and two Vogue editorial spreads.

Well, mom was an odd bird and kept dozens of cats, didn't believe in litter boxes and apparently 'loved' the smell. Imagine. Poor Little Edie - a cat lover (and a urine lover) she was not. Not hard to believe, the house came into serious disrepair and was found in violation of every building regulation. And it was a sty that stank, ponged and reeked of cat urine. I feel sick writing this. Uch. Anyway, cousin Jackie O came to the rescue - the cat pee-pee garbage house had become a national story - and she paid $32,000 to fix and clean the place (that was like a zillion dollars back then). Workers carted away 1,000 bags of garbage. Wow. And it's said that the smell was still putrid despite the painstaking efforts. (I chose not to incorporate an olfactory element into my costume.)  

There have been three documentaries made about the Beales and Grey Gardens, and they've been the subject of several books, musicals, songs, and a movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange is set for release in 2009. By then everyone who wanted to know who Little Edie was will know, and so will a lot of people who didn't want to know. (I got really weird looks when I explained my inspiration for my costume. I should have said "Yes, Romanian peasant woman. Great guess.")

Back to the party - remember the rabbit monster from Donnie Darko? He showed up (and he was missing a neck):