Halloween in Italy

When I found out Erica's American university in Bologna was having a Halloween party the weekend of my visit, I knew I'd have to think creatively when planning my costume (due to my lack of clothes/Halloween-ish materials). I had 3 options in mind:

1) Lady Gaga

2) Beyonce

3) a zebra

I had found a dress at H&M that looked a lot like this and, after trying it on, I thought it would look so Gaga. I figured I'd have to invest in some sort of blonde wig, however (plus the 40 euro for the dress) and I decided I couldn't justify spending so much money on a costume that at least 5 other people at the party would have.

I have, like, 6 leotards and could have easily looked like this but decided I didn't want to spend the night walking around Italy with no pants on.

I was a zebra last year. I wanted something new.

I don't have very many clothes in my closet in Germany. Really, I wear the same outfits over and over. I opened my closet hoping for some kind of inspiration and immediately realized my red and white polka dot bow dress would make a perfect Minnie Mouse costume! I brought it to Italy with a pair of white gloves but I obviously needed some Minnie ears. I assumed I would have to buy a black headband and some sort of arts/crafts supplies in order to make Minnie ears. Where was I supposed to buy them in Italy, anyway? Giant stores like Wal-Mart and Target don't exist in Europe which can raise serious issues when you need to buy something as strange as a pair of Minnie Mouse ears. I was pretty doubtful I'd find anything that even slightly resembled Minnie ears but Erica said we should at least look.

We walked down Via Independzia (the main shopping street in Bologna) a few hours before the Halloween party looking for a store that looked arts&craft-ish. It was rainy and dreary and I felt like the quest was pretty hopeless - especially because NOTHING in Europe is open on Sundays....nothing! I was about to tell Erica I had given up until we suddenly spotted the Disney Store. We laughed at how on such a dark and cloudy day, the brightly lit Disney store was like a gleaming star in the distance. And it was open! We walked inside and found perfect Minnie ears and a perfect Minnie purse! We mentioned several times that we could have spent the whole afternoon in there. It reminded us of home, going to Disney World and being little kids in general. We kept saying, "Ohhhh, if I had a daughter, I'd buy her this, this and this!". We are such children at heart.

Anyway, I met all of Erica's friends at the party and we had a great time. Doesn't she look so cute as a cat? I loved her costume and how big her hair was (I'm an avid supporter of huge hair). Also, I will admit that I was 100% jealous of her roommate Nancy's Beyonce costume (pictured below). She looked awesome!