Key West never tires in its constant push to see islanders and visitors take to the town in absurd, sexy, and often wildly imaginative looks and costumes. You can probably find someone in a brightly-colored tutu any day of the year or similarly, cruising through the streets with head-turning decked out bicycles.
Two themes that will feature heavily this season are “Bedtime Stories” and “Magical Monsters,” which are, of course, being celebrated by the city’s annual Fantasy Fest, which takes place later on each year. Its lineup consists of mega dance parties and parades galore.
In exploring famous tales and reimagined creatures, locals who have previously served memorable costumes seem particularly open to customizing new designs from very different angles, all ideas that visitors can easily partake in.
This year’s theme was practically made for Theresa Chiechi. The artist behind last year’s festival poster and former “Greek mythology kid” always drew a lot of her inspiration from fantasy stories, folklore, and mythology.
Chiechi is sticking to her tradition of being a female version of a classic horror movie villain. This year, she is planning to be the Babadook, an entity popularized by the same-named psychological horror movie, who is unleashed after a reading of a creepy children’s book.
Meanwhile, bartending at busy downtown spots like Rick’s affords Errin Harrelson a front row seat to many outfits of the season. She loves this year’s theme of Magical Monsters and Bedtime Stories and the many directions it allows.
Harrelson expects to see generations representing their childhood favorites like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Boogeyman.”
She is especially looking forward to seeing group costumes because those ensembles, she thinks, are always executed with such creativity, including unexpected turns.
Even people who are confused by the theme will be in cute jammies, she jokingly speculated, adding that she cannot wait to see some “unbuttoned bottoms” and what people put to hide what is underneath.
“I always get a kick out of everyone’s interpretation of each theme and I love the innocence of this year’s theme,” she said.
Another local with much downtown experience is musician Bria Ansara, whose memorable punk look a few years ago was smoking after a strapped-on battery pack overheated. This time, she is focusing on ethereal and spooky elements.
“I think you could embrace the cute, sweet dreams side of the theme by dressing in frothy, cloud-like fabrics, lots of twinkling lights, and cozy quilted looks,” she said.
She is also imagining a dramatic “lewque” for herself in a Victorian dressing gown with drippy-wax candelabra details.
As some of these costumers revealed, attention to detail of course includes accessories. A big one being hair. As hair stylist and hair educator Amanda Lewis says, it is the ultimate accessory that can make or break a look. She expects to see many wigs, barrettes, and headbands paired with outfits.
She recommends first figuring out whether your hair needs to be “extra” or just in need of some product. Headpieces, certain masks, and hats can all cover the scalp in a pinch. While extensions are always a recommended fun and temporary way to transform your hair.
Perhaps you prefer leaving it to a professional? In which case, Lewis encourages people to think ahead and schedule an appointment early on to avoid the festival crunch of availability. Schedule a consult even earlier to talk things over with your hairstylist to help them determine if hair extensions or other relevant materials might need to be sourced.
Making headpieces, she advised, is also useful because you can reuse them, or consider borrowing from a friend. And in this town, it won’t be long before you break out elements from last season’s costume.
Fantasy Fest runs from Oct. 17-26 in Key West.
