Michael Levine's Halloween Costume Contest for Employees

Last Saturday, October 22nd, we held our annual costume contest in the store for all Michael Levine's employees. Each employee was given a $25 store credit to put towards fabric and supplies for any participating halloween costume or apron. In order to be eligible for a prize, we had to be able to work in our costumes all day, and they had to be completely hand made - no ready mades or store bought costumes!

At 8:45, fifteen minutes before opening on Saturday morning, all of the "contestants" lined up at the front of the store and paraded in front of our judges/store supervisors, fellow employees, and insiders/photographers like myself. They came to the front, stated their names and Halloween personas, and worked the catwalk as much as they could for ten to twenty seconds. By the end of the work day, winners had been selected and were announced and given prizes:

Alex, First Place

This is our First Prize Winner, Gaga Miranda, a.k.a. Alex, from our buttons department. His completely hand made cabana queen costume won him the GRAND PRIZE, and, as you can see, in the background his peers enjoyed the performance! Alex says he "was up until 2 a.m., the morning of the contest," finishing up his costume. He used curled boning and horsehair to accomplish some of the finer details of his headdress, as well as tulle and sequined glitter mesh for the majority of the costume.

Rosie, Second Place

The second place prize went to the Queen of Hearts, a.k.a. Rosie, from our wholesale department. She stormed onto center stage with her commanding glare and dramatic eyebrows, which is honestly so far from the cheerful every day Rosie, that at first I didn't realize it was her! Rosie used red velour, sequined glitter mesh, and a white feather boa, among other things, and completed the look with a fabulous pink dodo bird croquet mallet.

Jose, Third Place

The Third Place prize went to Pinocchio, a.k.a. Jose, one of our floor clerks. His costume was great; he used assorted colors of felt, feathers, and faux suede, and I loved his tree-branch nose with birds and leaves and a nest! He even had Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder!

Happy Birthday Pilar!

And now for some honorable mentions... A shout-out to Pilar. I like to say that she is a 'pil-lar' of our community here because we all enjoy her fun, lively spirit! Saturday happened to be a special day for her. Happy Birthday Pilar from all of your friends and co-workers!


Definitely worth mention and probably a close contender for one of the prizes was Ursula, a.k.a. Raquel from our Home Decor store. She floated into the spotlight in full character, arms raised and wickedly sneering deep sea threats as she twirled her tentacles! She really was scary!


It's always neat to see the creativity that's under the surface amongst our crew. Look what they came up with! Clockwise from top left: Karen as a Hobo, 'La Vuida Negra' Rosa (the black widow), Orange M&M Carlos, Pink Lady Elsa, Tanya as the Goddess Athena, Israel the Zombie, Gangster Alicia, Mariachi Jocelyn, Native American Shelly, and American Soldier Blanca.

And last but certainly not least, the Halloween aprons that the girls in our buttons and notions departments came up with were very crafty and cute!

All in all so many of the employees turned up in costumes, helping bring fun and celebration to the store and inspiring others to let loose and have a good time!