Maleficent

Irvin was a big fan of Disney's live-action Maleficent, so he got incredibly excited when Maleficent 2 was going to be released in October. In light of that, his Halloween costume was obvious: the animated Maleficent, which could be worn to both the movies and to the Halloween parade.

Irvin had been meaning to cosplay Maleficent for many, many years. Over seven years earlier, when Irvin was studying abroad in London in spring 2012, he had come across a really good headband of Maleficent's horns in a costume shop and bought it... biding his time until the perfect moment when he could invest a lot of effort into crafting an iconic costume. So Irvin had the horns, and he bought the plastic staff (with raven attached) on Amazon... but everything else in this costume was handmade by Irvin and his friend (and cosplay guru) Amber.

The black robe was crafted out of leftover black fabric from Lord Voldemort's cauldron, since there were yards and yards of it in Irvin's apartment. It was a heavy fabric that would definitely keep Irvin warm on those chilly Halloween nights, and it billowed beautifully. To this, Irvin attached the purple fabric in the appropriate places - a very light fabric that would create a lot of movement. For the collar, a coat hanger was warped and covered with purple fabric, with the (pointy and somewhat uncomfortable ends) tucked into an elastic band worn underneath the robe. Lastly, a lot of wide black ribbon was glued to the headband to wrap around the head and neck, ensuring only the face was uncovered.

A dry run of the costume - everything but the green makeup - was worn when Irvin and his friends went to see Maleficent 2 in the movie theater. Unfortunately, the film was a huge disappointment. On the upside, Irvin looked great even while disappointed! The robes billowed just as hoped for (on a frightfully windy night), and Maleficent's very distinct silhouette looked really cool every time there was a shadow. When the movie let out and the theater was pretty much closed, the theater employees even allowed Irvin and company to go back inside to take photos with the movie poster!

Come Halloween, though, Irvin went all out for Maleficent - green face and hands, eye shadow, lipstick, Maleficent's distinct black ring. It was effective though: children shrank back from him from the minute he walked outside. The weather was perfect, a brisk evening that made the robes quite comfortable. The only downside is that the robes were a bit long, and the bottom few inches picked up every bit of the NYC streets. Irvin also practiced Maleficent's cackle, and utilized it every chance he got, being assured that it was quite terrifying.

Irvin's friend Sara was the Aurora to his Maleficent, and Irvin had a really fun time menacing her all night long. Above, you can see them together.

Irvin is devoted enough to Halloween to done the entire getup again - makeup and all - two days after Halloween, for a party. The costume definitely takes a while to put on, though the process definitely got faster as the Halloween season went on. At this Halloween party, Irvin took the chance to make the perfect Maleficent entrance. Striding in somewhat late, Maleficent dramatically declared, "Well, quite a glittering assemblage here, Julia. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and... How quaint! Even the rabble." That moment alone made all the prep worth it, because doing Maleficent's entry to a party was definitely a bucket list item for Irvin!

A year later, November 2020, Irvin and his friends took a trip to the Roxbury Motel and stayed in the Faerie Forest - a room that was a perfect reason to bring back Maleficent for some truly epic photos! There were stairs to gallop down, balconies to look imposing on, and all manner of trees to lurk in. Here's the full photo album. And since Sara was back as Aurora, she and Irvin got to create the image where Maleficent sweeps back her cloak to reveal the sleeping princess.