Costume ideas for a Twin Peaks-themed party?
February 6, 2018 4:05 PM   Subscribe

I've been invited to a Twin Peaks-themed party this weekend. I've never watched the show (and don't have any plans to), but I would love some costume ideas!
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (19 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Oh also, if you could please explain your ideas, that would be very helpful! (see: noob) Links greatly appreciated, too.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 4:06 PM on February 6, 2018


Be a log!
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 4:10 PM on February 6, 2018 [6 favorites]


Best answer: Go as the black lodge. Red shirt, black and white chevron pants, can of creamed corn.
posted by furnace.heart at 4:10 PM on February 6, 2018 [5 favorites]


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_Lady
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 4:11 PM on February 6, 2018


Response by poster: Can you explain these ideas? Link me to pics?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 4:12 PM on February 6, 2018


I think you should go as Freddie Skyes. He was new in season 3, and he was an mysterious character who we didn't see much. He was an important character though - in the final episode, he defeated the source of the evil that the whole series was centered upon. I remember commenting to my husband that if he wanted an easy Hallowe'en costume, to be that kid. If you have or can get a grey t-shirt, a red button down, and a single gardening glove, you're set. Bonus points for fake blood; I remember him getting pretty bloody during the fight scene. I can't seem to find photos of that part online though.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 4:24 PM on February 6, 2018


There's a lot to choose from, but these are main characters who wear glasses at least some of the time, so you can incorporate your own into the costume.

Ben Horne (90s version) is probably the easiest/cheapest to do. Business suit, cigar, maybe a large baguette if you're peckish through the night. Character wiki.

The Log Lady (90s version) is a beloved character. You would need to borrow or maybe find second-hand a sweater and skirt. Oh, and cheap wig. Might be hard to find the right glasses though...unless your glasses frames are already red? Character wiki.

It's a thing for fans to dress up as Log Lady and dress up their baby as the log. OMG. Do you have an infant or perhaps small dog to fill the role?

Can you somehow temporarily tint your lenses? Doctor Jacoby (90s version) (2017 version, grey hair though) would be great too. If 90s Jacoby, bring a coconut. Be into Hawaiian stuff. If 2017 Jacoby, bring a golden shovel. Character wiki.
posted by methroach at 4:40 PM on February 6, 2018


Happy Birthday Leo. Red long-sleeve shirt, sunglasses, crepe party streamers, kazoo.
posted by bgrebs at 4:48 PM on February 6, 2018 [7 favorites]


I was also going to suggest the Log Lady, based on seeing someone dressed as the Log Lady one Halloween. Someone's linked you to a picture, but I'll share what this guy did:

The whole thing with the Log Lady wasn't just that she carried a log with her all the time - she also claimed the log told her things. So what this guy did was he made some kind of cardboard tube, then stuck a Magic 8-Ball into one end, and then painted/paper-mached/did something to the tube to make it look like a log. So he would ask you if you wanted to ask the Log a question, and when you did, he'd give the log a shake and show you what the Magic 8-ball said, and that was the log "talking".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 PM on February 6, 2018


You’ll be plenty creepy as Leland Palmer if you wear a natty suit, powder your hair white, carry a golf club, and occasionally break out into tunes like “Get Happy” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” and “Mairzy Doats,” all while dancing expertly and smiling winningly. In your pocket, have a pair of tweezers and a supply of little cut-out printed capital letters that you can (gently!) wedge under friends’ fingernails.

Leland’s possession by BOB made him act inappropriately cheerful after his daughter was murdered (by himself, under the influence of BOB). Toward the end he was blithely going out golfing with the body of another victim in the trunk of his car. BOB’s signature was the placement of those letters.
posted by lakeroon at 9:04 PM on February 6, 2018 [2 favorites]


The trick is that for all of these characters, you’re going to want to know the backstory!

I like the idea of dressing up as the black lodge. That’s basically like a mystery-middle-unexplained-dream-place, and since nothing there makes sense anyway, you don’t need to know backstory. The room looks like: a large room of varying size, mostly empty, with red curtains on all the walls and a floor with a black & white chevron pattern.

Freddie Skyes above is also a good suggestion. He’s easy to dress as, and his backstory is so odd and new and unrelated to everything else that just reading the wiki page will tell you what you need to know. He’s recognizable but not yet beloved.

Finally, another character is the “straight man” to all of the other Twin Peaks weirdness - Sheriff Harry Truman. Do a google image search. He has a ton of backstory so this isn’t ideal, but his general character is: small town, upstanding, quiet, so the right thing kind of guy. He also isn’t all that weird/oddball so you wouldn’t be missing out on any obvious character quirks (eg log lady) from not watching the show. Harry’s role in the show is to be the “normal” one who is amazed by the weirdness but accepts it all as it comes.
posted by samthemander at 10:28 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]


Happy Birthday Leo is also a great idea!! The backstory for him is that he’s a terrible wife beater husband, but he is injured and falls into a vegetative-ish state. He can mumble half-words but is essentially not there. His wife and her boyfriend decide to collect his disability check and then “care” for him. (He was such a bad guy that this feels Ok in the show.) On his birthday they dress him up with a hat and give him a kazoo. Scene here.
posted by samthemander at 10:37 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]


Wear blue lipstick and wrap yourself up in a plastic tarp. If you can invest two hours into watching the very first episode (well, even just a few minutes into it), that's all the context you'll need.

Won't matter at all that you don't look a darn thing like Laura Palmer. It's an easy costume to do and everyone will get it.
posted by phunniemee at 4:44 AM on February 7, 2018 [3 favorites]


Man, I would be Audrey. I love red lipstick.
posted by chocolatetiara at 7:49 AM on February 7, 2018


Tons of people are already going to be Laura or the Log Lady.

Birthday Leo has my vote. ESPECIALLY if you own prescription sunglasses already.

Or Jacoby: Here are some transparent gel filters, you can cut them to fit and temporarily glue them to your glasses with some Elmer's School Glue around the edges. Wear a Hawaiian shirt and bring a coconut.

You could wear an eye patch under your glasses and be Nadine. Carry a curtain rod.

If you have a suit you can carry a 2x4 and be Dell Mibbler. (This one is obscure enough that you'd probably have to explain yourself all night.)

Carry an orchid and a copy of the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and be Harold Smith. Repeat "J'ai une âme solitaire," all night.

Do you have an oversized striped sweater? You can be John Justice Wheeler! Bonus: You'll have a reason to hit on every Audrey at the party - ask her if she wants to go for a ride in your plane.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:56 AM on February 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


As long as you're muttering "j'ai une ame solitaire" you can wear a tux and carry a can of creamed corn and be Mrs. Tremond's grandson. Optionally, add a creepy papier mache mask with a horn on it.
posted by Smearcase at 9:12 AM on February 7, 2018


Go as a damn fine cup of coffee.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:44 PM on February 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


I'd be Dougie. Just need an oversized green suit.
posted by Beardman at 2:26 PM on February 7, 2018


Response by poster: Thanks to the suggestions for going as the Black Lodge, which is exactly what I did. I found these amazing, totally perfect pants on Amazon, paired it with a red button down, and brought along a can of creamed corn. The best (and most unexpected) part: The event space had been made up to look like the Black Lodge! So as you can see in this pic, I fit right in...
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:21 AM on March 25, 2018 [4 favorites]


« Older Please help me choose a recent-year pre-owned car   |   Seed catalogs are my jam Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.