![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1McmKgQX1VRVJZL-2F5Ue1-Ljn1C15NvgIeD_lQQeXlDC6iAVbWj81STtVVPMXry8v2Jt3l3KoJAuYLwLSwylPGWZtA4AY-SY-WJpbPvOG5c_O9h-p3hoXB9SEx52Y42VnuFqMQ/s400/rubber+masks.jpg)
Needless to say, I've grown out of that habit -- though not the will to do so -- living in Paris.
Naturally I was overcome with childlike glee when I happened upon Aux Feux de la Fete, a costume and fireworks store on boulevard Montparnasse. I popped inside to find out what the offerings were.
The owner was one of the most thoughtful Parisian shop-owners I've encountered. I asked him if Halloween was really popular. "Oh, l'Halloween, c'est surtout pour les jeunes," he said with a chuckle. "A few years ago, a lot of adults were having costume parties, but that's pretty much leveled off. Mostly it's les petits."
"Do they go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood?" I asked.
"Oh, well, not door-to-door," he said. "But they do stop in at the places they know to show off their costumes. They have little parties at home, peut-etre. But when the children visit my shop in their costumes, they bring me the candy, not vice-versa. C'est charmant. Many of these little ones I have known all their lives -- since they were in the ventres of their mamans." He made a big gesture of a round belly. "Now they are grands comme ca," he added, holding his hand at chest height.
Monsieur may have mostly the younger crowd as clientele, but he certainly is well-stocked for the more -- dare I say mature? -- generation as well.
There is something so quintessentially French about Marie Antoinette wigs, of course.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTlx0a5AlW-P2DdGT1sfTJyof3GFPz5YMh_lfFG_vcYSwByYZZ3tGuyKw3A1YnRTGU39haQi0F4_5Biy4EOEkimGJbtMGYwmVUxi-NDZNhyphenhyphenAOAv42pSM9gtYPtdoFk2h4EKjN7Q/s400/party+wigs.jpg)
But you have to admit, nothing is more French than being Johnny.
"Do they go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood?" I asked.
"Oh, well, not door-to-door," he said. "But they do stop in at the places they know to show off their costumes. They have little parties at home, peut-etre. But when the children visit my shop in their costumes, they bring me the candy, not vice-versa. C'est charmant. Many of these little ones I have known all their lives -- since they were in the ventres of their mamans." He made a big gesture of a round belly. "Now they are grands comme ca," he added, holding his hand at chest height.
Monsieur may have mostly the younger crowd as clientele, but he certainly is well-stocked for the more -- dare I say mature? -- generation as well.
There is something so quintessentially French about Marie Antoinette wigs, of course.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTlx0a5AlW-P2DdGT1sfTJyof3GFPz5YMh_lfFG_vcYSwByYZZ3tGuyKw3A1YnRTGU39haQi0F4_5Biy4EOEkimGJbtMGYwmVUxi-NDZNhyphenhyphenAOAv42pSM9gtYPtdoFk2h4EKjN7Q/s400/party+wigs.jpg)
But you have to admit, nothing is more French than being Johnny.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQUUYjQNT_IqPOeOyzwcmI782BxD_P79uGnrKrrAWit02_-RCpGNSABrq73Q0WzJJ0LARspiO_nMj0NjdRxVB1qLViOw7tKF3vSUtGoKLHV5uJgWtIBLyEQKKc3_KRWx9cgLyNQ/s400/johhny.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkuydiPg7mWRMZs0dy9ucz3BDea_4MXFamXzd17rfGupAOuky7eLcsjF9sruQZaHDQLJV51cH8pkDEsnENZ14plvyKYc5nLyKdqO7EzJtsAy2QsskJbcAh0bkImDiXWb-4x9SLQ/s400/aux+feux+de+la+fete.jpg)
4 comments:
Did they have any of those Sarah Palin wigs?
I would LOVE to go to a real costume ball!
You know, the kind that lasted for days and everybody just moved into the castle/villa/chateau!
"Oh, I am so debauched!" I would utter on the way home.
My daughter called tonight for the annual "what shall I be for Halloween?" advice. I suggested Sarah Palin and she said, "Naww, EVERYONE's going as Sarah Palin this year.
She liked the Tippi Hedren-ornithologist and Winona-shopper ideas, though.
I attended a Halloween party last Saturday and there were at least 5 Sarah Palins. Four Uncle Sams, three Old McCains, two Bill Clintons (still?), and a George Washington in a cherry tree.
I love the Tippi Hedren idea!
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