Halloween Ideas from "The Good Witch's Owner," Addy Dorman

If you’ve already purchased a pre-made and unoriginal costume for Halloween, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s costume. Why not try an alternative to the classic itchy polyester costume packaged in a seal-tight plastic bag?

In town, Mendy’s, a high quality, fashion forward women’s clothing store on Main Street, lies “The Good Witch.” Named after Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz, “The Good Witch” is a costume shop owned and operated by the manager of Mendy’s herself, Addy Dorman.

Dorman crafts the costumes by hand, selects the accessories and works all year long to create the most creative and elaborate costumes for this exciting time of year.

At age 10, Dorman’s mother taught her how to sew because she foresaw her daughter being too small to fit into her clothes. After years of practice, she started working with recycled materials such as jersey knit t-shirts. By age 17 , Dorman was selling her original skirts constructed out of old recycled t-shirts.

After graduating high school, Dorman attended the College for a brief time before she transferred to the Massachusetts College of Art. She graduated in 2009 with a BA in Fine Arts 3D, with a concentration in fibers. After graduation she came back to Middlebury and worked at Mendy’s where she then began her first entrepreneurial endeavor.

Ever since she was a young girl, Dorman has always loved “dress up,” but was particularly fond of Halloween. Some might even say that her passion for the fall holiday began at birth.  She was born on Oct. 27, just four days before Halloween. According to Dorman, however, her fondness for this holiday stems from her life goal: being her own person. By designing and creating Halloween costumes, Dorman is able to live out a life in fashion with her own sense of direction and self-autonomy.

This year, for the first time, The Good Witch is carrying both men’s and women’s costumes. Dorman commented on a theme she noticed regarding the most popular getups. The top three costumes most admired by both men and women have been, a super hero, a Native American and a pirate.

Out of the three, Dorman’s favorite is Wonder Women.

“Every girl wants to be Wonder Women,” Dorman said. “And any guy would be superman, batman, the green lantern, the hulk, ironman, and captain America. Men like to dress up as superheroes and so do girls.”

Dorman provided some advice for girls attempting to dress up as Wonder Woman. She suggests starting out with a onesie, then adding tights, a gold crown, cuffed wrists, a red corset, a gold bust and a star-spangled banner bottom.

According to the costume expert herself, there is no need for a college student to spend more than $40 to $50 on a costume. Further, no one should ever be exceeding $100. In Dorman’s eyes, a great outfit only must include, “$40 for the dress or body piece and $15 to $20 for accessories”.

Wondering what the Queen of Halloween is dressing up as herself? Dorman will be going as a white pegacorn, which is a combination of Pegasus and a unicorn. Inspired by the original Disney fantasia, she will wear a white horse costume with wings and a horn.

Dorman offered some final words of advice when it comes to dressing up on Halloween.

“Have fun with the costume, don’t be afraid to push the limits, go all out and dress as your alter ego,” she said.

As for Halloween night, “Be a good sport, join the party and be part of the event,” Dorman said. “Most importantly, however, admire other costumes and gather inspiration from the night.”