Weekend Wardrobe: 2020 Outfit of the Week #39, Inspired by a Spider!

Happy Halloween, everyone!  This week I made one trip into town on Friday for a doctor appointment and my essentials shopping trip.  Since it was the day before Halloween I decided to put together an ensemble inspired by the impressive-looking arachnid pictured above that I found in our courtyard a couple of weeks ago.  This handsome specimen is a desert tarantula (Aphonopelma chaleodes), a mild-mannered spider that rarely bites unless provoked and whose venom is usually no worse than a bee sting (honestly, I think the harvester ants that are all over our property during warm weather have a far more painful bite!).  The one I found was a male - the male spiders will wander in the fall searching for mates.  His coloring was lovely, mostly black with a desert brown carapace over his cephalothorax, and I knew I had just the right apparel to match him!  Here is the outfit I came up with:

Clockwise from top left: Sydney Evan 14K Diamond Spider Pendant Necklace (similar to my much less expensive one); Calvin Klein Full Zip Puffer Vest in Black; Great American Leatherworks Leather East/West Crossbody Bag in Dark Tan (no longer available); MediPEDS Crew Socks in Black; Dr. Scholl's Women's Wide Width Marci Gel-Pac Zippered Loafers in Black (no longer available); Coldwater Creek Hidden Stretch Waist Chinos in Saddle; L.L. Bean Women's 3/4" Belt in Black (similar to mine); UltraSofts Mock Turtleneck in Black (similar to mine).

 

Below is an image of my spider necklace, bought years ago as part of a Halloweeen costume:

 

If you haven't had enough of spiders, why not watch the old B-movie classic "Tarantula" (1955) here.  There is even a short but informative natural history lesson about desert tarantulas in the middle of the movie.

 

I hope you are having a fun and not too scary Halloween (and don't forget to gaze up at the blue moon tonight, a rare second full moon this month)!