As the reality of autumn semester and its inevitable challenges catch up with everyone, the one saving grace is the excitement of Halloween. With the array of costumes putting weekly socials to shame. From the classic clown and skeletons to the movie characters and landmarks of the world all the way to the less than savoury Pocahontas.
The different costumes that can be expected this Halloween. There are, of course, some costumes that appear year after year and have become boring staples of the 31st of October. Although boring doesn’t mean bad.
A classic is a classic for a reason and the expected cat costume is hard to do wrong, with a little black dress, cat ears, and eyeliner whiskers being instantly recognisable. Which is the tell-tale sign of a well done costume. In fact, almost all animal costumes have become expected and tedious every year, with the leopard and deer expected to take the crown this year.
Another unavoidable costume has to be the pairing of Angels and Devils. This duo costume is repeated consistently with every person you know having the ability to whip it up at the last minute. Following the incredible popularity of Marvel and DC in recent years, a plethora of superhero costumes pop up every October in varying degrees of success and recognition.
These costumes fall in the acceptable zone of Halloween costumes, as their basicness is balanced out by their reliable nature and easiness to craft last minute. In complete opposition to the overdone but recognisable costumes discussed above, the niche but incredibly creative costumes often wow the crowds. Once they finally recognise the costume that is.
A favourite of the creative costume category must be random objects that don’t initially spring to mind when brainstorming a costume but end up being a hilarious addition to the night. This genre includes dressing up as a basketball, a painting, or a food item that often gain media attention for their unexpectedness. Heidi Klum and her notorious Halloween parties always take the crown for the most creative Halloween costumes, with her costume remaining equally as incredible every year.
The costume highlights being a peacock, a worm and both Adam, Eve, and the apple simultaneously. Dressing up at various landmarks across the globe is also extremely fun and creative with the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben being my personal favourite. With the right accessories and resilience any idea can be turned into a fantastic costume that will leave others speechless and in awe of the designer’s creativity and desire to leave the basic costumes in the past.
As the typical bunny and more exciting, creative ideas of a celebrity costume are a staple of the spooky season, so are the cultural appropriation costumes that are fortunately dying out as knowledge and awareness is spread. Harmful representations of Native Indians, Hawaiians, and shameless acts of blackface are disguised as costumes each year as their danger is protected by the 31st of October. Thankfully these “costumes” are fading away as shops are stopping sales With the general public realising that there are far more respectful and fun costumes out there.
Other controversial costumes are those of recently deceased celebrities, who even in death are unable to escape public attention. This is especially insensitive when the death is unexpected and is still being grieved by many. Costumes can be very controversial without being harmful, like dressing up like politicians, especially those holding extreme power like the presidents of North Korea, Russia, and the USA.
Generally, anybody who is controversial in their real life is controversial in costume form and therefore it’s advisable that you don't dress up as them.