Post #7: Slutty Halloween

            “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it,” said Cady Heron in Mean Girls. And to some extent, that’s true. If you wind up in full zombie bride make-up and regalia while everyone else is wearing thigh-highs and short skirts you’re bound to stick out.

            Over fall break I decided to go Halloween costume shopping because I figured that if I left it to online shopping I would either a) just not do it or b) end up with something that didn’t fit. So, I walked into the Halloween store. I passed the section with the little kid costumes and then the one with the men’s costumes, and finally positioned myself in front of the women’s selections. Looking up at a large wall of short skirts and chest-flaunting tops, I scanned my choices. Brands like “Spirit,” “Leg Avenue,” and “Playboy” dominated. And with names like that, you can’t expect to not show your legs or look like a bunny. Society is practically telling you to do so.

            So, I asked myself: “Is there really something wrong with looking a little more provocative on Halloween?” When you see costumes like “Sexy Scout,” “Saintly Sinner,” and “Frisky Felon,” it makes you think that looking seductive is just the norm. And I must say, I do like the alliteration. I mean it’s either these slutty costumes with entertaining names or a full Alice in Wonderland dress à la the live-action movie: (http://www.costumesinc.com/p18497/Deluxe-Alice-Movie-Costume-Womens-Licensed-Alice-in-Wonderland-Costume.html)…As much as I love Alice in Wonderland, the majority of other girls would be wearing about 1/3 as much as me, if I bought that one.

            Now while Jill Sobule sings in her song “Slutty Halloween” that she’s “not a fan of women whose Halloween costume is just that they’re slutty” because “that’s not a costume at all,” I determined that to some extent you should just follow the herd. As long as you’re wearing more than lingerie, it’s ok to want to look sexy on the one night a year that we can all pretend to be something else. So, if you want to…


            DO: Pull an Elle Woods and be smart yet able to pull off a Playboy Bunny costume like she does
            in Legally Blonde.
            DON'T: Pull a Karen Smith from Mean Girls and point at your headband saying "I'm a mouse,
            duh."

            Just remember, whatever you choose to do, make sure that your costume actually has character to it. And please, keep it somewhat classy.