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What to Wear for Halloween


by Amanda Forester

The beginning of October brings the all-important question – what are you going to be for Halloween? In thinking about my costume this year, I have put costumes into a few different categories.

Halloween:  These are all time Halloween favorites, the witch, skeleton, ghost, vampire, pumpkin, Frankenstein, or zombie. Any one of these can be made to be scary or friendly, depending on how you work it.

Vocations: Want to dress up like an astronaut? A police officer? An army ranger? This category has a vast array of various occupations from football player to the president of the United States.

Fantasy:  An ever-popular category for everyone who ever wanted to be a princess or a superhero. Or a superhero princess. With the popularity of the Marvel films, there will be no shortage of comic book inspired heroes and villains this year.

Naughty: Have you noticed that most of the costumes for women available at large chain Halloween stores look a bit risqué?  You have the naughty nurse, the naughty nun, naughty cop, and of course the naughty French maid. Of course it doesn’t end there, how about the naughty cave woman, the naughty pirate, the naughty witch, the naughty princess, the naughty fairy, and the naughty school girl. But wait, there’s more – don’t forget the naughty panda bear, the naughty mime, the naughty ninja, the naughty raccoon (I swear I’m not making this up!) and the naughty magical unicorn.  By the time I got to the naughty monarch butterfly, I knew I’d seen too much!

You may think this is a sad commentary on the objectification of women in our country (and you’d be right!) but I’m pretty sure it’s also a conspiracy by the costume industry to save money on yardage by making every skirt no longer than 6 inches.  Well played costume industry.

Historical:  Since I am a historical romance author, you would be right to guess this is the category I love the best.  I would love to dress up in an exquisite regency dress, or a velvet medieval gown. Simply gorgeous.  Other historical favorites are Elizabethan (yo Shakespeare!) Roman gladiator, Egyptian (Cleopatra is always a favorite), ancient Greece (toga!), Victorian, 1920’s flapper, or the classic look of WWII.

Miscellaneous: There are endless costumes for the creatively minded person.  Want to go as a TV dinner, a playing card, or a lamp post? Good for you!  My son once dressed up as chicken pox.  This category is only limited by your imagination!

Cosplay and LARP: for the serious costumers who have meticulously crafted costumes bringing anime characters, comic book characters, steam punk, Lord of the Rings, and fantasy medieval characters among others to life.  These costumes are for folks who don’t want to only wear their fabulous creations once a year, but will get together for live action role plays (LARP) or conventions to really embrace their characters.  Only at Comicon can you see a vast array of costumes from super heroes to Sailor Moon to Darth Vader holding a baby Princess Leia. Too fun!

So what am I going to be for Halloween?  The scariest thing of all—the frazzled mom!  My kids made me into a “Mother” Pokémon card and gave me the power to make my opponent “do their homework before they can continue battling.” Love it!


So get on the internet or head down to your local costume shop or Goodwill and get to creating your costume. What are you going to be for Halloween? 

Comments

  1. LOL! Love the scariest of all being a mom. Yup!
    I think I'll go as the Hindu Goddess with 8 arms. A multitasker!

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