By CELIA BROCKER
Halloween: the time of year where everyone dresses up in costume and goes around the neighborhood begging for candy. While costumes are an essential part of the holiday, it’s easy to look around and see a pattern of repeated costumes. This is a bit strange, given how many people take notice when two people are wearing the same dress. But for Halloween, conformity has become normality. Here are the Halloween costumes that are the most overdone, and some different costume ideas:
Witch: Whether it’s the basic pointy hat or the green face, witches are one of the most recognized Halloween symbols. So, naturally many choose to dress like one for the holiday. Instead of being just a witch, try being a specific witch. Elphaba from Wicked or one of the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus. Even if people don’t know who exactly you’re dressing as you’ll stand out from the crowd.
Harry Potter: There are dozens of interesting characters to impersonate in the Harry Potter universe, yet The Boy Who Lived is the most recurring costume. We get it, it’s fun to wear fake glasses and paint a lightning scar on your head, but have some originality. Try dressing as Ron. Poor Ron, Harry always gets all of the attention.
Angel/Devil: No matter how cute a little kid looks dressed like one of these, there are about a dozen others wearing the same thing. What would be really unique is combining these two costumes into one. It looks awesome!
Princess: So many little girls fall into the trap of dressing like a Disney princess. It’s all fun until you see another girl wearing your costume. Here’s an idea; a costume based on a real-life princess. Guaranteed no one else will have that costume, and there’s so much nobility to choose from.
Zombie/Frankenstein: Are they the same thing? They look the same.
Vampire: Another popular Halloween monster that requires a lot of makeup. For some reason, no one wants to be a werewolf.
Cat: AKA the most basic Halloween costume ever. Please pick any other animal.
School Girl: Seriously, this is just another level of sad. You’re literally announcing to the world that you’re too lazy to find a creative costume.
Cop: If you’re determined to use this costume, it’s not a good idea to have a fake gun. You’re going to get some looks.
Nurse: It doesn’t matter how sexy you dress, it’s nothing no one hasn’t seen.
Pirate: Similar to the princess idea, try impersonating a real historical pirate. Or you could act like Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow all night for laughs.
Cowboy: No, the fake accent is not cute/attractive.
Spiderman: Any superhero really, but Spiderman always seems to be the first choice. If you want to make a fun party joke, go in normal clothes and tell everyone you’re Peter Parker. Bring the spandex with you and change outfits throughout the night, all the while swearing you have no idea where the other guy is.
Ghost: Enough said.
ILLUSTRATION, ELEMENTS OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES , BY LASHA STEWART|ILLUSTRATOR
