Costume Retrospective

Halloween kicks off the best part of holiday season. I know some people may not consider Halloween to be a real holiday, but I love this time of year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas in three consecutive months -- perfect!

My love for Halloween began at a young age, as my mom always elaborately decorates our house. Back in college, I wrote an essay for The Cowl on Halloween at our house. (Click here for that article from 2003.)

But this post isn't about all aspects of Halloween-- I want to focus on one thing: costumes.

I'm proud to say that I have pretty much always gone all out for Halloween. That's been my favorite part of Halloween since I was young. I love the challenge of coming up with something original and then bringing that costume to "life." But not everyone feels this way, especially women.

I get disappointed when I'm out on Halloween and see dozens of cheerleaders, cowgirls and devils. And you know what adjective I would use to describe all of these girls. I know that people don't get into Halloween like I do, but when people use the holiday as an excuse to wear as few clothes as possible in public, I get annoyed.

When it comes to a good costume, I don't mind looking ridiculous in public. I've even worn fake facial hair on the streets of DC. My friends and I were off to an SNL-themed Halloween party and we went as the Will Ferrell/Blue Oyster Cult/More Cowbell sketch. You can see by the photo that our costume was awesome and we earned our "Best Group Costume" award (a six-pack).
I've been lucky enough to have great friends that will go along with an awesome costume idea-- even if it does require artificial facial hair and chest hair. Another great group costume was when my roommate, her now-husband and I went as Marilyn Monroe, JFK and Jackie Kennedy. We didn't win anything that year at the bar we went to, but we were robbed.
I'm still waiting for inspiration for this year's costume. Last year's Sarah Palin will be tough to top, but I'm sure I can come up with something. (And no, I'm not too old to still dress up!)

And if you're wondering whether or not the fascination with Halloween runs in the family, just check out the photo below of my brother and his college roommate as Mario and Luigi in 2005. I think that gives you your answer.
If you're dressing up this year, remember: keep it creative and don't worry about looking ridiculous!