MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME: A FASHION JOURNALIST 

Halloween: the single day of the year when your most ludicrous fashion fantasies become realised; the single day of the year when you can unashamedly wrap yourself in a piece of cloth and walk out the door as a mummy without a trail of judgement; the single day of the year when you may reignite the dwindling flame of childhood exuberance in your adulting college self. In essence, Halloween is a celebration of creativity and style imbued with humour, subtle sexiness and a shitload of makeup. With all its fun and glamour, Halloween is irrefutably one of America’s (and, presumably, Brown students’) favourite holidays.

 

Though factually, Halloween lies on October 31st, for the majority of us, the work begins weeks preceding this day—unravelling an unfathomable process of endless costume brainstorming and shopping. Case in point: a typical freshman definitely had more than six costumes in her pinterest board in the beginning of October, frankly reasonable considering one’s costume choice is perhaps the most critical decision of Halloween. And much of the fun of this festivity is rooted in how it allows us to escape the restraints of our established identities, opening the grounds to take on other personalities for a night. 

 

As a time of loosened inhibitions and negated social standards, Halloween is an opportunity to display aspects of yourself that may be unknown to others, whether that takes the form of flaunting scandalous parts of your body, displaying your comedic self by wearing something totally silly, or whatever else! One of my friends decided to be Perry the Platypus, but a more scandalous version, which in my opinion was the epitome of a perfect outfit. Entwining humour and an understated allure just hits the perfect equilibrium on the spectrum of Halloween costumes, showcasing both personality and sexual appeal. Regardless, this is merely one example of Halloween ingenuity and I want to affirm that there is no right way to do Halloween. 

 

Succumbing to the normative ideals of girlhood, I’ve decided to thieve a quote from the movie every girl has pulled a costume from at least once in their life: Mean Girls. In the infamous words of Cady Heron, “Halloween is the one night of the year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” So before the clock runs out, I wish you all a happy Halloween and may your morbid fantasies run wild this week!