The Fine Art of Halloween Costumes
by Drew Kolar
With the arrival of the last quarter of the year, our culture welcomes in one of the greatest times of year; a time of joy, of giving, and of general celebration of life and death. No, it is not the Christmas season - it is October, the month that hosts one of the greatest holidays ever invented: All Hallows Eve, better known as Halloween.
Halloween is one of the few days where we all can be actors, donning the guise of anyone - or anything - we choose. Most of the world truly does become a stage, and we get to choose to play a part completely separate from the part we play on all of the other days, whether it is that of a famous rock star, a night-stalking monster, or a fairytale hero. Halloween opens the doors for us to let loose and express our inner selves in whatever artistic way we want, breaking the social barriers of conformity and repression.
Choosing the best costume for Halloween, however, is not always easy. In fact, some people spend months perfecting their disguise for the night of mayhem, not to mention hundreds of dollars towards the needed supplies. While many people prefer to purchase a factory-made model, the best way to give your costume a personal touch is to piece it together yourself. Your own personal artistry helps you to stand out above all the other pirates, witches, ghosts, ghouls...and bald Britneys.
Nick Brolin, a student at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, WV, is going as Flava Flav. He began buying bits of his costume in mid-September.
"It's awesome so far," he said. "I have the clock, Viking helmet, sunglasses, and cape. I still need to get some fake gold teeth, some type of crazy outfit to wear under the cape, either a pimp cup or a pimp cane, and maybe some type of fake 'bling.'"
Unfortunately, this urge to dress up and be outgoing is lost on many teens and adults, especially after the years of trick-or-treating have passed.
"I haven't trick-or-treated since I was 10, so it's been a while," said Rudy Palma, a Seton Hall University student who only dresses up these days if he is invited to a costume party.
"I tend to celebrate by watching a horror film or two," Palma explained. "As far as candy, I usually buy a bag or two of Clark bars; it's easier than trick-or-treating."
Pratt Institute student Kevin Stanton, who was considering going with his friend Sarah Nock as the early-90s rap duo Salt N' Peppa, said that he and his friend also lack the enthusiasm many have for the holiday.
"We probably won't do it at all," Stanton said of the costume idea, "because we're lazy shmucks. It's [just] one night, one day - it's just not something I do often."
But for many of us the dream is still alive, whether we are grasping on to a piece of childhood or simply embracing the need to express ourselves. New York's Greenwich Village even becomes a much bigger menagerie of wild sights and sounds on the night of October 31 when a portion of 6th Avenue is closed off for the annual Village Halloween Parade, which has been overtaking the city - and backing up traffic - for over 30 years on Halloween night.
"New York is so happy during Halloween," said New York University student Jennifer Gordon, "because they are so hardcore about it here!"
One of Gordon's favorite aspects of New York during Halloween is the parade, though this year, she plans on attending a different form of Halloween celebration: a yearly concert put on by one of her favorite bands, complete with a swing-dancing mosh pit.
"Every Halloween or thereabouts," she explained, "the World/Inferno Friendship Society puts on a show called Hallowmas because they love Halloween!"
As for her costume idea, Gordon wants to go on a more creative path as well, taking her look from one of her favorite comic books.
"I want to be Delirium from Neil Gaiman's comic Sandman," she said. "He based Delirium on Tori Amos because they're friends."
The best Halloween costumes definitely seem to be the ones that emerge from your own experiences and obsessions. Though store-bought costumes are fine and always welcome, the feeling of creating your own unique look for that one special night a year - even if your costume idea is not totally unique - makes the memories all the more special. Halloween is, after all, the best day of the year to release your creative side, whether or not you are an actual artist. Fortunately for many, the love for Halloween and the longing for the magic of the season have not died, even well beyond the age of trick-or-treating.
"I like Halloween because you get to dress up as whatever you feel like dressing up as," Gordon said, "and demand that complete strangers give you candy! I really like costumes and candy."
Indeed, the spirit of Halloween is not dead; it just needs to be awakened in some people who have forgotten the joys of childhood. The magic of the holiday lives on throughout the year in many of us, especially those who anticipate its arrival each year. Hopefully someday more people will regain that creative, youthful spirit; the urge to let loose and be someone different, if even just for one night.
